Pakistan province elects new chief after bloodshed

KARACHI, June 9 (REUTERS) A member of Pakistan's ruling pro-military coalition was elected Chief Minister of volatile Sindh province today after a wave of militant violence last month killed more than 60 people.

Arbab Ghulam Rahim, a member of the southern province's assembly from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, secured 98 votes in the 168-seat assembly after opposition parties boycotted the session complaining of central government interference.

Rahim was elected after the former Chief Minister, Ali Mohammad Mahar, resigned on Monday following the latest wave of militant and political violence in the provincial capital, Karachi.

President Pervez Musharraf had hinted at political changes in Sindh following the violence, which police blamed on Islamic militants opposed to Pakistan's support for the US-led war on terror.