Musharraf departure creates challenges

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- The Pakistani ruling coalition that engineered President Pervez Musharraf's resignation must show it is ready to lead, political analysts said.

The coalition -- principally led by Asif Ali Zardari's Pakistani People's Party and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League -- must settle their differences on other issues before cracks in their partnership widen, analysts told Voice of America. While coalition supporters danced in the streets of Islamabad over Musharraf's resignation, others were more subdued, the VOA said.

One resident said Musharraf should not have resigned because he was a good leader.

The report said the coalition partners had held power before and were political opponents in the past -- and that both were dismissed for corruption and mismanagement of the economy.

Current issues over which the coalition partners differ include whether to bring charges against Musharraf, how to reinstate judges dismissed by Musharraf and who will be the next president.

The Financial Times reported that with Musharraf's departure, the tasks before the two parties are creating a government of national unity, rebuilding civilian institutions, restoring economic growth and working with the powerful Pakistani military.