UK pledge to new Pakistan president

9:09pm Saturday 6th September 2008

Britain has offered to work closely with Pakistan's new President, Asif Ali Zardari, to combat violent extremism and strengthen democracy in his country.

The widower of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has comfortably won a vote of Pakistan's two-chamber parliament and four provincial assemblies to find a replacement for Pervez Musharraf, who resigned last month after nine years as president.

The scale of the challenge facing Mr Zardari was immediately underscored by a suicide car bomb attack on a police post in the city of Peshawar, which killed 17 people including at least five policemen.

Former businessman Mr Zardari, 53, was thrust into the frontline of Pakistani politics by his wife's assassination last December, weeks after she returned from exile to campaign for the premiership.

His victory in the presidential poll means that Ms Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party now holds the presidency and the post of Prime Minister.

Unofficial figures from the Election Commission in Pakistan gave Mr Zardari 480 out of 702 electoral college votes.

In a statement issued in London in response to his victory, the Foreign Office said: "We look forward to working closely with President Zardari to further deepen our partnership with Pakistan.

"We want to work with the government to support measures that promote stability, democracy and the rule of law and strengthen the democratic transition.

"We believe that Pakistan's people are best served by a democratic government, and that strong democratic institutions are the key to delivering long-term stability, good governance and prosperity.

"The UK stands ready to assist the government in combating the shared threat of violent extremism and meeting the economic challenges they face. And we remain strongly committed to our partnership with the Pakistani people, notably through our aid programme."

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