Bhutto's widower wins Pakistani election

Slain leader's husband to succeed Musharraf as president; vote yet unofficial but landslide expected.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Asif Ali Zardari 224.88 ap (photo credit: AP [file])
Asif Ali Zardari 224.88 ap
(photo credit: AP [file])
The widower of slain former leader Benazir Bhutto will succeed Pervez Musharraf as president of Pakistan after winning a landslide election victory Saturday. Unofficial results announced after separate votes in the federal and provincial assemblies showed Asif Ali Zardari winning an overwhelming majority. Pro-Zardari lawmakers, some in tears, shouted "Long live Bhutto!" as the figures came in. The couple's two jubilant but tearful daughters, one carrying a portrait of their late mother, smiled and hugged friends in the gallery of the National Assembly. But Saturday also brought a brutal reminder of the threats to the nuclear-armed nation's stability, when a suicide car bomber killed at least 13 people and wounded dozens near the northwestern city of Peshawar. The blast destroyed a police checkpoint, collapsed several shops nearby and left a one-meter crater in the road. Civilians dug frantically with their hands in hopes of finding survivors. Already head of the main ruling party, Zardari becomes one of the most powerful civilian leaders in Pakistan's turbulent 61-year history. Last month, he marshaled a coalition that forced longtime US ally Musharraf to quit as head of state. Zardari, a novice leader untested on the international stage and stained by past corruption allegations, takes over at a critical time for the volatile, nuclear-armed Muslim nation of more than 160 million. Pakistan's economy is crumbling, and Saturday's attack was the latest in a string of suicide bombings usually claimed by Islamic militants who have steadily gained strength since Pakistan joined the US war on terrorism in 2001. Washington is pressing Pakistan hard to eradicate Taliban and al-Qaida havens near its border with Afghanistan. An American-led ground attack said to have killed at least 15 in Pakistani territory Wednesday sparked outrage and embarrassed Zardari's party. Government ministers hailed Zardari's expected victory as a triumph for democracy nine years after Musharraf seized power in a military coup. Musharraf, a former general, stepped down from the army last year, but only after imposing a state of emergency to fend off legal challenges to winning another term, this time as a civilian head of state. Zardari says he will give some of the powers accumulated by Musharraf back to Parliament, but has not made clear how far he will go, sustaining concern that one strongman is replacing another. Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said Saturday's bombing was an attempt to upset the progress of a country riven by ethnic and sectarian divides toward a more stable democratic federation. If a reported Taliban claim of responsibility proves correct, "They'll have to pay for it," he said. Like his late wife, Zardari is generally considered a pro-West liberal, and he is not expected to change Pakistan's commitment as an ally in the US war on terrorism despite the recent raid and suspected US missile strikes along the border. Zardari and senior party officials have matched Musharraf's tough line against terrorism, insisting the battle against militants is Pakistan's own war. But a key test will be how much clout Zardari wields over Pakistan's powerful military, which has failed to halt the Taliban's rise in the nation's northwest despite stop-start battles. The president has the power to dissolve Parliament and appoint army chiefs, and chairs the joint civilian-military committee that controls Pakistan's nuclear weapons. A horse-loving aristocrat who has spent about 11 years in prison on corruption allegations that never resulted in a conviction, Zardari has surprised many with his ability to concentrate power since his wife was killed in a December gun-and-bomb attack and he inherited her party's leadership. After ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party switched to the opposition last month, Zardari quickly won support from smaller parties, suggesting he could give the country some stability as it faces economic challenges that include soaring inflation, power shortages and widening trade and budget deficits. Saturday's voting bore that out. A tally by The Associated Press of the results showed Zardari with 488 of the 685