Bhutto's widower calls for unity

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- The husband of assassinated Benazir Bhutto has called for a government of national unity -- but failed to say how it would work with President Pervez Musharraf.

Asif Ali Zardari, co-chair of the Pakistan People's Party, made his comments as U.S. President Bush said he hoped the new Pakistan government would be "friends of the United States."

Zardari, Bhutto's widower, is also scheduled Thursday to meet Nawaz Sharif, whose own party came second in Monday's election.

PPP Senator Mian Raza Rabbani said coalition options would be discussed with Sharif but the PPP will not talk to Musharraf's parliamentary allies.

Zardari said: "We are going to make a government of national consensus... I think the democratic forces of the world will stand with Pakistan and democracy.

"The people of Pakistan have spoken and the parliament will be functional and every decision and every relationship will be according to the parliament and the democratic forces of Pakistan."

Although the parliamentary elections do not directly affect Musharraf, the poor showing of his allies is widely seen as dissatisfaction with his rule -- and has raised questions about whether he can stay on as president.

A U.S. official who is not authorized to speak for attribution said Wednesday the elections "cast doubt" on Musharraf's future, but said it was too early to know whether Musharraf will remain president.

Washington has poured billions of dollars in aid into Musharraf's government in an effort to contain the threat of Islamic extremism along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, and is often called a key U.S. ally in the war on terror.

But Pakistanis largely disapprove of the way Musharraf has carried out his part of the "war on terror," using it to explain many of his unpopular moves.

Analysts say it is unlikely that a new government will be as aggressive on counterterrorism issues as the U.S. would like.

Bush said: "I appreciate the fact that President Musharraf has done exactly that which he said he was going to do. He said he would hold elections, he said he would get rid of his emergency law.

"It's now time for the newly elected folks to show up and form their government. And the question then is, will they be friends of the United States? And I certainly hope so. We view Pakistan as an important ally." Watch Bush comment on the Pakistan election »

Pakistan Muslim League-Q party, which backs Musharraf, has conceded defeat in Monday's polls, and unofficial results published on Pakistan's Election Commission Web site underscore its poor showing.

The commission says the PPP People's Party -- led by Benazir Bhutto until her assassination in December -- has received 86 seats for the 342 seat National Assembly.

Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N party has 66, and the PML-Q party, which backs Musharraf, received 40 seats.

A smattering of small parties won 80 seats, and 70 other seats -- 60 for women and 10 for minorities -- are to be assigned according to the percentages each party gained in the election.

Musharraf said Wednesday he intends to remain in office and work with the new government.

In an interview posted on the Wall Street Journal's Web site Wednesday, Musharraf said: "We have to move forward in a way that we bring about a stable democratic government to Pakistan."

He added: "We have to go for conciliatory politics and harmonious interaction within the government, between various parties and between the prime minister and the government."

Musharraf told the Journal the election outcome was a reflection of the country's economic problems, sympathy for opposition leader Bhutto -- who was slain last December -- and his decision to rein in judges as part of last autumn's emergency decree

Musharraf's spokesman, retired Gen. Rashid Qureshi, told CNN Wednesday when that a president's role "in no way causes friction with the responsibilities of the prime minister."

Qureshi said he did not know of any talks between the leaders and Musharraf about the president's future role, adding he had heard that all the parties could work with Musharraf except for Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N. E-mail to a friend

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