May become Prime Minister if need arises: Zardari

The co-chairman of Pakistan People8217;s Party PPP refused to give a firm commitment that he would become the prime minister but said he would assume the office if the 8220;need arises8221;.

Zardari also said his party did not have the strength to confront Musharraf. 8220;The parliament and the president have a formal relationship. For the time being, we are not breaking up that status quo. We don8217;t have that power,8221; Zardari told the BBC8217;s Urdu language service.

8220;For the sake of the country, we don8217;t want confrontation. But this doesn8217;t mean we accept him Musharraf. If we get the two-thirds majority we will think about making him accountable,8221; Zardari said. Asked whether he and the PPP had accepted the President because of political expediency, he said: 8220;No. We have done so because of our wish to get the requisite political support.8221; Whenever his party managed to get a two-thirds majority in parliament, it would think about impeaching Musharraf, Zardari said.

He expressed his party8217;s resolve to reinstate the judges deposed by Musharraf during last year8217;s emergency but said that a package for judicial reforms will also be presented in Parliament at the same time. Zardari said the judges had not started a movement because they sensed a threat to democracy or the system but because of personal concerns that their jobs were in jeopardy.

This movement had evolved into 8220;something else8221;, he said. 8220;Despite this, I will reinstate the judges,8221; he said, adding that he wanted to strengthen the judiciary so that it would not succumb to pressure from the executive.