Non-Subscriber Extract
Pakistan NWFP parties agree to secular coalition
07 March 2008
EVENT |
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The Pakistan's People's Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP) on 5 March agreed to form a coalition government in the North-West Frontier Province, after finalising a power-sharing formula. |
The NWFP is the ANP's stronghold and the party resumed its dominance there during the 18 February parliamentary elections. The ANP's victory was significant as it was able to roundly defeat the elements of the six-party Islamic alliance, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), that had participated in the polls.
FORECAST |
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The ANP resurgence in the NWFP and other troubled areas such as Swat underlines that Pakistan is not the extremist state it is often portrayed as. The ANP's political fortunes will be determined by how it is able to handle the fallout from military operations in the tribal areas. |