Islamabad: Stepping up consultations for forming a coalition government in Pakistan, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari discussed possible cooperation with pro-Musharraf MQM's chief Altaf Hussain, a move apparently opposed by PML-N of Nawaz Sharif.

Amid mounting worries about the future of President Pervez Musharraf, the PML-Q, which had backed him , fired the first salvo against the beleaguered leader last night, saying his decision to impose emergency was responsible for its "disastrous" performance in the February 18 polls.

The party, which bagged 39 parliamentary seats in the polls, is to shortly hold an extraordinary meeting here apparently to prevent possible defections of its elected representatives.

Zardari spoke to the London-based Hussain on phone late last night and discussed the political situation in the wake of Monday's general election in which the PPP has emerged the largest party in the National Assembly.

The MQM too performed well in the polls, bagging 19 seats in the lower house of Parliament and emerging as the second largest party in the southern Sindh province, where the PPP is set to form the government.

During their 30-minute conversation, Zardari and Hussain and discussed the possibility of forming a coalition government at the Centre and in Sindh. They said their parties would cooperate with each other and the modalities for power-sharing will be discussed at a later stage. Both leaders agreed to cooperate unconditionally to strengthen democracy in the country.

Source : PTI