Hussain (L), with Zafarullah Khan

ISLAMABAD, November 2 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Pakistan's pro-military government party nominated its candidate for the post of Prime Minister in the recently elected but splintered national parliament, party officials said Saturday, November 2.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), which scored the highest tally with 103 seats won in the October 10 polls, formally agreed to nominate Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"Mr. Jamali is our candidate for the Prime Ministership and we will make a formal announcement to this effect Saturday (today)," PML-Q parliamentary leader Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain told reporters.

Hussain said the choice of Jamali, a former provincial Chief Minister from southwestern Baluchistan province, was based on consensus.

No single party secured the simple majority required to form a government in the 342-seat house in the first polls since President Pervez Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup in October 1999.

Parties remain deadlocked some three weeks after the elections, despite frantic efforts to form coalitions.

Hussain said Jamali's nomination followed consultations with the pro-government National Alliance and the Muhajir-based Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM), which together control 33 seats.

The PML-Q parliamentary leader said his party did not need to enter into a coalition with the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of banned ex-premier Benazir Bhutto - which landed 80 seats, the second highest number in the polls.

Hussain also said there would be no need for the PML-Q to coalesce with the newly-powerful Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) alliance of six Islamic parties, which won an unexpectedly high 59 seats.

Disputes between parties as they attempt to form coalitions are centered on controversial constitutional changes by Musharraf and bickering over key posts, including the Premiership.

The PML-Q and National Alliance, the opposition PPP, and the MMA agreed Thursday, October 31, to appointment a pro-government figure to negotiate on the changes, as part of a six-point agreement signed by them all.

"The parties appointed PML-Q parliamentary leader Hussain to negotiate with the government on the Legal Framework Order because while some of the articles are necessary, some are disputed," MMA spokesman Shahid Shamsi told AFP.

The Legal Framework Order is the ordnance under which Musharraf, flaunting the requirement for parliamentary approval, unilaterally introduced 29 amendments to the 1973 constitution, sparking a storm of outrage.

The PPP and MMA pledged throughout their campaign to overturn the most controversial of the amendments, including presidential powers to sack the elected parliament and the creation of a civilian-military National Security Council tasked with overseeing the government.

The MMA's opposition to key amendments has thwarted efforts by PML-Q, the biggest seat winner, to woo the Islamic bloc, which won the balance of power in the national assembly after huge vote gains.

Shamsi said the MMA's main objection was the National Security Council.

It also wanted parliament to be given the chance to approve or reject the changes, and that Musharraf submit himself to a vote of confidence from the parliament.

"The PML-Q's Shujaat will be the bridge between the parties and the government," he said.

The agreement also declared the 1973 constitution a "unanimous document which no-one should try to dispute."

It stopped short of saying that nobody should try to change it.

Other points of the agreement called on the government to convene the parliament immediately, reaffirmed parliamentary supremacy and sovereignty, and vowed to continue inter-party negotiations on constitutional changes.

"All four parties mutually agreed and signed the agreement," Shamsi said.

Musharraf's pledge on voting day to transfer power on November 1 will not be met.

No date has been announced for convening the parliament, almost three weeks since Pakistanis went to the polls.

The decision to negotiate with the government on the amendments through a pro-government politician, viewed widely in opposition circles as a government stooge, could signal a back down on earlier opposition vows to undo key constitutional changes.

Hussain and Musharraf met for the first time Friday but no details of the meeting emerged.

The winning parties have urged Musharraf to name a date for parliament immediately, saying a clear date would spur them to settle on a coalition and break their deadlock.

Musharraf told a cabinet meeting Thursday that he would set a date once the 60 reserved seats for women, 10 for non-Muslims, were finalized.

The Election Commission announced Friday that all seats reserved for both women and non-Muslim minorities had been finalized, and declared that the house was ready to be called. 

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