Opposition parties to form Pakistani government

PAKISTAN’S two main opposition parties announced yesterday they would form a new government together after their victory over President Pervez Musharraf’s allies in elections this week.

The two leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistan Muslim League-N led by Nawaz Sharif made the announcement at a joint news conference in Islamabad.

“We have agreed on a common agenda. We will work together to form a government together in the centre and in the provinces,” said Shari.

The party leaders did not make explicit whether they would push for Gen Musharraf’s ouster. They won a comfortable majority in parliament in Monday’s election, but fell short of the two-thirds majority in parliament required for the president’s impeachment.