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Pakistan Opposition Leaders Agree to Form New Government

By Barry Newhouse
Islamabad
21 February 2008

Pakistan's two main opposition parties say they have agreed to work together to form a new government after winning general elections Monday. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said his Pakistan Muslim League-N would create a coalition government with the party of slain opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Mr. Sharif made the announcement at a press conference following talks Thursday with her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, the new leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP).

VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad that while the parties appear united in their opposition to President Musharraf, they may have differences on the crucial issue of reinstating the Supreme Court that Mr. Musharraf dismissed in November.

Lawyers demonstrated in major cities in Pakistan on Thursday demanding the government reinstate senior judges who were dismissed by the president last year.

Police scuffled with protesters in Karachi and fired tear gas on demonstrators in other cities.

In Islamabad, Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Nawaz Sharif addressed hundreds of supporters outside the home of the fired Supreme Court Chief Justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudry, saying President Musharraf's dismissal of the Supreme Court was illegal.

Chaudry has been under house arrest since November, when President Musharraf dismissed the judges.

Throughout the campaign season the PML-N and the Pakistan People's Party focused on the widespread public discontent with President Pervez Musharraf.

But now that they have won national elections, political analyst Shafqat Mahmood says some differences between the parties on the issue of the judiciary could cause problems.

"The PML-N is very clear - no ambiguity at all - judiciary must be reinstated," said Mahmood. "Whereas in the case of the PPP the formulation is different."

The Pakistan People's Party has called for justices under house arrest to be freed, but PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari has not said if he supports restoring the justices to the Supreme Court.

Talks between the two parties Thursday are expected to focus on the Supreme Court justices, but it is unclear if Nawaz Sharif is willing to negotiate the issue. Earlier this week, he suggested he favored a majority coalition built on a single-point agenda of restoring the justices.