Pakistan's 3-time Premier Sharif calls for 'unity government' as election results indicate hung parliament

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan's three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called for a "unity government" on Friday, as election results released by the electoral authority suggest a hung federal parliament.

In his first public speech in the northeastern city of Lahore following Thursday's critical elections, Sharif said the "only solution" to the simmering political and economic crises is for "all political parties to join hands and form a unity government."

"Pakistan can no longer afford the politics of confrontation. We are not in the mood to fight with anyone. That's why I offer all political parties to come together and steer the country out of the predicaments it is facing," Sharif said.

Senior Sharif said he has tasked his brother and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif, to contact different political parties, including the center-left Pakistan People's Party (PPP), in this regard from "today."

The former prime minister invited all parties as well as independent candidates who received a mandate in the elections.

According to preliminary results, independent candidates backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan have won 89 seats, followed by PML (N) 66, and the PPP 49 out of a total 266 direct seats of the National Assembly.