New Pakistan PM sworn in by Musharraf

PAKISTAN: Pakistan's new prime minister was sworn in by President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday, as two top US envoys arrived in an apparent bid to secure the new government's backing for the "war on terror".

Yousuf Raza Gilani, a top aide of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, was elected as premier on Monday by parliament, where an anti-Musharraf coalition won an overwhelming majority in elections last month. The volatile situation facing Musharraf, a key US ally against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, was underscored when Gilani almost immediately freed judges who were detained by the president because they threatened his grip on power.

Supporters chanted "Long Live Bhutto" after Gilani, dressed in a black traditional sherwani outfit, finished repeating the oath read out by a grim-faced Musharraf in a ceremony at the presidential palace.

There were no speeches by Musharraf or Gilani, who spent five years in jail under Musharraf's government on corruption charges that he says were politically motivated.

The ceremony came as US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher arrived in Pakistan for talks with Musharraf, Gilani and former premier Nawaz Sharif, officials said.

Washington has staunchly backed Musharraf, a former general who seized power in a coup in 1999, ever since he backed the US-led invasion of Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

Analysts say the US administration is now desperate to woo the new coalition government despite its hostility to Musharraf, partly relying on the fact that Bhutto was a pro-Western enemy of Islamic extremists. Tuesday, AFP