Bhutto successor in party remains open

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- The assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will make the task of picking a successor to lead her political party quite difficult.

The Pakistan People's Party, the largest in the country, has been mostly led only by Bhutto and her equally charismatic father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who founded the PPP in 1967.

With elections on Jan. 8, the party, in the wake of Bhutto's killing, finds itself leaderless and rudderless, the Press Trust of India reported. Benazir Bhutto's mother held the post of party president briefly.

The report said Benazir Bhutto's three children are not likely to be picked for the top job as all of them are in their teens, the report said.

The name of her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, has been mentioned, but his prison record on corruption charges may be an issue, the report said.

Other names being mentioned are the slain leader's close aide Makhdoom Amin Fahim and noted senior lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan.