'PML-N endorses PPP to curb horse-trading in GB'

ISLAMABAD: Former federal minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has defended the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s decision to support the Pakistan Peoples Party in forming the government in Gilgit-Baltistan, saying the move was aimed at preventing horse-trading and political bargaining in the region.

In a statement posted on social media, Rafique said the unofficial and provisional election results showed the PPP emerging as the single largest party in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly. He said the PPP received around 28 per cent of the vote, while the PML-N secured about 22 per cent.

According to Rafique, the non-final results gave the PPP 10 seats and the PML-N six seats. He added that two independent candidates were also supported by the PML-N. He said PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was fully aware that the senior PML-N leadership had independently contacted President Asif Ali Zardari and the PPP leadership within 72 hours of the election to acknowledge the PPP’s position as the largest party and to convey support for government formation.

Attributing the decision to a desire to prevent political wheeling and dealing, Rafique said the PML-N had acted voluntarily in backing the PPP. He said the party’s purpose was to protect Gilgit-Baltistan from efforts at horse-trading following the election.

Rafique also said there was no basis for accusations and what he described as a disrespectful attitude from some members of the PPP leadership despite the PML-N’s gesture.

"The objective of the PML-N was to save GB from horse-trading and political bargaining," he said.

Referring to by-elections due in some constituencies on June 15, Rafique said responsibility for those contests lay entirely with local complainants and the election commission. He added that the result in one PML-N constituency had also been challenged.

He also criticised the PPP over political developments in Karachi, saying those who used every available method to secure the local government there and later did not honour commitments made to the MQM under the PML-N’s guarantee should not taunt his party over government formation in Lahore.

Rafique said the PML-N continued to hold the PPP leadership in high regard, but stressed that mutual respect had to be reciprocal. "We respect the PPP leadership a great deal, but respect cannot be one-way traffic," he said.