Pakistan coalition talks loom after no clear majority, strong vote showing for jailed Imran Khan
Hindustan TimesPakistan faces days of political horse-trading after the final few election results released early Saturday showed no clear majority, but a strong performance by independent candidates loyal to jailed former prime minister Imran Khan. Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf defied a months-long crackdown that crippled campaigning and forced their candidates to run as independents with a combined showing in Thursday's election that still challenged their chief rivals. "PTI as a party and political group, despite significant efforts by the civilian and military establishment, has held on to its vote bank," said Bilal Gilani, executive director of polling group Gallup Pakistan. "We were fully aware that suspension of mobile services would impact the transmission of election results across Pakistan and delay the process, however, the choice between this delay and safety of our citizens was quite straightforward," he said in a statement on Friday.