In Pakistan, PTI forms committee for 'political engagement' with rivals

Islamabad [Pakistan], November 9 (ANI): The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday announced the formation of a "political engagement committee" to reach out to rival parties ahead of the upcoming polls, Geo News reported.
The five-member committee, which includes Senator Ali Zafar, Senator Dr Humayun Mohmand, Ali Muhammad Khan, Ali Asghar Khan, and Raoof Hasan, read the party notification shared on its official X account.
The recent development comes days after the former ruling party's announcement to contest general elections from "all constituencies" at both provincial and national levels, reported Geo News, a Pakistani news channel.
As per Geo News, the PTI has traditionally taken a hardline stance against political opponents, most notably the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) and others, accusing the country of a lot of corruption and looting.
The PTI's move to decide to reach out to political parties comes as past opponents are becoming future allies with political parties, leaving their old enmities behind and striving to forge new political alliances to strengthen their position ahead of the general elections scheduled to be held on February 8 next year.
The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) announced on Tuesday that they would contest the upcoming general elections in Pakistan together, Dawn reported.
The announcement comes days after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Pakistan President Arif Alvi agreed on February 8, 2024, as the date for polls.
As per Dawn, prior to the elections, the rivalry between the Nawaz-led party and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) gained momentum as the latter alleged that the PML-N has a hidden alliance with the current caretaker government.
The PPP recently announced that it was open to forming an electoral alliance with the PTI to counter former ally PML-N.
The PML-N, the PPP and the MQM were coalition partners in the previous government and had joined hands to remove Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI)'s Imran Khan from power. (ANI)