'Now that he is elected, he should act'

Islamabad: Fed up with incessant political wrangling and stunned by a vicious tide of violence, Pakistanis say they want their newly elected president to get down to solving problems.

"My worries are terrorism and rising prices, not the politics," said Nighat Anis, a retired teacher in Islamabad.

"Our children are either becoming militants, suicide bombers or victims of terrorist attacks. We want an end to it. If he does it, the whole nation will support him."

An impatient United States is intensifying its efforts to kill militants in Pakistan's ethnic Pashtun territory on the Afghan border, while the militants are responding with ever more deadly strikes against the Pakistani security forces.

But many people see Pakistan's support for the US-led campaign against militancy, which Zardari has vowed to uphold, as the cause of the blood letting.

"We're going to see more bloodshed because he [Zardari] looks like a US ally, just like General Musharraf," said Noor Ali, a fruit vendor in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, a militant hot spot on the Afghan border.

"Tell him we don't want any more fighting. We want peace."

Wana shopkeeper Gulzar Wazir wanted the militants out. "His rule would be best if he brought back peace and solved the Taliban problem, cleared the dirt from our land once and for all," Wazir said.

Elsewhere, inflation, running at about 25 per cent, is the most pressing problems.

"Their politics doesn't feed us or our children," said Neelam Khan, a doctor in the eastern city of Multan.

"Enough is enough. We can't live on empty slogans. They should get us out of this economic turmoil."

In Peshawar, Mohammad Subhan, an attendant at a natural gas filling station, harkened back to a decades-old Bhutto party rallying cry.

"Zardari must act on the PPP's manifesto: bread, clothing and shelter. Now, he has power he has the opportunity."

Zardari spent 11 years in jail on corruption and murder charges and although he was never convicted, and denied any wrongdoing, he faces widespread doubts about his suitability to be president.

"This is a black day in Pakistan's history," said Jamal Siddiqui, 50, a resident of the southern city of Hyderabad.

"We have the most corrupt man becoming our president. May God help this country."