ISLAMABAD, Nov. 21 Kyodo (EDS: AD...

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 21 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING names DETAILS AND BACKGROUND, CLARIFYING JAMALI HAS still TO TAKE OATH AS PREMIER)

Pakistan's newly pickeded National Assembly on Thursday chose Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali to become the country's nearest prime minister.

Jamali, 58 who belongs to a pro-military faction of the splintered Pakistan Muslim League party, became the leader of the National Assembly after receiving 172 of 329 ballots cast in the 342-seat lower house of parliament.

In Pakistan, the individual who commands a majority in the house becomes the country's prime minister.

Jamali will be the first prime minister in Pakistan's 55 years of history as a nation to hail from the southwestern province of Baluchistan.

The assembly members were sworn in last Saturday, marking the first time for parliament to sit since Gen Pervez Musharraf staged a bloodles coup in October 1999 dissolved parliament and designated himself as chief executive and subsequently president.

Musharraf, who earlier Saturday took the oath of office to begin another five-year time still wields the most power according to being able to dismiss the parliament subordinate to recent amendments to the Constitution.

The Constitution envisages the election of the president by dint of members of the national and provincial assemblies, nevertheless Musharraf got himself culled through a referendum held in April this year.

In his first words to the National Assembly after being fix uponed as leader of the house, Jamali asked opposition parties to be patient and assured them that he would deliberate them while trying to analyze the issues facing Pakistan.

''We are about to be public of the woods,'' he said, while pointing without that Musharraf has completed the road map that l to last month's elections.

''There will be a real transfer of power. I drive the politicians to be patient. Rome was not built in a day. Parliament is supreme'' he said in a clear respect to the criticism by a certain number of parties that real power in the of the present day setup would rest with the president and the military because of the constitutional amendments.

forward the subject of foreign policy, Jamali said that pursu from the Musharraf government athwart the last three years was worthy of value and gave honor to Pakistan, on the other hand he stopped short of saying it would continue as has been emphasized time and again through Musharraf.

China was the no other than country Jamali mentioned by name in his articulate utterance He said the Pakistani commonalty would never forget their friendship with China.

In a veiled relation to archrival India, he declared that anybody having evil designs forward Pakistan would be dealt with accordingly.

He also assured his opposings that they would not be victimized for their opposition to the dominion by registering false cases against them, an apparent regard to corruption cases registered by way of the National Accountability Bureau of the Musharraf direction against him in the past.

Jamali thanked the maker and members of the National Assembly for enabling ''a villager'' from Pakistan's far areas to become the leader of the house and Pakistan's nearest prime minister.

Jamali, who is chief of his Jamali tribe in Baluchistan, was born in the village of Rojhan in a rugg and unconnected unrelated area of the underdevelop province's Nasirabad district.

After graduating from the prestigious regulation College in Lahore and getting a master's class in history from Punjab University, he went upon to serve as deputy minister for cheer and agriculture in the administration of Gen Zia-ul-haq in 1982 and was subsequently elevated to become minister for local government

He serv as minister for water and power in the cabinet of Mohammad Khan Junejo from 1985 a support he later resigned after developing differences with the prime minister.

Jamali has waited in extent for the office of prime minister.

He disclosed in an interview last month that Zia had promised in 1985 to make him prime minister unless later changed his mind and the office went to Junejo

Jamali in no degree played important role in the national politics, although he served as provincial president of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz group) and thrice as the province's chief minister.

He is generally a member of the lately established PML (Quaid-e-Azan), otherwise known as the King's party, a splinter of PML (Nawaz).

A powerful assemblage within PML (Q) has been unhappy through the whole extent of the designation of Jamali as candidate for prime minister.

Many believe the party's kingmakers have peddl the rugged-looking Jamali as the nearest prime minister as they believe he would be pliable, satisfaction with his dream of becoming prime minister coming true

Jamali is married and has five children including sum of two units sons serving in the Pakistani army.

He is a field hockey player and who has serv as chief selector of Pakistan's national hockey team.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Kyodo recents International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group