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Zardari emerging as consensus candidate?

ISLAMABAD: The guessing game about Pakistan’s Prime Minister took a twist with Pakistan People’s Party leader Asif Ali Zardari said to have emerged as the consensus choice of the parliamentarians of the party that ended long-drawn out consultations on Tuesday.

But Mr. Zardari continued to proclaim he was not in the running as he wanted to pay attention to strengthening the party, though some newspapers reported him telling parliamentarians from Sindh that he would take up the mantle in three months.

He said this was the reason he was thinking of appointing a 90-day interim Prime Minister from the Punjab province.

Meanwhile, a statement by Khwaja Asif, a Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader, that it was his party that was against the nomination of PPP stalwart Makhdoom Amin Fahim as the Prime Ministerial candidate has shocked political circles.

Mr. Asif said the PML(N) was dead-set against Mr. Fahim because he had contacts with President Pervez Musharraf, and alleged he had even met him the night of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.

Already fuming from being left out of the all-important meeting between the PPP and the PML (N) on Sunday where they agreed to form a coalition government and restore the judiciary, Mr. Fahim strongly denied the allegation that he had a meeting with retired General Musharraf on December 27.

He said all his meetings with General Musharraf were known to the party leadership and that there was nothing secret about them. He also protested strongly to PML(N) leader Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif, and also to Mr. Zardari.

Significantly, the PPP’s top leadership has yet to come to his rescue. All that a statement from party spokesman Farahtullah Babar said was “the remarks were uncalled for.”

The PPP parliamentarians are said to have given Mr. Zardari all the powers to nominate a candidate of his choice as Prime Minister. But no one knows when the announcement will come.

According to party sources, the announcement could come as late as Sunday, just a day before General Musharraf has convened the National Assembly.

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