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.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of