Gilani named Pak PM
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
ISLAMABAD, Mar 24 (Agencies): Pakistan's parliament has elected Benazir Bhutto loyalist Yousaf Raza Gilani as the nation's new prime minister.
Gilani was a longtime aide to Bhutto, the slain opposition leader whose party now dominates the legislature after last month's elections.
The National Assembly voted 264-42 Monday to confirm Gilani to the post.
He will be sworn in Tuesday by President Pervez Musharraf.
He will form a new government dominated by Musharraf's foes, who have vowed to slash the US-backed president's sweeping powers and review his counterterrorism policies. Bhutto's party routed Musharraf's allies in parliamentary elections last month.
Gilani also vowed to seek the release of judges detained under President Pervez Musharraf.
Gilani immediately shook hands with Bhutto's son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who wiped tears from his face and smiled. His mother held the post of prime minister twice before being killed in a suicide attack in December.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's deposed chief justice made his first public appearance in four months Monday, soon after the new parliament elected opposition candidate Gilani as its new PM.
Soon after, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry waved to supporters from the balcony of his house, where he had been held since November 3.
Pakistan's state-run news agency quoted a senior Islamabad administrator as saying that all judges detained under the government of Musharraf were now free.
However, it was not clear if Chaudry was yet free to leave his house.
Gilani was a longtime aide to Bhutto, the slain opposition leader whose party now dominates the legislature after last month's elections.
The National Assembly voted 264-42 Monday to confirm Gilani to the post.
He will be sworn in Tuesday by President Pervez Musharraf.
He will form a new government dominated by Musharraf's foes, who have vowed to slash the US-backed president's sweeping powers and review his counterterrorism policies. Bhutto's party routed Musharraf's allies in parliamentary elections last month.
Gilani also vowed to seek the release of judges detained under President Pervez Musharraf.
Gilani immediately shook hands with Bhutto's son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who wiped tears from his face and smiled. His mother held the post of prime minister twice before being killed in a suicide attack in December.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's deposed chief justice made his first public appearance in four months Monday, soon after the new parliament elected opposition candidate Gilani as its new PM.
Soon after, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry waved to supporters from the balcony of his house, where he had been held since November 3.
Pakistan's state-run news agency quoted a senior Islamabad administrator as saying that all judges detained under the government of Musharraf were now free.
However, it was not clear if Chaudry was yet free to leave his house.