Pakistan PM sworn in as president urges continuity

23/11/2002| IslamWeb

Pakistan's newly elected prime minister was sworn in on Saturday as the country returned to civilian rule, ending three years of military dictatorship. Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali of the pro-military Pakistan Muslim League (PML) repeated the oath after President Pervez Musharraf, who with the power to dismiss parliament and five more years in office is expected to dominate the new leadership.

Jamali has vowed to continue Musharraf's key policies, including supporting the United States in its hunt for al Qaeda and Taliban operatives in Pakistan and Afghanistan .

But he could have a rough ride in parliament, with the PML short of a majority and two formidable forces in opposition -- the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) led by exiled ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the fiercely anti-U.S. religious right.

"I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan, that as prime minister of Pakistan I will discharge my duties and perform my functions honestly, in the best of my ability, faithfully, in accordance with the constitution of the Islamic republic of Pakistan and the law," the portly 58-year-old Jamali said.

Musharraf immediately called for continuity of his policies, which have won him powerful friends in Washington and among investors impressed with economic reforms.

"Whatever projects have been started should be seen through to their logical ends in these next five years so that Pakistan can progress and prosper," the general told reporters.

In an early sign of that continuity, Shaukat Aziz, the respected outgoing finance minister, was named economic adviser to Jamali.

HOW LONG WILL IT LAST?

The prospect of a parliament divided between pro- and anti-military parties has led commentators to speculate about the government's speedy collapse even before it is fully formed.

"Those investors who are waiting to see which way the post-Musharraf politics lean will end up speculating when the government will fall," wrote the Daily Times in an editorial entitled "Jamali's crown of thorns".

Jamali, described by friends as a moderate Muslim, won 172 votes of the 328 cast in Thursday's prime ministerial ballot with the help of smaller parties and some defectors from his larger rivals.

The ceremony at the presidential palace in Islamabad, attended by religious and political leaders, diplomats and top military officers, also involved the swearing in of 14 cabinet ministers, three of them "dissident" PPP members who backed Jamali's candidacy.

"I think this team is pretty good, very competent. I have no doubts about how they will perform so I think they will live up to expectations," Musharraf said.

Looking on at the ceremony was Fazal-ur-Rehman, the firebrand pro-Taliban religious leader who won 86 votes on Thursday ahead of the PPP's candidate Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who won 70 votes.

Jamali's victory was a relief for Washington and international investors who had fretted over the stunning gains by the hardline Islamic coalition and the possibility at one stage that Rehman could become prime minister.

The religious right won 60 seats in the October 10 poll, compared with just two at the previous election, handing it the balance of power between the pro-military PML and the anti-Musharraf PPP which came second in the vote.

Rehman and other senior clerics campaigned on a fiercely anti-U.S. platform, vowing to force the U.S. military to leave Pakistan and to introduce strict Islamic sharia law.

Married with four sons and a daughter, Jamali faces his first test in two months when he must win a vote of confidence in the National Assembly.

PHOTO CAPTION

Pakistani Muslims gather in a mosque to break their fast on the third Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan in Lahore on November 22. REUTERS/Mohsin Raza