He met the self-exiled leader of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), former premier Benazir Bhutto, in Dubai last month to discuss the formation of the alliance. Adeel confirmed the meeting and said it was part of his party’s ongoing efforts to form an election alliance of secular and liberal forces.

The ANP conceded the worst ever defeat in 2002 elections in its stronghold NWFP at the hands of MMA and could not even win a single national assembly seat in the province which borders Afghanistan.

Analysts believe that the major reason behind ANP’s defeat was its support to the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Political sources say that a ruling coalition partner, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which has a considerable influence in the urban areas of southern Sindh province, has also initiated an "informal" dialogue with the PPP for cooperation against religious forces.

If the PPP-MQM talks progress satisfactorily, a meeting between Altaf Hussain and Bhutto in London may also materialize in not too distant a future, they expect.

"The parties, which believed in politically marginalizing the religious right and which had a moderate and progressive agenda, must encourage and promote enlightened moderation as advocated by President General Musharraf," Farooq Sattar, the MQM parliamentary leader, opined.

Abdul Khalique Ali, a journalist and political analyst, told IOL "In my opinion, that would be a Herculean task for the secular forces, even if they get united, to damage the MMA vote bank in NWFP and northern Balochistan, without government support."

He cites the secular parties’ tilt towards American policies, ongoing military action in tribal areas and the relatively better performance of the MMA government in NWFP.