Musharraf swears in 24-member govt

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf swore in 24 members of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's Cabinet yesterday, six weeks after opposition parties won a general election.

There is strong speculation the new government will force Musharraf, who came to power as a general in a 1999 coup, to quit within weeks or months.

There has been some apprehension within Pakistani media and political circles that the United States could try to prop up Musharraf so that counterterrorism operations in the region are not disturbed by the changing of the guard in Islamabad.