Benazir Bhutto widower fears for life

ATTACK FEARS: Pakistani lawyers set fire to a poster of Asif Ali Zardari during a protest in Islamabad. (AFP)

Pakistan presidential hopeful Asif Ali Zardari has moved to a top security location in Islamabad due to fears of attacks being made on his life, the country's prime minister said Friday.

Zardari, the widower of assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto, plans to run in the September 6 poll to succeed Pervez Musharraf who resigned the presidency earlier this month under threat of impeachment.

"Asif Zardari has shifted to the prime minister's house because of security concerns," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told reporters in the southern port city of Karachi.

"He has shifted there because of dangers involved to his life especially at present when his political activities and mobility is hectic."

Zardari had been living in his family home in another area of Islamabad.

Former premier Bhutto was killed in a gun and suicide attack in December last year moments after speaking at a campaign rally in Rawalpindi near the capital.

Violence has spiked in Pakistan in recent weeks in reaction to the military's crackdown on Taliban-inspired militancy in the country's northwest.

Zardari is seen as close to the United States which is putting Pakistan under pressure to crush rebels who have taken sanctuary on the border with Afghanistan.

There has been speculation in local media this week that Zardari may quit the presidential race because of the controversy surrounding his candidacy.

He acquired the notorious nickname "Mr 10 percent" after being accused of pocketing commission on government deals signed during his wife's two terms as prime minister. He also spent a total of 11 years in prison on corruption and other criminal charges.

But Gilani emphatically denied that Zardari would withdraw.

"Any reports about Asif Zardari's withdrawal from the presidential elections are untrue," Gilani said. "He is not withdrawing."

Zardari, who took the leadership of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) following her death, saw the party win a majority of the seats in February general elections.

Former premier Nawaz Sharif, who quit the ruling coalition on Monday over differences on the restoration of judges, has nominated retired supreme court chief judge Saeed uz Zaman Siddiqui to challenge Zardari for his party.

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