Zardari flip: I’ll be PM in three months

As consultations continue to decide on the country’s next prime minister, President Pervez Musharraf on Monday reached out to the PPP-PML-N coalition saying he will have “smooth and cordial” relations, a day after they set the stage for a confrontation by deciding to reinstate judges sacked by the president.

Pushed to the backfoot after the opposition groups hammered out a coalition pact under which the deposed judges would get back their jobs, Musharraf also said he will not adopt a path of confrontation with the new government and hoped this will be reciprocated by them.

Amin Fahim, the prime minister hopeful, meanwhile, told The News that he too had heard from partymen about Zardari telling members of the National Assembly on Saturday that he had decided to become prime minister.

But Fahim, who is from Sindh, said unless he heard himself from the mouth of Zardari he would not give any reaction.

Reports also quoted Tariq Azim, a former minister and Musharraf ally, as saying that Musharraf is not about to quit after Zardari and Sharif signed the coalition pact.