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 backing the unpopular Musharraf was dealt astunning defeat in Monday's general election, leaving thepresident, one of Washington's top Muslim allies against alQaeda, vulnerable to a hostile parliament.
"I don't see any problems in them forming a coalition,"said political analyst and academic Rasul Baksh Rais.
"They have realised that by working together they can putPakistan back 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 step 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 the two main parties have come together.Musharraf's 1999 coup ended a chaotic decade of civilian rulealternating between Bhutto and Sharif governments.
Zardari met the PPP's winning candidates, and a partystatement said more consultative meetings were expected overthe next three days.
Zardari and Sharif also separately met with leaders of theAwami National Party, a Pashtun nationalist party set to jointhem in a coalition after sweeping Islamists out of power inNorth West Frontier Province.
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."
Sharif's party had yet to decide whether to join a PPP-ledgovernment 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 to restore judgesMusharraf fired when he imposed emergency rule in November.
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.
The Karachi Stock Exchange 100 share index closed virtuallyflat, but a tiny 0.06 percent rise was enough to notch a recordclosing high for a third consecutive day.
The index has risen 4.37 percent this week largely due torelief the elections were less violent and fairer than mostpeople anticipated. Dealers said sentiment was still positiveand investors were looking forward to a new coalition.
Karachi 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 has risen about 900 percent since 2000.
(Additional reporting by Augustine Anthony; Writing byRobert Birsel; Editing by Alex Richardson and Jerry Norton)
