Pro-Taliban man could be Pakistani PM

HE won big in last month’s elections on an anti-American ticket, has called Osama bin Laden a holy warrior and counts Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar among his friends — and he could be Pakistan's next prime minister.

Fazl-ur Rahman has sharply criticised President Pervez Musharraf’s support for the United States and its war on terror. And while Musharraf will keep a strong grip on power no matter who is prime minister, a Rahman government would likely bring stormy tensions within the leadership of a key US ally.

A coalition of pro-democracy groups and Rahman’s own religious bloc holds enough seats to form Pakistan's next government, and it has already tentatively nominated Rahman for the premiership.

In Pakistani politics, horse-trading is a tradition, and Musharraf will likely try to keep Rahman out of office, knowing he will not be welcomed by Washington.

Even if Musharraf is unable to do so, he retains levers of control. Prior to the October 10 elections, Musharraf amended the constitution to give himself the power to fire the prime minister and dissolve parliament.

But the general, who came to power in a 1999 military coup, has pledged to step back and let the legislature take over day-to-day governing. He had billed the elections as an important return to democracy, but voters used the occasion to rebuke him and give surprisingly strong support to religious parties, such as Rahman’s, who ran on a pro-Taliban ticket.

A moderate Muslim, Musharraf is certain to worry Rahman’s image could sabotage efforts to attract foreign investment to this poor nation of 140 million people. Pakistan's stock market plunged after the parties named Rahman as a potential prime minister on Tuesday.

Rahman hasn’t said whether he will ask the US troops to leave Pakistan if he becomes prime minister, but his followers certainly have. He is also close to Libya. Rahman has met Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. His group, Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (Party of Islamic Clerics) has received funds from Libya, according to western intelligence and members of Rahman’s party.