Imran Khan hints at joining hands with Musharraf

The political scene in Pakistan appears to be heating up, with cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's Tehrik-e-Insaf party indicating that it is open to an alliance with former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.

The party's new vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi said a decision on forming an alliance with Musharraf's All Pakistan Muslim League will be taken in due course of time after considering circumstances.

His comments come in the wake of political ripples triggered by the Memogate scandal, which has put the country's powerful army and the executives at loggerheads, leading to speculations about the possibility of early polls and new political alignments.

Musharraf, who has been living outside Pakistan in self-exile since early 2009, recently announced he would return to the country later in January.

Musharraf is expected to set the date for his homecoming while addressing a rally in Karachi by phone on January 8.

During an interaction with the media in Multan on Sunday, Qureshi said, "People from every political party are joining the Tehrik-e-Insaf."

The party is not "just a trend" as it represents "an ideology against the status quo", he said.

Qureshi further said that if all lawmakers of the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz decided to resign from Parliament, the Pakistan People's Party-led government would be left with no option but to call an early election.

The Tehrik-e-Insaf is in no hurry to gain power, said Qureshi, a former foreign minister who recently broke away from the PPP.