Islamabad: A provincial leader of the pro-Taleban six-party Islamic alliance, Akram Durrani, was on November 29 elected Chief Minister of Pakistan's sensitive North West Frontier Province, bordering with Afghanistan.

Durrani, a close confidant of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of the pro-Taleban Muttahida Majalis-e-Amal (MMA), defeated the combined Opposition candidate Qalandar Lodhi by a margin of 37 votes.

Lodhi, jointly fielded by pro-military Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q), former Premier Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Awami National Party, bagged only 41 votes against Durrani's 78 in the 124-member Provincial Assembly.

The MMA won most of National and Provincial Assembly seats in the NWFP, raising anti- American slogans during the October 10 general elections.

The alliance was also making a strong bid to win the Chief Ministership in the neighbouring Baluchistan province in the November 30 election there.

The prospects of MMA governments in the two key provinces could trouble the US as the American forces along with Pakistan and Afghan security personnel conducted massive search operations in the Pak-Afghan border to hunt Taleban and al-Qaida militants.

Prior to his election, Durrani had been widely quoted as saying that his government would halt any crackdown on the Taleban and al-Qaida. However, he later retracted his statement and said he would not permit his province to be taken over by either militants or by foreign forces.

PTI