US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Pakistan's election of a new president Saturday was a positive sign for the civilian government of the US ally in the fight against terrorism. Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of slain former leader Benazir Bhutto, won a landslide victory to take over from Pervez Musharraf as head of state. "I'm looking forward to working with him," Rice told reporters as she flew from Tunisia to Algeria during a trip to North Africa. Zardari, already head of the main ruling party, helped lead the coalition that forced Musharraf to quit as head of the nuclear-armed Muslim nation of more than 160 million people. Musharraf, a former general and army head, had seized power nine years ago in a military coup.