PPP will not move against Musharraf without two-thirds majority

Islamabad, Feb 21 : The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which won the most number of seats in the new Parliament, said it would not move against President Musharraf if it could not muster a two-thirds majority needed to impeach him.

The party does not have a simple majority of its own and will have to enter into a coalition arrangement to form a government. It is holding discussions with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) which came second in the polls.

PPP officials say a coalition of the two parties would have the necessary simple majority, including reserved seats allocated for women, to form a government and nominate a prime minister.

"Beyond that, it would need to bring in smaller parties or some independents. Any move against Musharraf depends how strong we are in coalition," said Rehman Malik, a senior PPP official.

Malik further added that the most senior members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) had lost their seats. He said those who had won were not so strongly affiliated with the party as to be unacceptable.

He said it would take three or four more days of talks to work out the modalities for a coalition.

ANI