Musharraf vows support for new Pakistan govt

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf assured his full support on Sunday for an incoming government that will almost certainly be led by a prime minister he had jailed for over four years.

The Pakistan People's Party of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto nominated former National Assembly speaker, Yousaf Raza Gilani, for the premiership on Saturday, though it remains unclear whether Gilani is a stop-gap, keeping the seat warm for Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower.

Gilani swore allegiance to Bhutto, assassinated in a gun and bomb attack on Dec. 27, and said he would carry forward her mission.

"Whatever democracy we have in the country, no matter in which shape it is, it's because of the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto," he told reporters after filing his nomination for the post.

"We will endeavour for the supremacy of the parliament."

Gilani is expected to win with a thumping majority when the National Assembly votes on Monday, particularly after a regional pro-Musharraf party pledged its support. Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, a senior leader of Musharraf's main allied party, on Sunday said he would challenge Gilani in the vote.

On Tuesday, if everything goes smoothly, Musharraf will swear in Gilani, who he jailed in 2001 on charges of making illegal appointments and was freed in 2006.

U.S. ally Musharraf, who came to power as a general following a coup in 1999, is politically isolated since the defeat of his allies in a parliamentary election on Feb. 18, and there is intense speculation that he will soon be forced out.