The New Nation - Internet Edition

WITH the Pakistan People's Party of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto becoming the biggest winner in the just held elections and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) emerging a close second, the focus of attention is on how the course of events now shape up as the United States has termed the elections credible while the Muslim League (Q), the major party that supports President Pervez Musharraf, has accepted the results.

Ms Bhutto's widower and the PPP leader, Asif Ali Zardari, said his party would "form a government of national consensus which will take along every democratic force". Former PM, Nawaz Sharif said earlier that he was prepared to discuss joining a coalition with Mr Zardari's party in order "to rid Pakistan of dictatorship forever". Nawaz Sharif, allowed back from exile three months ago, had urged Musharraf to accept he was no longer wanted. "He would say when people would want, I will go. Today the people have said what they want," Sharif was quoted as saying. PPP won 88 seats in the Pak National Assembly and PML-N 66 and the two parties together command more than an absolute majority in the house.

Those who want to see democracy to flourish in Pakistan would be interested in observing whether the proposed coalition of PPP and PML-N or the government of national consensus works and leads to a healthy transition to democracy. Nawaz Sharif's remarks about President Parvez Musharraf which may be taken as his revenge but would be of no use if the two parties fail to work together. The two parties now have a great responsibility to prove how democratic they are in their words and deeds and whether they can lead their country to build a corruption-free society. Only a corruption-free and democratic polity is the best guarantee for sustained development of their nation.