The elections were postponed to February 18, 2008. Musharraf’s party was routed, while the parties of former prime ministers Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, also recently returned from exile, won control of the national assembly (Pakistan’s parliament). Musharraf continued as president. Mrs. Bhutto’s husband, Asif Ali Zardari, became the new head of her party, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), while the party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML-N), joined the PPP to form a coalition government.
