ISLAMABAD, Saturday (AFP) - The widower of Pakistan's assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto was today considering whether to run for president, but the brittle ruling coalition remained riven by squabbles.
Asif Ali Zardari won the unanimous backing of lawmakers from the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) on Friday but has yet to announce if he will stand in the September 6 poll.
The election follows the resignation of Pervez Musharraf and comes amid a prolonged struggle against Islamic militants who have wreaked havoc across the nuclear-armed nation in suicide bombings and fighting on the Afghan border.
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| Pakistanis protest against the bomb blast in Wah, in Lahore on Friday. Two Pakistani Taliban suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the country's main defence industry complex on Thursday, killing at least 59 people as workers were leaving at the end of their shift. Reuters |
A fragile coalition government comprising the PPP, now led by Zardari, and the party of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, is at loggerheads over how to reinstate dozens of judges sacked by Musharraf last year.
Political instability and a nosediving economy have alarmed Western nations looking for continuity after key US-ally Musharraf's departure but talks between the PPP and Sharif's party have so far failed to resolve the dispute. Zardari is seen as a frontrunner for the presidency despite having previously denied any ambitions for the post made vacant by Musharraf's resignation in the face of impeachment charges.
“Zardari thanked Pakistan People's Party of which he is the co-chairman and said he will announce his decision within the next 24 hours,” Information Minister Sherry Rehman said on Friday, announcing the PPP's backing for Zardari.
The fate of the 60 judges, including the chief justice, has become a political sticking point with crucial repercussions for the coalition.
Troops kill up to 35 militants
PESHAWAR, Saturday (AFP) - Pakistani soldiers killed up to 35 militants in a massive offensive today in northwest Pakistan and at least six people were killed in separate bomb attacks, military and police officials said.
Troops are battling Taliban militants in scenic Swat valley in North West Frontier Province where the violence has left dozens of dead and wounded.
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