Shujaat meets Musharraf

29 Jun, 2004

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain held his first meeting as prime minister-designate with President Pervez Musharraf here on Monday and discussed the aftermath of Jamali's resignation including cabinet formation.
Prime Minister-in-waiting Senator Shaukat Aziz and Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi were also present during the meeting.
According to an official handout, the President greeted Shujaat on his nomination as prime minister, and hoped, he would come up to the confidence reposed in him by his party and public representatives.
The National Assembly has been summoned to meet on Tuesday afternoon for a special session to elect leader of the House, where Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy's nominee, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, will confront Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.
The MMA is likely to abstain from voting, but possibly its Samiul Haq-led component, comprising two votes, would vote for Shujaat Hussain.
"Had Shujaat been in for a long-term stake, we would have voted for him," a senior MMA leader said.
In the House of 342, the prime minister-designate is likely to beg 192 votes as against Amin Fahim's 77 or 78.
Zafarullah Khan Jamali won the premiership by a wafer-thin majority of one vote in November 2002.
Sources said with minor reshuffling almost all members of the outgoing federal cabinet are likely to induct in the new cabinet.
More ministers would be added in due course: possibly after Shaukat Aziz becomes the prime minister sometime in late August.

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