Source: AFP

ISLAMABAD - US President George W. Bush telephoned Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to congratulate him on being sworn in on Tuesday, a government official said.

Gilani, a senior official from slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto’s party, took the oath as prime minister from Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf at the presidential palace in Islamabad.

“President Bush telephoned Yousuf Raza Gilani and congratulated him on assuming the office of prime minister,” an official in the prime minister’s secretariat told AFP.

He said further details would be announced later.

The telephone call came as two senior US envoys were in Islamabad for talks with Musharraf, Gilani and former premier Nawaz Sharif focusing on the political situation and Pakistan’s role in the US-led “war on terror”.

Gilani was elected as premier by parliament on Monday and will head a coalition government dominated by Musharraf’s opponents, who won elections held last month.

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Tags: Benazir Bhutto's party, George W. Bush, opposition leader, presidential palace, Prime Minister, US President, Yousuf Raza Gilani