Pakistan People's Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday (13 February) withdrew from the Prime Ministerial race, saying his party would support Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's candidate for Prime Ministership as part of a coalition government.
Bilawal's decision came hours after former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif's record fourth term as Prime Minister.
Addressing a press conference after the high-powered Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) held under his leadership, Bilawal said his party failed to get the mandate to form the government in the federation.
He said, 'For this reason, I will not put myself forward for the candidature of the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
As another reason for his decision, he said, 'Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) refused to form an alliance with PPP. PML-N is the only party to invite PPP to join the government.
Revealing another reason behind supporting a rival party's candidate for the coveted post, Bilawal said, "PPP has decided to support PML-N's candidate for the Prime Ministership to ensure political stability in the country," The News International reported.
Bilawal said, "The PPP has decided that we are not interested in assuming the prime ministership in a setup where we cannot form a federal government ourselves." We do not want to see political chaos in the country. I do not want to perpetuate the crisis in the country.
Bilawal said, "PPP will help in forming a stable government."
In response to a question, he said, "His father and former President Asif Ali Zardari will be a candidate for the presidency because he is able to bring the country out of the current problem."