Pak parliament to elect PM on March 24

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday summoned Pakistan's parliament on March 24 to elect the new Prime Minister, though there was still no word from the Pakistan People's Party and its allies on their nominee for the top post.

Musharraf received the official communique regarding the convening of the National Assembly to elect the leader of the House from the Prime Minister's Secretariat on Thursday morning.

The President signed the summary and summoned the lower house of parliament to meet at 4 pm on Monday, presidential spokesman Major General (retired) Rashid Qureshi said.

"The President has been pleased to summon the National Assembly for ascertainment of the member who commands the confidence of the majority of members of the assembly," he said in a statement.

After last month's general election, Pakistan's new National Assembly was convened for the first time on March 17, when the newly elected parliamentarians took oath. The speaker and deputy speaker of the House were elected by the Members of Parliament on Wednesday, following which the session was prorogued.

Fehmida Mirza and Faisal Karim Kundi, the Pakistan People's Party candidates for speaker and deputy speaker respectively, were elected by a two-thirds majority.

The PPP, which is set to form the government with the backing of its allies the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz, the Awami National Party and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, is yet to name its prime ministerial candidate.

The party is grappling with differences on the issue following the sidelining of vice chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim, who was the front-runner for the slot.

PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has recalled his teenaged son Bilalwal Bhutto Zardari,  who was made the party's chairman following the assassination of his mother Benazir Bhutto last year, from Britain to announce the nominee for premiership, in a bid to prevent any dissension in the ranks.

Bilawal, who returned to Pakistan on Wednesday and went to Bhutto's ancestral village of Naudero in Sindh province, traveled from Karachi to Islamabad on Friday.

PPP sources said he is expected to announce the candidate for premiership before the National Assembly is convened on Monday.

Several leaders are in contention for the slot, with Yusuf Raza Gillani being the current front-runner. A majority of PPP lawmakers have suggested that Zardari should himself become the premier after contesting by-polls and reports said the party might name an interim prime ministerial candidate.