INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) won 115 seats in Wednesday's ballot.Islamabad: Imran Khan's party said it has begun talks
with independents and small parties to form a coalition government after a resounding triumph in Pakistan's general election, as rival
parties planned protests over alleged vote rigging.Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) won 115 seats in Wednesday's ballot, short of
the 137 needed for a simple majority but a surprisingly strong showing that helped fuel suspicion of rigging.The party has begun reaching
out to potential coalition partners to form a government, according to spokesman Fawad Chaudhry, a task that analysts said should be
straightforward."We have contacted small parties and independent members, they will soon meet party leaders in Islamabad," Chaudhry
announced late Friday, adding that the process was likely to take about 10 days.Chaudhry's comments followed an announcement by rival
parties vowing to launch a protest "movement", after foreign observers voiced concerns about the contest.More than a dozen parties calling
themselves the All Parties Conference (APC) promised to protest over the results.However the group remained divided with some parties
pledging to boycott joining the National Assembly and others calling for a new vote.The outgoing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party
announced its support for the group but stopped short of saying it would boycott the new parliament.And the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP),
which was notably absent from the APC, said in a separate announcement that it rejected the results, but vowed to try to convince the other
parties to participate in the parliamentary process.The protests announcement late Friday came as the United States, the European Union and
other observers voiced concerns over widespread claims that the powerful military had tried to fix the playing field in Khan's favour.Khan's
victory represents an end to decades of rotating leadership between the PML-N and the Pakistan PPP that was punctuated by periods of
military rule.The vote was meant to be a rare democratic transition in the Muslim country, which has been ruled by the powerful army for
roughly half its history.But it was marred by violence and allegations of military interference in the months leading up to the vote, with
Khan seen as the beneficiary.The former cricket star will face myriad challenges, including extremism, an economic crisis with speculation
that Pakistan will have to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund, water shortages and a booming population.(Except for the
headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
