Pervez Musharraf on Monday reached out to the new coalition in Pakistan signalling "smooth and cordial" relations, a day after they set the stage for a confrontation by deciding to reinstate judges sacked by the embattled President.
Pushed to the backfoot after the PPP-PML(N) hammered out a coalition pact under which the deposed judges would get back their jobs, Musharraf also said he will not adopt a path of confrontation with the new government and hoped this will be reciprocated by them.
The danger for Musharraf is that the reinstatement of judges fired by him during last year's Emergency could pose a direct threat to his future since they could rule against the President while hearing petitions challenging his re-election.
After PPP-Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif signed an agreement to form a coalition government yesterday, Musharraf convened a high-level meeting attended by his aides and constitutional experts at his camp office in Rawalpindi.
The meeting decided to have "smooth and cordial relations" with the new parliament and government and not to adopt a confrontational approach, official sources were quoted as saying by Dawn News channel.
The winning parties should "avoid confrontations with the state institutions" and "let the system run in accordance with the constitution," sources quoted the President as saying.
Zardari, meanwhile, is believed to have decided to take over as Prime Minister after three months, The News daily reported. The paper said Zardari had reportedly shared the "multi-million dollar secret" with his party MPs from Hyderabad region on Saturday night when he told them that he would bring a Prime Minister from Punjab for 90 days and become Premier after contesting elections.
Meanwhile,reports quoted Tariq Azim, a former minister and Musharraf ally, as saying Musharraf is not about to quit.
Azim was of the view that the victorious parties would ease their rhetoric against the president as they settle into government.
"They will have to first stabilize themselves. In the process of stabilizing themselves, they will deal with the president and maybe the long-running rift between them and the president gets a thaw," according to Azim.
Zardari continued to hold talks with leaders of his PPP on Monday to decide on the prime ministerial candidate after the party failed to arrive at a consensus last Thursday.
"The members have reposed full confidence and given full authority to Zardari to name the candidate for the prime minister," Sherry Rehman, a spokeswoman for the party rold reporters after the meeting.
Zardari would announce the candidate after Musharraf convened the first session of the national Assembly, she said.
Musharraf had said last week that it would be a week or more before the Assembly is convened but Sharif and Zardari said the session should be convened immediately.
Speculation also continued whether the original frontrunner Makhdoom Amin Fahim will be the first choice of Zardari after he was conspicuous by his absence at Sunday's meeting between PPP and PML-N leaders.
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