Zardari resisted US, Musharraf pressure: Pak media

Zardari, who on Thursday announced along with Sharif that their parties would form a coalition, was offered governments at the centre and at least three of the four provinces if he distanced himself from the PML-N and allied with the PML-Q and other pro-Musharraf forces.

However, Zardari told members of the President's camp who approached him that he did not consider the PML-Q "a political entity", The News reported on Friday.

Despite reservations of some PPP leaders from Punjab on the issue of aligning with the PML-N, Zardari endorsed the idea of forging a coalition with Sharif's outfit and the Awami National Party.

Zardari also expressed confidence that the PPP and PML-N the two most popular parties would sort out all issues to make a workable coalition both at the centre and in the provinces.

PPP, which has emerged as the single largest party with 88 seats and Sharif's PML-N together have 153 seats with votes counted in 258 out of 272 constituencies.

Though Zardari did not talk of pressures from the US at his joint news conference with Sharif on Thursday, PPP sources confirmed that the Americans had "brought tremendous pressure on the PPP co-chairperson to make a coalition government with the likes of the PML-Q and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) but not with the PML-N".

Zardari on Thursday ruled out working with the PML-Q but said he wanted to include the MQM in a national consensus government.

His decision to work with the MQM may have been influenced by that party's strong performance in PPP's traditional stronghold of Sindh, especially the commercial hub of Karachi.

The PML-N's foremost priority - the reinstatement of judges deposed during last year's emergency did not get approval from Washington despite the fact that this is the most popular demand of the people within Pakistan, The News reported.

The PPP, a source said, is not averse to the reinstatement of the deposed judges but only differs with the PML-N on the strategy for this.

Initially, it was the PPP's slain chairperson Benazir Bhutto who publicly called deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry "her chief justice and demanded the reinstatement of all sacked judges".

However, following pressure from the US she avoided the demand for the restoration of judges.

But later, while addressing her last public meeting, Bhutto resolved that the deposed judges would be restored.

Though Sharif has insisted on the reinstatement of the judges and his stand garnered him many votes in the February 18 polls, the PPP leadership wants to resolve it through parliament and by devising a new system for the appointment of judges.