By Zeeshan Haider
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's two main oppositionparties will step up efforts on Friday to form a governmentafter their election win, raising the prospect of a coalitionthat could drive President Pervez Musharraf from power.
"We intend to stay together (to establish a government),"said Asif Ali Zardari, who led the Pakistan People's Party(PPP) to the most seats in Monday's election after his wife,former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated onDecember 27.
Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 military coup in thenuclear-armed nation and has been one of Washington's topMuslim allies against al Qaeda, is vulnerable after hissupporters were defeated in the election but has said he is notready to quit.
His critics say his efforts to cling to power have been adestabilising factor in a country already battling to stopattacks on its territory by al Qaeda and other militants.Neighbours and allies fear Pakistan is becoming more unstable.
U.S. President George W. Bush's administration has urgedthe next government to work with Musharraf and says Washingtonneeds Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan where U.S. and NATOforces are fighting Islamist militants, as an ally.
On Thursday, Zardari held a first round of talks on forminga coalition government with Nawaz Sharif, leader of the partythat came second in the election and the prime minister whomMusharraf overthrew in 1999.
Zardari told a joint news conference in Islamabadafterwards he wanted a broad coalition but one excluding themain party that backs Musharraf.
The PPP leader, who said on Wednesday parliament shoulddecide whether it could work with Musharraf, was due to meethis party's newly elected parliamentarians on Friday.
Since returning from exile in November, a month afterBhutto, Sharif has made clear he would like to oust Musharraf.
"We will work together to form the government," Sharif toldthe news conference. "There is no issue of disagreement."
Analysts say the centre-left PPP and Sharif's centre-rightPakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) agree on little ideologicallyand some doubt they can form a coalition.
If they do team up, Musharraf could either quit or dragPakistan through more upheaval as parliament tries to removehim on the grounds he violated the constitution in Novemberwhen he imposed six weeks of emergency rule.
Musharraf outraged many Pakistanis when he declaredemergency rule, purged the judiciary, detained activists andgagged the media.
Pakistani shares, buoyed by the largely peaceful conduct ofthe election, ended at a new closing high of 14,971.94 pointson Thursday.
The KSE-100 index has gained 4.3 percent since the electionand is the only Asian share market to have gained this year,but dealers have said a government hostile to Musharraf couldhurt sentiment.
(Writing by Robert Birsel; editing by Ralph Gowling)
