The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Washington

The leaders of the newly-formed coalition government in Pakistan intend to start negotiations with Islamic militants in the hope of ending a spate of bombings that has shaken the country, The New York Times reported on its website late Friday. The newspaper said the leaders of the ruling coalition -- Asif Ali Zardari of the Pakistan People's Party and Nawaz Sharif, head of the Pakistan Muslim League-N -- said in interviews that they will use military force only as a last resort. President Pervez Musharraf has summoned the new parliament on Monday to elect a prime minister, which will clear the way for a coalition government hostile to him to start business. The allies of Musharraf, who seized power in a military coup in 1999, lost heavily in the February elections. Benazir Bhutto's widower and co-chairman of the party, Zardari, has held a series of meetings with legislators and coalition partners on the choice of prime minister, but no clear front runner has emerged.