Fahim wants his son to head Sindh government

After losing the battle for prime minister at the centre, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, the Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians chairman, is trying to get his son nominated for the slot of chief minister of Sindh despite fierce resistance from a powerful party lobby.

Yesterday, Fahim left the country to meet PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto in an attempt to convince her of his son's candidature, a senior party official told Gulf News.

"If Benazir Bhutto agrees then there is no obstacle in getting Makhdoom Jamiluzzaman elected chief minister of Sindh," he said requesting anonymity.

But PPP insiders say that the job is easier said than done.

A powerful lobby that includes Raza Rabbani, the party general secretary, is trying to sell Nisar Khuhro for the top provincial slot, they said.

Naheed Khan and several other close aides to Bhutto are supporting Khuhro, who has been declared the party's parliamentarian candidate.

The PPP has emerged as the biggest party in the 163-member Sindh Assembly with 67 seats. But it is unable to form a government on its own and needs coalition partners.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which has 41 seats in the Provincial Assembly, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam and its allies are also vying for the chief minister's post.

The PPP official said that his party had a chance to form government in its onetime stronghold if it is led by a Makhdoom. The establishment will not accept any other PPP candidate for the sensitive job, he said.

The Makhdooms are a powerful spiritual family of Sindh. Fahim, who has good relations with President Pervez Musharraf and goodwill among the rival parties, hopes to win support for his son from the traditional feudal and spiritual families.

Another of Fahim's close aides, however, said that the same lobby which spoiled his chances for the premiership is now bent upon scuppering his son's bid for the chief ministership.

Bhutto withdrew her support to Fahim at a crucial phase of negotiations by nominating Alliance for Restoration of Democracy chief Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan to hold negotiations for a coalition government.

Ironically, Khan started campaigning for the hardline religious leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman as prime ministerial candidate, elbowing out Fahim.

While at the centre, Punjab, Balochistan and the NWFP elected governments have been installed, Sindh is the only province where the inaugural assembly session has been postponed for an indefinite period and the provincial government has not been formed.

The delay is because none of the parties has managed to ensure the required number of seats to form a government.