Pakistan MPs to elect premier on Monday

PAKISTAN: President Pervez Musharraf Thursday summoned Pakistan's new parliament to convene on March 24 to elect a prime minister, his spokesman said, ahead of a looming political showdown.

The new lower house of parliament, or national assembly, met for the first time this week after elections last month in which the parties of former premiers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif trounced Musharraf's allies.

"The president has been pleased to summon the national assembly on Monday, March 24 at 4:00 pm (1100 GMT) for ascertainment of the member who commands the confidence of the majority of members of the assembly," Musharraf's spokesman Major General Rashid Qureshi told AFP.

Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) won the most seats in the elections but has still not named its candidate for the premiership in the parliament.

Her teenage son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, returned to Pakistan on Wednesday and will announce the nomination for the post when parliament meets on Monday, the PPP said.

Bilawal, a 19-year-old student at Britain's Oxford University, was named Bhutto's heir apparent after her slaying.

He is completing his studies, and in the interim his father Asif Ali Zardari has taken the reins. Friday, AFP