ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s two major parties are set to meet on Feb 19 to try and bridge differences over forming a minority coalition government, after an inconclusive election that underscored political and economic instability.

Analysts say the nuclear-armed nation of 241 million, which has been grappling with an economic crisis amid slow growth and record inflation, along with rising militant violence, needs a stable government with the authority to make tough decisions.

The talks on Feb 19 will be the fifth such round after former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif was named by his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party to lead the country again.

“Both the parties haven’t yet agreed on final points,” Mr Ishaq Dar, a senator from Mr Sharif’s party, who is leading it in the talks, said in a statement on Feb 18.

“Negotiations are under way on various proposals” for power sharing, he added.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has announced conditional support for the PML-N, saying it will vote for Mr Sharif to form the government, but would not take positions in the Cabinet.

“I can confirm that it has been decided, in principle, that the political parties will form a coalition government,” Mr Dar told domestic broadcaster Geo TV.

Mr Sharif, 72, who was prime minister for 16 months until last August, has been named the coalition’s candidate to be the next premier by his elder brother Nawaz Sharif, who is the PML-N chief.

Pakistan narrowly averted a sovereign default last summer with a US$3 billion (S$4 billion) bailout from the International Monetary Fund, but the lender’s support ends in March, after which a new, extended programme will be needed.

Negotiating a new programme, and at speed, will be critical for the new government.

The new government could also face further political tension, with independent members of Parliament, backed by jailed former premier Imran Khan, forming the largest group in the legislature.

This group is at loggerheads with the powerful military and alleges that the vote was rigged.

The caretaker government and election commission have rejected those accusations. REUTERS