Bhutto's party stalls PM candidate choice

The party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto deferred a decision on who should become Pakistan's prime minister yesterday, deepening uncertainty about how a new government will handle President Pervez Musharraf.

Bhutto's party, which finished first in last month's elections, had been expected to nominate Makhdoom Amin Fahim, a longtime Bhutto aide from her home province of Sindh, as its candidate for the premiership.

But a meeting of its newly elected lawmakers at the residence of her widower broke up yesterday without even discussing the merits of the four main candidates, participants said.