After successful elections of the National Assembly speaker, deputy speaker and prime minister, the PPP and the PML-N — the two major partners in the eight-party ruling alliance — are now busy finalising their strategy for the upcoming presidential election.

In this connection, a delegation comprising representatives of both parties met the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leaders in Islamabad late on Monday night to seek its support for the joint candidate of the ruling coalition, Asif Ali Zardari.

While agreeing to support the government’s candidates for the offices of NA speaker, deputy speaker and prime minister, the MQM-P had refused to give its commitment to vote for the nominee for president, Mr Zardari, due to some political differences with the PPP.

Sources said a misunderstanding between the two parties was created when the MQM came to know about the reports that while discussing the power-sharing formula, the PPP had asked the PML-N leadership not to include the MQM-P in the ruling coalition when they already had the required numbers to form the government at the Centre.

However, the sources said, the MQM-P has sought more time on the issue of presidential election, vowing to come up with a decision after a thorough discussion on it in a meeting of the party’s coordination committee.

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