Pakistan Opposition Leaders Form Ruling Coalition

Pakistan’s two major opposition leaders agreed today to one “common agenda” and will form a coalition government, the BBC reports. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari—widower of Benazir Bhutto and now head of the Pakistan People's Party—called for the immediate reinstatement of Pakistan’s chief justice, signaling the depth of the challenge to President Pervez Musharraf.

Zardari said no members of Musharraf’s party would be asked to join the governing coalition; Sharif has said, in reference to the president, he wants “to rid Pakistan of dictatorship forever.” It remains unclear who will emerge as prime minister from the parties that won the most seats in Monday's election; Zardari said there remained “a lot of ground to cover.” (More Pakistan stories.)