"That's Zardari House, the future prime minister's house," police officer Bashir Marwat said, pointing at Pakistan People's Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari's plush residence in Islamabad that has virtually become the ground-zero for Pakistan's political manoeuvring ahead of the formation of a new government.

With the PPP emerging as the biggest party in Monday's general election, bagging 87 of the 268 National Assembly seats for which polls were held, Zardari has set in motion efforts to cobble together a coalition with the support of other 'democratic forces'.

Foreign diplomats and leaders have been making a beeline for Zardari, who met a delegation of US Senators led by John Kerry on Tuesday. The road leading to the bustling Zardari House in the heart of Islamabad has been barricaded by police at both ends and visitors have to make their way to the gate manned by PPP volunteers on foot.

Gun-toting policemen keep a close eye on all visitors entering the area, including journalists.

Marwat is among those who believe it is Zardari, who will be the force behind the next government regardless of the fact that he did not even contest the polls.

"It is time for a change. We have had enough of the past regime. Someone else should get a chance to steer Pakistan out of this mess. Why not Zardari," asks Marwat.

Zardari spoke on phone on Tuesday with former premier Nawaz Sharif, whose Pakistan Muslim League-N bagged 66 seats, and has also established contact with the Asfandyar Wali Khan's Awami National Party, which has performed well in the restive North West Frontier Province.

Sharif and Zardari are expected to meet in Islamabad on Thursday, but their parties may face problems in forging a coalition because of their differences over the reinstatement of the judges who were deposed during last year's emergency.

The PML-N has vowed to reinstate all the judges so that they decide on the legal challenges to Musharraf's re-election in uniform. Zardari has only committed himself to ensuring the independence of the judiciary, possibly because the deposed judges might reopen challenges to a controversial law that granted him and his late wife, former premier Benazir Bhutto [Images], amnesty in corruption cases.

The National Reconciliation Ordinance, passed by Musharraf in October last year, allowed Zardari and Bhutto to return to Pakistan from exile. In view of these differences, the PPP has opened channels of communication with smaller parties like the ANP, which can enable it to form a government with a simple majority.

The PPP is also in touch with Musharraf's close aides, who have reportedly told him to forge alliances with the MQM and ANP and not to join hands with the PML-N.