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.