No power to confront Musharraf, says Zardari

Islamabad: The widower of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, has said he does not have the power to confront President Pervez Musharraf.

In an interview with the BBC's Urdu-language service released late on Saturday, Zardari said he did not have the power to upset the relationship between the president, parliament and the government.

"For the time being, we are not breaking up that status quo. We don't have the power. We don't have the two-thirds majority," said Zardari, who led Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) to victory in a February 18 general election weeks after she was assassinated on December 27.

Ousted

Zardari has formed a coalition with the party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the man Musharraf ousted in a 1999 coup and who is now determined to force Musharraf from power.

A confrontation between the unpopular Musharraf, a major US security ally, and the new government could prolong instability in nuclear-armed Pakistan.

Impeached

Critics say Musharraf acted unconstitutionally in securing another term as president in October last year. He could be impeached if two-thirds of the members of parliament agreed.

"We do not want to harm the country by way of confrontation," said Zardari, who became co-chairman of his wife's party after she was killed. "I think we have more problems than impeaching the president," he said, apparently referring to economic and security problems.