Pakistan's newly elected lower house of parliament, the national assembly, was sworn in yesterday, setting the scene for a showdown with Pervez Musharraf, the president, whose opponents swept to victory in last month's elections.

The new parliament has a majority of members from the Pakistan People's party (PPP), led by Asif Ali Zardari, widower of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who have formed a coalition government.