The Shehbaz Sharif-led ruling alliance in Pakistan has secured a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly (NA), weeks after the general polls in the country threw a fractious verdict.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the party led by Shehbaz's elder brother Nawaz Sharif, and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari saw their respective tallies rise to 123 and 73 from 107 and 68 in the National Assembly following the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) decision to allocate reserved seats among the members of the ruling alliance.
Pakistan's National Assembly has a total of 336 seats and a government needs the support of 224 members for a two-thirds majority. The current alliance has 230 members in the NA now.
The overwhelming majority in the NA is important for Pakistan's current government, considering it is still facing protests over allegations of election fraud.
Last week, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the main opposition party spearheaded by incarcerated former premier Imran Khan, organized nationwide protests across thirty-five cities over the issue.
Furthermore, Sharif junior also faces the challenges of reenergizing the country's crisis-ridden economy and a rising number of cases of terrorism, with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP*) being the main group wreaking havoc there.
*terrorist organization banned in Russia