Islamabad/Lahore, 10 Feb

Pakistan's powerful army chief Gen Asim Munir on Saturday urged the country's polarised political leadership to form a "unified government of all democratic forces", as he backed ex-premier Nawaz Sharif's plea to his rivals to help form a coalition government after the general elections appear to have produced a hung Parliament.

Efforts to form a unity government gained momentum after the three-time former prime minister Sharif, who seems to enjoy the backing of the Pakistan Army, on Friday appealed to other political parties to join hands to pull cash-strapped Pakistan out of its current difficulties.

Springing a surprise, independents backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won the lion's share of 102 seats in the National Assembly in Thursday's election. Khan's party has already claimed victory in the elections.

The group was followed by Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 73 seats, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 54, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) with 17 and 11 other seats going to smaller parties, as the result of 257 seats out of 265 was announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan. To form a government, a party must win 133 seats out of 265 in the National Assembly. Election to one seat was postponed after the death of a candidate. Overall, 169 seats are needed to secure a simple majority out of its total 336 seats, which include the reserved slots for women and minorities.

Votes are still being counted after the general election which was marred by allegations of rigging, sporadic violence and a countrywide mobile phone shutdown. On Saturday, a statement attributed to Gen Munir said, "Pakistan’s diverse polity and pluralism will be well-represented by a unified government of all democratic forces imbibed with national purpose." He said that elections and democracy are means to serve the people of Pakistan and not end in themselves.

The powerful Pakistan Army, which has ruled coup-prone Pakistan for more than half of its 75-plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in matters of security and foreign policy.  “The nation needs stable hands and a healing touch to move on from the politics of anarchy and polarisation which does not suit a progressive country of 250 million people. Elections are not a zero-sum competition of winning and losing but an exercise to determine the mandate of the people,” it said.

The army chief noted that the people of Pakistan reposed their combined trust in the Constitution of Pakistan and it was now “incumbent upon all political parties to reciprocate the same with political maturity and unity.”

Meanwhile, Khan, 71, in an AI-generated audio-video message on Saturday claimed victory in the general elections. He thanked the people for voting for PTI and also asked them to ensure the sanctity of their votes was not hijacked by the establishment.  PTI Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan said the party had already started the consultation process on its fut­ure course of action. However, he added, physical meetings have not been possible since most elected candidates are either in jail or underground. He warned that any attempt to derail the people’s decision would have “deadly consequences”, adding that power-wielders must learn to respect the people’s choice.