ISLAMABAD - ASSASSINATED Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto's widower emerged on Thursday as a likely candidate to become the next president as a split loomed in the ruling coalition led by his party.

Investors and allies have been hoping President Pervez Musharraf's resignation on Monday would herald an end to political wrangling and a shift of focus to pressing economic and security problems. But that appears unlikely.

The coalition's second biggest party, that of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, threatens to quit the alliance unless a decision is taken on Friday to restore judges dismissed by Musharraf last year.

Another divisive issue is likely to be the question of the next president. Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which leads the coalition, is proposing her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, for the job.

'The majority of the party thinks that Mr Asif Zardari should be president,' said a Bhutto party spokesman, Ms Farzana Raja, adding that a decision on the party's candidate was expected on Friday.

Under the constitution, a new president should be elected by members of the four provincial assemblies and the two houses of the national parliament within 30 days of Mr Musharraf's resignation.

Wrangling over the deposed judges and who becomes the next president is likely to divert government attention from economic and security problems, to the dismay of investors and allies.

Pakistani stocks and the rupee strengthened on Monday and Tuesday on the hope Mr Musharraf's resignation would bring an end to the political turmoil.

But both started to weaken on Wednesday as a showdown loomed within the coalition over the judges, and on Thursday stocks were about 2.5 percent lower and the rupee down by more than 2 percent against the dollar.

Investors said they were worried political turbulence would set off rating downgrades by Standard & Poor's (S&P) and Moody's.

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