elect Asif Ali Zardari said his victory in Saturday's election shows “democracy talks and everybody hears.” “This president will be subservient to parliament. Democracy talks and everybody hears,” Zardari said in a short television broadcast. Zardari, who earlier won a poll among lawmakers, was referring to the era of military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who was accused of bypassing parliament throughout his near nine-year rule of Pakistan that ended in August. Underscoring the problems he faces, a suicide car bomber killed 16 people in an attack on a police post in the northwestern city of Peshawar. At least five of the dead were policemen, and the blast wounded about 40 people. (See Page 5) Investors and foreign allies led by the United States hope Zardari's election will bring some stability after months of political turmoil and rising militant violence. The uncertainty has dragged stocks and the rupee sharply lower. A former businessman, Zardari is close to the United States and has stressed Pakistan's commitment to the widely unpopular campaign against militancy. In the 702-member electoral college, Zardari, Co-Chairman of Pakistan People's Party (PPP), secured a total of 479 votes, Siddiqui of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), 153 votes, and Sayed of PML-Q, 43 votes. Zardari bagged 281 votes in the 442-member Parliament (National Assembly, 342, and the Senate, 100), Siddiqui got 111 votes while Sayed 34 votes. Ten votes were found invalid. “It's not only a victory for Mr. Zardari and the Pakistan People's Party but it's a victory for ... Benazir Bhutto's dream of a democratic political system,” said Bhutto party spokeswoman Farzana Raja as party workers chanted “long live Bhutto”. Zardari's two daughters watched the vote in parliament. Their mother was killed in a suicide attack on Dec. 27 last year, weeks after returning from years in exile. Her party now holds the presidency and leads the government. Zardari, 53, was thrust into the center of politics by his wife's assassination. A February parliamentary election win for their party made him one of the most powerful figures in the country. His decision in August to begin impeachment proceedings against Musharraf led to the latter's resignation. Zardari will take office as anger with the United States is boiling after a bloody incursion by US ground troops into a remote village on the Afghan border on Wednesday. In response to the raid, authorities blocked a major fuel supply route for Western forces in Afghanistan. “We have stopped the supply of oil and this will tell how serious we are,” Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar told Dawn Television. Most fuel and other supplies for US forces in Afghanistan are trucked through Pakistan, crossing the border at two points, Torkham, near Peshawar, and Chaman to the southwest. – With reports from Reuters __
