Pakistan’s National Assembly has been convened on Friday to elect a new prime minister with the name of outgoing textile minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin emerging as the main contender for the post.

President Asif Ali Zardari, who is also co-chairman of ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), on Wednesday held several rounds of talks with senior members of his party and allies like PML-Q to build a consensus on a name that will be acceptable to the fractious coalition.

PPP Parliamentary Party also met to discuss possible names for the post of prime minister which fell vacant following Supreme Court’s order disqualifying Yousuf Raza Gilani for contempt.

The party insiders said that senior leader Shahabuddin has emerged as a frontrunner in the race. PPP leader Khursheed Shah, who was religious affairs minister in Gilani’s cabinet, told reporters that a session of the National Assembly or lower house of Parliament will be convened at 5. 30 pm on Friday to elect the new premier.

Nomination papers for the election will be filed on Thursday, Shah said.

President Zardari will choose the party’s candidate for the post of premier, he said. Besides Shahabuddin, others who are being considered for the post include former defence minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar and Samina Ghurki, a PPP leader from Lahore whose late husband was a close aide of Zardari.

“The next prime minister will be elected by the national assembly. He will be a member of parliament. He will be a nice person and loyal to the party,” Gilani’s lawyer and PPP member Aitzaz Ahsan told reporters.

Shahabuddin, who belongs to the Seraiki belt in the southern part of Punjab province, has held several portfolios in Gilani's cabinet since 2008.

PPP insiders said that Shahabuddin and Mukhtar were both in the reckoning but Shahabuddin was being considered a stronger candidate. Besides the top leadership of the PML-Q, a key ally of the PPP, were opposed to Mukhtar due to political rivalries in Punjab, sources added.

Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities on Wednesday denotified Gilani and his 63-member cabinet following his disqualification by the Supreme Court.

A notification issued by the Cabinet Division, dated June 19 and released to the media on Wednesday, noted that the apex court had disqualified Gilani as a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) and a notification in this regard had been issued by the Election Commission.

Gilani’s dream to become longest serving PM broken
Deposed Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s dream to become the country’s longest serving prime minister was shattered by the Supreme Court as he was sent packing needing just over a month to replace Liaqat Ali Khan on the list.

Mr Gilani, who had entered politics in 1978 during the most hated military-rule of Ziaul Haq, had been claiming that he would complete his term and become the longest serving prime minister of the country.

But, the apex court disqualified him with effect from April 26 — the day that ended his premiership of four years one month and one day only.

Yousaf joins long list of PMs to go before completing term
After being disqualified as prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani joins a long list of Pakistani prime ministers to be removed before completing their term. First prime minister of Pakistan, Liaqat Ali Khan, had served for 1,524 days.

The others include Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin, Mohammad Ali Bogra, Chaudhry Mohammad Ali, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar, Sir Feroz Khan Noon, Nurul Amin, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Mohammad Khan Junejo, Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif, Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi, Malik Meraj Khalid, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Shaukat Aziz and Mohammad Mian Soomro.