If, as analysts suspect, the coalition splits, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's PML-N party, currently the second biggest, looks likely to emerge as the victor, thanks to support from the PML-Q party formed by Mr Musharraf when he toppled Mr Sharif nine years ago.

Mr Sharif said he was intent on quashing militancy but suggested he would seek to lower the profile of the US in Pakistan, perhaps mindful of the fact many Pakistanis blame rising violence in their country on the close alliance Mr Musharraf formed with the Bush administration. "We are not opposed to the Americans and I know they have their own fears, but any policy devised to deal with these issues should not be perceived as an American issue," he said.