Feb. 28 -- Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's opposition leaders, said their parties have a majority of newly elected members in Parliament after this month's ballot and will form a government to restore democracy.
``The nation has given its verdict,'' Sharif, who leads the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz, said at a meeting with Zardari in Islamabad yesterday, according to the official Associated Press of Pakistan.
``Democracy is the best revenge,'' said Zardari, citing a remark made by his wife Benazir Bhutto, the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, who was assassinated Dec. 27. Zardari took over as leader of her party. The Awami National Party is also a member of the alliance.
The parties are calling on President Pervez Musharraf, who took power in a military coup in 1999, to resign after the defeat of his supporters in the Feb. 18 election. The new government will restore Pakistan's 1973 Constitution and reinstate judges fired under Musharraf's state of emergency decree in November, Sharif said.
They said they have at least 171 newly elected members. Voters were choosing 272 lawmakers for the 342-member Parliament. The remaining seats will be filled by women and minorities selected by lawmakers at a later date.
The three parties have a two-thirds majority of the announced election results for the assembly and seat numbers are ``expected to increase in the future,'' Sharif said.
The PPP won the most seats by a single party. The Awami National Party ousted pro-Taliban religious parties in the North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan.
Steer the Country
The three parties will work together to steer the country through the crisis it is facing, Zardari, 51, said after the meeting, according to APP.
``Pakistan stands on the verge of disaster, but also on the verge of opportunity'' for democracy and stability, he said. The Pakistani people must ``struggle for a single purpose, the sovereignty of Parliament.''
There must be no delay in convening the new National Assembly, APP cited Sharif, 58, as saying.
Musharraf, 64, imposed emergency rule for six weeks on Nov. 3 and fired about 60 judges, days before the Supreme Court was due to rule on the legitimacy of him securing a second five-year term as president. He declared the state of emergency following months of demonstrations against his rule.
The election campaign was marred by terrorist attacks including the killing of Bhutto.
Musharraf told the Wall Street Journal last week he isn't considering resigning or retiring and wants to help bring about a democratic government in Pakistan.
President George W. Bush continues to back Musharraf ``for all the work that he's done to help us in counterterrorism,'' White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Feb. 25 in Washington.
The Pakistani leader has met U.S. calls to step down as army chief, lift a state of emergency and hold free and fair elections, Perino said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighebloomberg.net.
``The nation has given its verdict,'' Sharif, who leads the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz, said at a meeting with Zardari in Islamabad yesterday, according to the official Associated Press of Pakistan.
``Democracy is the best revenge,'' said Zardari, citing a remark made by his wife Benazir Bhutto, the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, who was assassinated Dec. 27. Zardari took over as leader of her party. The Awami National Party is also a member of the alliance.
The parties are calling on President Pervez Musharraf, who took power in a military coup in 1999, to resign after the defeat of his supporters in the Feb. 18 election. The new government will restore Pakistan's 1973 Constitution and reinstate judges fired under Musharraf's state of emergency decree in November, Sharif said.
They said they have at least 171 newly elected members. Voters were choosing 272 lawmakers for the 342-member Parliament. The remaining seats will be filled by women and minorities selected by lawmakers at a later date.
The three parties have a two-thirds majority of the announced election results for the assembly and seat numbers are ``expected to increase in the future,'' Sharif said.
The PPP won the most seats by a single party. The Awami National Party ousted pro-Taliban religious parties in the North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan.
Steer the Country
The three parties will work together to steer the country through the crisis it is facing, Zardari, 51, said after the meeting, according to APP.
``Pakistan stands on the verge of disaster, but also on the verge of opportunity'' for democracy and stability, he said. The Pakistani people must ``struggle for a single purpose, the sovereignty of Parliament.''
There must be no delay in convening the new National Assembly, APP cited Sharif, 58, as saying.
Musharraf, 64, imposed emergency rule for six weeks on Nov. 3 and fired about 60 judges, days before the Supreme Court was due to rule on the legitimacy of him securing a second five-year term as president. He declared the state of emergency following months of demonstrations against his rule.
The election campaign was marred by terrorist attacks including the killing of Bhutto.
Musharraf told the Wall Street Journal last week he isn't considering resigning or retiring and wants to help bring about a democratic government in Pakistan.
President George W. Bush continues to back Musharraf ``for all the work that he's done to help us in counterterrorism,'' White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Feb. 25 in Washington.
The Pakistani leader has met U.S. calls to step down as army chief, lift a state of emergency and hold free and fair elections, Perino said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighebloomberg.net.
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