By Zeeshan Haider
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's opposition electionwinners were trying to forge a coalition on Friday, raising theprospect of a government intent on forcing U.S. ally PresidentPervez Musharraf from power.
Leaders of the two parties that won the election, thePakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League(Nawaz), or PML-N, vowed on Thursday to work together to form agovernment but said they still had details to work out.
The main party that backs the unpopular Musharraf was dealta stunning defeat in Monday's general election leaving thepresident, who has been one of Washington's top Muslim alliesagainst al Qaeda, vulnerable to a hostile parliament.
"I don't see any problems in them forming a coalition,"said political analyst and academic Rasul Baksh Rais. "Theyhave realised that by working together they can put Pakistanback on a democratic line."
Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister Musharraf overthrew in1999 and whose PML-N came second in the vote, has demanded theunpopular president steps down. But since the election,Musharraf has said he was not ready to resign.
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.
Sharif met Asif Ali Zardari, former Prime Minister BenazirBhutto's widower and leader of her PPP since her murder onDecember 27, in Islamabad on Thursday evening for their firstface-to-face talks since the election.
If they forge a coalition, it will be the first time inPakistan's history that the two main parties have cometogether. Musharraf's 1999 coup ended a chaotic decade ofcivilian rule alternating between Bhutto and Sharifgovernments.
The Election Commission is expected to issue officialresults on March 1.
Musharraf should then convene an inaugural session of theNational Assembly. But how soon after may depend on whetherthere is a government-in-waiting, as the president has toinvite a member commanding the confidence of the majority tobecome prime minister.
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Sharif told a news conference after his meeting withZardari that the two parties would work together to form agovernment.
Zardari, whose party won the most seats but not an overallmajority, said he wanted a broad government but one excludingthe main party that backs Musharraf.
He said the PPP and Sharif's party would "stay together"but they had lots of details to work out.
"We have a lot of modalities to cover. We have a lot ofground to cover," he said. "We will be meeting off and on. Inprinciple, we have agreed to stay together."
But Sharif's party had yet to decide whether to join aPPP-led government or support it without being part of it.
"Either is possible. It is being worked out," said partychairman Raja Zafar-ul-Haq.
In another sign of looming trouble for Musharraf, Sharifsaid he and Zardari had agreed in principle on the restorationof judges Musharraf purged when he imposed emergency rule inNovember.
The judges, if reinstated, can be expected to take up thequestion of the eligibility of Musharraf to stand forre-election as president while still army chief last October.They were expected to rule against Musharraf when he imposedthe emergency.
Pakistani stocks fell as investors booked gains ahead ofthe weekend following a 4.3 percent rise in the KSE-index sincethe peaceful elections. But dealers said sentiment was stillpositive and investors were looking forward to a new coalition.
The KSE-100 is the only share market in Asia to have gainedthis year, up 6.3 percent. Its gains over the past 12 monthsare ranked behind only China and Indonesia, though manyinvestors still consider it a difficult and illiquid market.
The index set a life high at 15,034.31 on Thursday and hasrisen about 900 percent since 2000.
(Additional reporting by Augustine Anthony; Writing byRobert Birsel; Editing by Alex Richardson)
