Pakistan ? Pakistan’s two main opposition parties announced Thursday they would form a new government together but skirted the issue of whether they would push for the ouster of U.S.-backed President Pervez Musharraf.

The agreement between the secular groups, which tussled over power for a decade before Musharraf seized control in a 1999 coup, marks an important step toward setting up a civilian administration to govern Pakistan after years of military rule.

Asif Ali Zardari, husband of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, and Nawaz Sharif, whose last government was ousted by Musharraf, made the announcement after meeting in Islamabad.

Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party won 87 National Assembly seats in Monday’s election, and Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N won 67 out of the 268 contested seats. The pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League-Q got 40, with the rest going to smaller parties and independent candidates. Six seats have yet to be announced.