ISLAMABAD, Nov 24: Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali looks precariously placed, with a fragile coalition to protect, a formidable opposition to appease and a powerful president watching his every move, political commentators say on Sunday.

A day after taking the oath of the premier’s office, 58-year-old Jamali must juggle the demands of myriad smaller parties and defectors who helped him muster a narrow majority in Thursday’s vote for the premiership.

The stout, bearded man from Balochistan put political arithmetic to one side on Sunday, urging officials to get more supplies to the victims of Thursday’s earthquake in the Northern Areas, which killed 23 people.

He told PTV that he was ready to ask other countries for aid, if the need arose.

Jamali, from the pro-military PML-Q, has voiced support for President Pervez Musharraf’s decision to back the US hunt for the Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives in the country and neighbouring Afghanistan.

Economic policies popular in the West are also likely to survive, with the appointment of the respected outgoing finance minister Shaukat Aziz as special adviser to Jamali.

But many have predicted that the new government would not complete its full five-year term.

“Mr Jamali has...formed the government, but is still hanging precariously by the ledge,” the editorial of a local English daily said. — Reuters