Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani held talks Monday with leaders of Political Parties to explore the possibility of a new alliance after a key party left the ruling coalition. Sunday's announcement by the Muttahidah Qaumi Movement (MQM), the second-largest party in the coalition, to switch to the opposition, has left Gilani with 12 votes short of the required 172 seats to retain a parliamentary majority, according to a report of the German Press Agency "DPA". The MQM, which has 25 seats in the 342-member parliament, announced that it was quitting the ruling coalition. Gilani was expected to meet with Mian Shahbaz Sharif, the chief minister of the province of Punjab, and leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party. "The meeting is being held today on the request of the prime minister. The two leaders will discuss the political situation that emerged after the MQM left the coalition," said a PML-N spokesman. The PML-N, the largest opposition force, is lead by Sharif, a two-time former premier, and holds 91 seats in the lower house of parliament. The premier is also expected to meet Chaudhry Shujat Hussain, leader of the second-largest opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), which has 50 members in the National Assembly. The MQM was the second coalition party to abandon the government. Last month, a smaller ally, Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam, quit over the sacking of one minister from the party.
