27 August 2004	Friday	10 Rajab 1425

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 26: Former finance minister Shaukat Aziz on Thursday appeared set to be voted by the National Assembly on Friday as country's second prime minister in less than two months and third in less than two years , facing only a symbolic challenge from a jailed rival.

In a surprise move, the opposition Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) named its jailed president Javed Hashmi as its candidate for what will be a rare mid-term prime ministerial election, which Mr Aziz seemed certain to win because of the comfortable majority of the ruling coalition in the 342- seat National Assembly.

The People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP), being the main component of the ARD, had initially decided to field its president Amin Fahim for the contest but alliance sources said the decision was changed following intervention of Ms Benazir Bhutto.

After some initial hesitation following objections from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML), assembly speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain accepted Mr Hashmi's candidature for the leader of the house, who also becomes the prime minister.

But there was no immediate information whether the speaker, who has rejected repeated previous demands to order authorities to produce Mr Hashmi in the House, would call him from Adiala jail near Islamabad to vote for himself and probably also speak his mind.

A little more than three years of the present National Assembly - which is also the maximum period for a prime minister from this house - are left from its five-year term, as about 21 months were consumed by former prime minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali who resigned in late June and less than two months by transitional prime minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.

The way for Friday's vote was cleared after Mr Shujaat, who is also the PML president, resigned on Wednesday after remaining in office for only 57 days. A heated legal battle erupted over Mr Hashmi's candidature as the speaker scrutinised nomination papers of both the candidates in his chamber in the parliament house, witnesses said.

They said PML member Zahid Hamid objected to Mr Hashmi's papers saying the ARD president could not stand because of his conviction by a court for sedition and attempted incitement to mutiny and rather deserved to be de-seated as assembly member.

PPP member Aitzaz Ahsan defended the candidacy on the ground that Mr Hashmi, who is also the acting president of PML-N, was still an assembly member who had challenged his conviction and could be de-seated by the Chief Election Commissioner following a reference by the speaker and not by the speaker himself.

The speaker, while accepting Mr Aziz's nomination papers, reserved his ruling on those of Mr Hashmi, provoking an instant protest by ARD chairman Amin Fahim and several other leaders of his alliance present on the occasion.

However, it was later announced that the speaker had accepted Mr Hashmi's nomination papers. ARD sources said the speaker had invited some alliance members to meet him at his chamber on Friday at 10am, spurring speculation that he might inform them whether or not he would order the production of Mr Hashmi in the House for the prime ministerial vote.

PML-N information secretary Siddique-ul-Farooq told Dawn that he believed the speaker was constitutionally and legally bound to issue a production order to let Mr Hashmi take part in the voting or the sanctity of the process would be compromised.

The PML and its allied parties together enjoy the support of more than 190 members while the ARD has 80 members, at least four of whom are likely to miss the vote because of being out of the country or unable to make it to Islamabad on Friday.

The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) alliance of six Islamic parties, which has 67 members in the house, has decided to stay away from the process but promised to review the matter in case Mr Hashmi was the candidate. A meeting of the MMA parliamentary party in the National Assembly was likely to be held on Friday to take a final decision before the voting.