Bhutto's Party Delays PM Decision

Benazir Bhutto's party deferred its choice for PM candidate today, adding greater uncertainty to Pakistan's volatile political landscape, Bloomberg reports. Makhdoom Amin Fahim, the Pakistan People's Party's No. 2 and a longtime Bhutto loyalist, had been expected to take the top job today. But a meeting of the party's newly elected MPs split up without even discussing whom they would nominate.

The final decision on who will become prime minister lies with Asif Ali Zardari, the PPP's leader and Bhutto's widower. Fahim brushed aside reporters' questions about the delay, saying only, "This is democracy." A Pakistan newspaper reported yesterday that the new parliament's first action will be a resolution calling on Pervez Musharraf to face a confidence vote or step down. (More Makhdoom Amin Fahim stories.)