Islamabad: The main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and religious-political Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI-F) party on Monday agreed to cooperate with each other in the forthcoming national elections.
The agreement was reached at a meeting between PML-N president Nawaz Sharif and JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman at the former’s Raiwind estate in Lahore, capital of the country’s most populous province Punjab, where the PML-N- is currently in power.
After the talks, the two leaders told reporters they would form committees to work out modalities for electoral cooperation.
Sharif, a former two-time prime minister, said the two sides also held a preliminary consultation on the formation of a caretaker set-up to oversee the elections expected in May.
The five-year term of the existing National Assembly expires on March 16 and according to the constitution the elections should be held within 60 days after that.
Rehman said he invited the PML-N to attend a conference of political and religious parties the JUI-F is convening in Islamabad this week to discuss security issues, especially the possibility of talks with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The JUI-F leader said Sharif agreed to participation of his party in the conference.
