ISLAMABAD, March 19: Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has called his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is chairman of the party, from the UK to announce the name of candidate for the post of prime minister.

Bilawal Zardari arrived in Karachi, along with aunt Sanam Bhutto, on Wednesday and went via Sukkur to Garhi Khuda Bux to offer Fateha at the grave of mother Benazir Bhutto. He is expected to arrive in the capital on Thursday.

PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the PPP chairman had come especially to announce the name of the party’s candidate for the top job.

He claimed that it was not a planned move. The co-chairman took the decision to call him two days ago when he came to know that his son was planning to spend the Easter vacation in Dubai with his sisters, he said. He said Bilawal was expected to stay in Pakistan for four to five days.

Mr Babar said it had been decided by Mr Zardari that Bilawal would be asked not to take part in active politics till the completion of his education in the United Kingdom. However, he said, the party co-chairman believed that there was no harm if his son got some ‘exposure’ to politics on ‘selected occasions’.

When asked if the decision had been taken because senior PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim was likely to avoid directly criticising the party chairman in view of his young age, Mr Babar said an announcement by him would definitely have a great importance.

He said the announcement of the prime minister’s name was not expected before the National Assembly was reconvened for electing the leader of the house.

Mr Babar said the party would use the option of announcing the name of the candidate earlier if the assembly session was not convened during Bilawal’s planned stay in the country.

Party leaders believed that the main contenders for the office now were Yousuf Raza Gillani and Shah Mehmood Qureshi.