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Dubai: Leading opposition parties of former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan are now trying to form a government on their own with the help of smaller parties rather than relying on each other.
The election results have shown that both the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) have gained enough seats to form the government on their own in alliance with other smaller political groups.
Although the general consensus was that PPP and PML-N would join hands to form a coalition government in a bid to oust President Pervez Musharraf, the situation seems to have changed rapidly.
The two parties do not see eye to eye on the issue of impeachment of the president and restoration of sacked judges under the Provincial Constitutional Order (PCO).
"Both the parties are in for tough decisions and they will have a make-or-break meeting today in Islamabad where Sharif and Bhutto's widower Asif Ali Zardari will hold talks for their future alliance," a senior PPP leader told Gulf News.
Sharif has already started working on alternative plans to strengthen his position in case the PPP tries to part ways with him. "We will welcome the ruling PML-Q members in case they want to join us," he said.
Meanwhile, Musharraf's aides, including National Security Council secretary general Tariq Aziz, reportedly met Zardari urging him not to enter into a pact with Sharif and instead align with the ruling PML-Q, which fared badly in the elections.
"If both the parties split, the situation will trigger 'horse trading' as money will be thrown around to get support from smaller parties and independent winners and it can lead to another crisis," said a senior political analyst from Islamabad.
Meanwhile, Musharraf rejected demands to quit yesterday and called for a "harmonious coalition".
He was making his first official comments since Monday's crucial parliamentary vote, which left him fighting for his political life.
"The President emphasised the need for harmonious coalition in the interest of peaceful governance, development and progress of Pakistan," a foreign ministry statement said after Musharraf met a visiting US congressman.
"The elections have strengthened the moderate forces in the country," it quoted Musharraf as saying.
Asked by the Wall Street Journal whether he would resign or retire, Musharraf said: "No, not yet. We have to move forward in a way that we bring about a stable democratic government to Pakistan."
US President George W. Bush yesterday embraced Pakistan's elections as "a significant victory" for democracy and said he hoped the new government would "be friends of the United States."
Bush declined to discuss the political fate of Musharraf. "There was a victory for the people of Pakistan, and that is, there were elections held that have been judged as being fair. And the people have spoken. I view that as a significant victory."
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