PM Candidate Seen As Tough on Musharraf

Via AP -

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's prime minister-in-waiting has the experience and track record to hold together an unwieldy coalition as it moves to neutralize President Pervez Musharraf, lawmakers and analysts said Sunday.

But Yousaf Raza Gilani also has a personal reason to ignore Musharraf's appeals for cooperation: he spent years in jail under the U.S.-backed leader.

Lawmakers are expected to confirm him in a parliamentary vote Monday. He is a shoo-in after opposition parties swept elections last month and Musharraf is then expected to swear him in Tuesday.

"Mr. Gilani is a man who suffered from Musharraf's martial law," said Ahsan Iqbal, a lawmaker for one of four parties which have agreed to form a new coalition government and are expected to elect him with a thumping majority. "He understands well that getting rid of dictatorship is important."

Gilani, a loyalist of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, will lead an administration facing mounting economic problems, including double-digit inflation, power shortages and sagging foreign investment.

Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party named Gilani as its candidate on Saturday after winning the largest bloc in parliament in Feb. 18 elections.

Western governments fearful of a resurgence of al-Qaida in Pakistan's ungoverned region bordering Afghanistan urgently want to know what changes the government will make to Musharraf's unpopular, military-led policies against Islamic extremism.

In a speech marking Pakistan's national day on Sunday, Musharraf hailed the start of a "new era of real democracy" in Pakistan and vowed to support the new cabinet.

"I hope the new government can maintain peace and the fast pace of socio-economic development in Pakistan," Musharraf said at a parade of jets and missiles from Pakistan's nuclear-capable arsenal. "And I hope it will also continue our struggle against the curse of terrorism and extremism with the same force."

However, the declared priority for the parties which won the parliamentary vote is bolstering democracy by further capping Musharraf's already diminished powers.

"All political forces have to work together to take the country out of this crisis," Gilani said Sunday, vowing to restore the independence of Pakistan's judges and media.

Asked whether he would work with Musharraf or push him from office, he said only: "I will follow the constitution."