Musharraf party willing to share power

WASHNGTON, D.C., Jan. 11 (UPI) -- The political party allied with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf would be willing to form a coalition after the elections, a government official said.

Speaking to editors and reporters of The Washington Times, Mahmud Ali Durrani, Pakistani ambassador to the United States, said the Pakistan Muslim League-Q party would be ready to work with any party to form a government after parliamentary elections set for Feb. 18.

The PML-Q "does not rule out any coalition," Durrani was quoted as saying.

The elections, originally set for Jan. 8, were put off until Feb. 18 in the aftermath of the Dec. 27 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who headed the Pakistan People's Party.

The PPP, now headed by Bhutto's 19-year-old son and her husband, may win many of the sympathy votes but the Times report quoted polls that none of the dozens of parties may win a majority, forcing the need for a coalition government.

Durrani noted, "No political party is going to be averse to (getting together) with any other party."

He said it will be the prime minister who will run the government and that Musharraf won't be controlling power from behind the scenes, the report said.