Bhutto's party to decide on next Pakistani PM

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The widower of Benazir Bhutto heldtalks with leaders of his Pakistan People's Party on Monday todecide on a candidate for prime minister after agreeing on acoalition that could force President Pervez Musharraf frompower.

Asif Ali Zardari, who became head of the PPP after Bhutto'sassassination in December, signed an agreement on Sunday withformer prime minister Nawaz Sharif to form a coalitiongovernment.

The pact sets the scene for confrontation with U.S. allyMusharraf, particularly as Zardari and Sharif promised toreinstate judges Musharraf dismissed in November, just as theywere expected to rule his October re-election by legislators,while still army chief, unconstitutional.

The two leaders also agreed that the PPP should nominate acandidate for prime minister as it won the most seats inFebruary 18 elections, though not enough to rule alone.Sharif's party came second while the main pro-Musharraf partycame a poor third.

Zardari had begun sounding out members-elect of his partybefore deciding on a candidate, a party spokeswoman said.

"The members have reposed full confidence and given fullauthority to Mr Zardari to name the candidate for the primeminister," Sherry Rehman, a spokeswoman for the party, toldreporters after Zardari met his party members-elect.

Consultations would continue over the next few days andZardari would announce the candidate after Musharraf convenedthe first session of the new National Assembly, she said.

Musharraf said last week it would be a week or more beforethe National Assembly was convened but Sharif and Zardari saidon Sunday the session should be called immediately.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Zardari's deputy and a close aide toBhutto, had been seen as the likely choice for prime ministerbut his absence from Sunday's talks between Zardari and Sharifhas fuelled speculation he might be out of the running.

Ahmed Mukhtar, an industrialist and commerce minister inBhutto's cabinet, has emerged as another strong contender.

SUPPORT FOR ZARDARI

Zardari can't become prime minister because he did notcontest the elections and a prime minister must be a member ofparliament. But some party members want him to stand in aby-election and go for the top job.

"We told him that it's been a tradition that thechairperson of the party should also be prime minister," said aPPP member elected to the National Assembly who met Zardari atthe weekend.

"We told him we will fully support him if he becomes primeminister," said the politician, who declined to be identified.

Western allies and Pakistan's neighbours, concerned aboutinstability in a nuclear-armed state reeling from militantsuicide bombings, fear more political upheaval in case ofconfrontation between the president and the new government.

Sharif, the prime minister then army chief Musharraf oustedin a 1999 military coup, is adamant that Musharraf must stepdown although Zardari has not been so outspoken.

But both of them have vowed to banish the military-ledestablishment from politics and spoken of the need to scrappresidential powers to dismiss a government.

Sharif had also been insisting the judges Musharrafdismissed be reinstated.

The judges, including the former Supreme Court chiefjustice, are likely to take up legal challenges to Musharraf ifthey are restored, as Zardari and Sharif promised to do within30 days of the formation of a government.

Two smaller parties have also agreed to join a PPP-ledcoalition and together the four parties would control more thantwo-thirds of lower house seats. That would put them in astrong position if they wanted to try to impeach Musharraf.

(Editing by Robert Birsel and Sanjeev Miglani)

(For a Reuters blog about Pakistan please see:

http://blogs.reuters.com/pakistan)