Islamabad: With just 48 hours to go before Pakistan votes in the general election, political re-alignments are under way with Pakistan Muslim League (N) chief Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan People's Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari exploring the possibility of firming up a possible coalition against the pro-Musharaf alliance.
In fact, both Nawaz and Zardari are now openly talking about a possible consensus government between the two parties.
"National consensus is a very good thing if we are to have democracy and rule of law back in the country, which is a must, and if we have to survive as a civilised nation. I personally have no objection, provided we have a common agenda," Sharif told CNN-IBN.
Zardari is also speaking the same language. "I'm hoping to be able to have consensus in the country. The People's Party is speaking to all political parties, which are in the country, and is not mindful of its power base. PPP is not scared of losing space to anybody," he said.
Sharif and Zardari were holding a luncheon meeting in Lahore on Saturday for talks on joining hands. The former arch-enemies are trying to close ranks in an effort to take on President Musharraf jointly.
The two parties are believed to be working towards forming a national government after Monday's elections. If such a coalition materialises, it will be like the Congress and the BJP joining hands in the Indian context.
Plans for forming such an alliance were taking shape for sometime now after it became clear that neither PML(Nawaz) nor Pakistan People's Party is going to win a majority on its own in the forthcoming polls.
In the other camp, the President's political ally and ruling party — the PML-Q — too has been distancing itself from Musharraf's policies of late. In an interview to a British newspaper, PML-Q chief Shujaat Hussain said he disagreed with a series of major decisions taken by the Musharraf administration over the past five years.
He, however, did not criticise Musharraf directly. Analysts see Hussian's statements as a last-ditch effort to woo voters in Monday's election.
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