Pakistani Opposition Agrees To Form Coalition Government
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BHURBAN, Pakistan — Pakistan’s election winners sealed an agreement yesterday to form a coalition government and said parliament would restore judges fired by President Musharraf — further clouding the American-allied leader’s political future.
In the capital, police fired tear gas at protesters who gathered outside the residence of the deposed Supreme Court chief justice to demand his reinstatement. The widower of the slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, and a former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, whose government was ousted in Mr. Musharraf’s 1999 coup, announced their pact after talks at a resort town in the foothills of the Himalayas.
“The coalition partners are ready to form the government,” Mr. Sharif said at a news conference, reading from a joint statement.
Mr. Zardari, seated alongside, said his party had signed the agreement in honor of Bhutto, who was assassinated in a suicide attack on December 27, and her desire to put Pakistan back on “the road to democracy.”
Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party won 120 seats in the new 342-seat National Assembly, followed by Mr. Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N with 90. The former ruling party aligned with Mr. Musharraf got just 51.
The two largest parties, both moderate and secular, have vowed to form a broad-based government, raising Western hopes of stability and renewed commitment to fighting Al Qaeda and Taliban militants.
However, they are devoting most of their energy to cutting back Mr. Musharraf’s sweeping powers — a course the former military strongman seems unlikely to accept meekly.
Messrs. Zardari and Sharif declared a breakthrough on two key issues: the makeup of the coalition and the future of the judiciary.
Mr. Sharif said his party would be part of a federal coalition led by the Peoples Party, which is expected to name its candidate for prime minister this week.
In return, Mr. Zardari agreed that the new parliament would pass a resolution within 30 days of convening to reinstate dozens of judges fired by Mr. Musharraf after he declared emergency rule on November 3.
