The party of slain Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto nominated a close associate of her widower to be parliament's first female speaker yesterday, but divisions remained over who should be the next prime minister.
Fahmida Mirza, a businesswoman and three-time lawmaker, will become the first woman speaker of the National Assembly, or lower house, if approved as expected in a parliamentary vote tomorrow.
Her husband is a longtime confidant of Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower and now party leader, thought to have a final say over the party's nominations.
Faisal Karim Kundi, who defeated a pro-Taliban incumbent for his parliamentary seat in Pakistan's volatile northwest, was nominated by the party as deputy speaker.
The new parliament convened on Monday for the first time since opponents of US-backed Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf swept to victory in last month's elections. They promise to slash his powers but face challenges themselves, including high inflation and raging Islamic militancy.
"Broken institutions are being handed to us and Musharraf is keeping powers for himself," said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted by Musharraf in a 1999 military coup and sent into exile until last November.
"God willing, we will take those powers from him," Sharif said late on Monday at a dinner with lawmakers from his party.
The nuclear-armed nation of 160 million people has been under military rule for most of its 60-year history, including the past eight after Musharraf seized power following a series of civilian governments that were accused of corruption and incompetence in the 1990s.
With the second largest number of parliament seats, Sharif's followers have pledged to form a coalition government with Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, which won the largest number. It falls to the PPP to name a prime minister, and party spokesman Farhatullah Babar said yesterday an announcement would be made before a parliamentary vote by next week.
Neither Mirza nor Kundi were mentioned as possible candidates for prime minister. But there is speculation that if Mirza, who is from Sindh Province, becomes speaker, the prime minister would likely hail from the largest province of Punjab.
The initial front-runner for the job, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, has expressed frustration that his nomination has not been announced. Shortly after Bhutto's Dec. 27 assassination in a suicide attack, Zardari told reporters that Bhutto had wanted Fahim to be the party's candidate for prime minister.
"What have I done wrong to my party?" he said on Saturday in an interview with Pakistan's Express news channel.
On Monday, Fahim had to pass by banners near parliament imploring him not to "betray" the party by insisting on the premiership -- but still received a rousing welcome from fellow lawmakers in the house.
Fahim said he would only stand aside for Zardari.
"If Zardari wishes to become prime minister, I will propose his name," he said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's top court was due to meet yesterday amid a looming showdown between the country's new parliament and President Musharraf over judges he deposed last year.
The Musharraf-appointed Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, who succeeded sacked top judge Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, was to chair a rare full meeting of all 15 judges of the Supreme Court.
No agenda has been announced for the extraordinary meeting, which comes a day after the parliament dominated by Musharraf opponents was formally inducted following last month's election.
The incoming ruling coalition has pledged to restore about 60 judges including Chaudhry through a parliamentary resolution within the next 30 days.
A court official said there was no fixed agenda for the meeting.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including