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Mohammad Shehzad in Islamabad
With no party in a position to form a government on its own, horse-trading is in full swing in Islamabad as small and big political combinations try to achieve critical mass.
The Pakistan Muslim League -- Quaid-e-Azam, widely believed to be representing the military regime in the elections, has sent feelers to a former federal minister who has won two national assembly seats.
The former minister was contacted by a top-ranking military official with Rs 30 million on offer -- 20 million to join PML-Q and 10 million to vacate one of the seats he has won in favour of a pro-government candidate.
The surprising success of pro-Taliban Islamist parties, meanwhile, seems to have put President Pervez Musharraf in a tight spot.
The overall situation is also not in the US interest. Sources in the US embassy said the Bush administration had not taken kindly to the electoral successes of the Mutehida Majlise Amal.
The MMA was formed with the blessings of the military junta in 1999 for the political isolation of the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League.
Washington was upset when it learnt that some MMA leaders had attributed their victory to the prayers of Osama bin Ladin and Mulla Omar.
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