ISLAMABAD: Former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s party held on Monday a meeting of its central executive committee (CEC), which deliberated on the results of Feb. 8 national election and the future strategy of the party with regard to the formation of a new government.

The development came amid brewing of political alliances with the likelihood of the formation of a coalition government in the South Asian country of more than 241 million people after Thursday’s vote failed to present a clear winner.

Independent candidates, most loyal to Khan, gained the highest 101 parliamentary seats in the election, followed by three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) that bagged 75 seats and Bhutto-Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) that clinched 54 seats.

The PPP said its CEC members held discussions with regard to last week’s election and the future of the country after no party managed to gain a simple majority in the 266-member National Assembly, lower house of Pakistan parliament.

“The members exchanged views over the country’s current political and economic situation,” it said in a statement issued after the CEC meeting in Islamabad. “Members of the CEC of the PPP have made various suggestions regarding the political, economic and governmental situation of the country.”

Briefing the media after the meeting, PPP’s Sherry Rehman said while the CEC would continue its deliberations on Tuesday, the party had decided to form committees to “negotiate with other political parties.”

A day earlier, Sharif’s PML-N and the PPP reached a consensus for “political cooperation” between the two parties, the PML-N said in a joint statement, following a huddle between the two sides in the eastern city of Lahore.

Last week, both Sharif and Khan claimed victory following Thursday’s national election, leading to uncertainty regarding formation of the next government in Pakistan that is grappling with multiple crises.

The possibility of a political stalemate in the country leading to delays in both reforms and crucial foreign funding has sparked a selloff in its international bonds and fueled fears of further economic misery for the South Asian country.

A prime ministerial candidate must demonstrate a simple majority of 169 seats in the 266-member National Assembly when the House convenes in the coming days.