Islamabad, Pakistan – Five days after Pakistan’s general election, two opposing parties, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), have both announced plans to form a government – with the PTI allying with religious parties and the PPP forming a coalition with rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN). The PTI leadership on Tuesday announced that its independent candidates would try to form a federal government and one in Punjab province by joining a coalition with the minority party Majlis-e-Wahdat-Muslimeen (MWM). The party also said its candidates in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province would ally with another religious party, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), to form a government. Thursday’s elections delivered a split mandate with no party securing a majority in the National Assembly. Independent candidates affiliated with jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s PTI won the most seats. But to form a government, they still need to be part of a political party or a coalition. In announcing the coalition plan on Tuesday, PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan said he had been mandated by Khan to approach all political parties other …