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Jamali elected Pak. PM

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD NOV. 21. The newly-constituted Pakistan National Assembly today elected pro-Musharraf alliance nominee, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, as the Prime Minister by a razor-thin majority of one vote. He would be administered the oath of office and secrecy by the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, on Saturday.

While there was little doubt about the victory of Mr. Jamali as the Leader of the House, the majority of just one vote and the strong opposition to the foreign policy and the controversial constitutional amendments of Gen. Musharraf have brought to fore the fragility of the new government.

Under the laws of Pakistan, the Prime Minister has to command the confidence of majority of the 342-member National Assembly. There would have been a run-off election had Mr. Jamali got one vote less than the 172 he obtained on the floor of the House. Ultimately, Mr. Jamali made it with the help of 20-odd parties but would have a harrowing time in government-making.

The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam) nicknamed "king's party", which has a strength of 118 members in the Assembly managed to reach the magic number amidst serious charges of horse trading and deals with several smaller parties. Opposition parties have alleged that the gap of 40 days between the October general elections and choosing of the PM has been used by Gen. Musharraf to pass a number of legislative and administrative orders to shore up support for the "king's party".

Two of these measures are considered blatantly partisan. A group of 10 newly elected members of Benazir Bhutto's PPP could float a "forward block" to support the candidature of Mr. Jamali only because Gen. Musharraf had suspended the operation of the provision of anti-defection while reviving the Constitution. But for this support, the pro and anti-Musharraf parties would have been almost evenly matched.

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