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ISLAMABAD, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Pakistan's main opposition group will not push for a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani because to demand such a vote would exacerbate instability, the party said on Tuesday.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) believes a vote would "damage the whole country," party chairman Raja Zafar-ul-Haq told Reuters.
The PML-N's decision means Gilani's fragile Pakistan People's Party-led government could survive the country's latest political crisis after a key partner withdrew on Sunday, depriving the government of a majority.
With little support, the U.S.-backed government will face an even tougher struggle to strengthen the economy, ease poverty and tackle militancy.
PML-N spokesman Ahsan Iqbal said "at the moment, a no-confidence vote does not look like a possibility".
"It's a matter of concern for the government which has turned into a minority (in parliament) as to how they will effectively run its affairs," he said.
The upheaval coincides with increased U.S. pressure on Pakistan to hunt down Islamist militant groups to help it turn around the faltering war in Afghanistan. (Reporting by Kamran Haider; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Daniel Magnowski)
(For more Reuters coverage of Pakistan, see: http://www.reuters.com/places/pakistan)
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