Islamabad: Pakistan's Opposition parties today (June 28, 2004) nominated a senior leader Mukdhum Amin Fahim as a candidate for interim Prime Minister's post to contest against ruling alliance candidate Shujaat Hussain following the dissolution of Zafarullah Jamali's Cabinet.

Both Hussain and Fahim filed their nominations before the deadline ended for nominations today. A special Parliamentary session has been called tomorrow to choose a new leader of Parliament who will become interim Prime Minister, until the present Finance Minister Shoukat Aziz gets elected to the Lower House to replace him.

Jamali, who resigned as Prime Minister following differences with President Pervez Musharraf, had announced Hussain's name to replace him at the Parliamentary party meeting of the ruling PML (Q) (Pakistan Muslim League-Qaid-e-Azam).

While Hussain's election is virtually a foregone conclusion as his party PML-Q together with its allies has a simple majority, the election could help Fahim, a senior leader of Pakistan Peoples Party, stake claim for post of leader of the Opposition, which the Government recently accorded to Islamist alliance Muthahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA).

Fahim, who is also the Chairman of the 14-party Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), which includes deposed Premier Nawaz Sharif's party PML-N has very slim chance against Hussain as MMA, which has around 60 members in the National Assembly, has decided not to support him.