Bhutto’s Husband Won’t Seek PM Position

Although the late Benazir Bhutto’s party, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), fared well in Monday’s parliamentary election, her widower, Asif Ali Zardari (a controversial figure known in some circles as “Mr. Ten Percent”), isn’t planning to follow in her footsteps as Pakistan’s prime minister.

Meanwhile, President Pervez Musharraf’s standing hangs in the balance; although he won’t step down after several of his allies were unseated in Monday’s vote, Musharraf’s opponents could push for his impeachment if they build enough momentum within the government.

BBC:

Asif Ali Zardari said his PPP party would choose another candidate to lead a coalition government that opposition parties are expected to form.

President Pervez Musharraf has called for reconciliation after his party’s defeat, but he ruled out stepping down.

He said the polls had strengthened moderate forces inside the country.

Mr Zardari, a deeply divisive figure in Pakistani politics who has spent several years in prison on corruption charges, is not an MP and is therefore not currently eligible to serve as prime minister.

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AP photo / Shakil Adil

Asif Ali Zardari (above) isn’t angling to become Pakistan’s prime minister, but his son with Bhutto, Bilawal Zardari, has been nominated as chairman of the PPP.