'Time running out' for Musharraf-Bhutto deal
Time is running out for President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to finalise a pact with ex-premier Benazir Bhutto that would keep the US-allied leader in office, Bhutto’s party warned today.
Musharraf and Bhutto have been trying for months to secure an agreement that would allow her to return from exile and help Musharraf get another term.
But with the presidential election due in less than five weeks, the two sides have yet to resolve crucial differences on how they might share power.
“The ball is in the court of the government and the time has almost completely run out,” said Farhatullah Babar, spokesman for Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party. “The window is not completely shut, but no agreement has been reached.”
Musharraf’s authority has eroded since March when he tried unsuccessfully to oust the Supreme Court’s top judge and a pact with Bhutto could help him overcome expected legal challenges to him running again.
Bhutto wants authorities to drop corruption cases pending against her and insists Musharraf must step down as army chief. However, Musharraf political allies are resisting her demands and want Musharraf to retain much of his sweeping powers.
On Monday, Nawaz Sharif, another two-time prime minister and a key opposition leader, was sent back sent to exile in Saudi Arabia after he landed at Islamabad on a self-proclaimed mission to oust Musharraf and restore civilian rule.
Babar said that Bhutto, who left Pakistan in 1999 over the corruption allegations, will return “irrespective of what the regime does” and will announce her arrival date tomorrow as planned.
Sharif flew in from London on Monday after seven years abroad, but was quickly deported to Saudi Arabia. Authorities rounded up more than 1,000 of his supporters to prevent them from giving the former premier a rousing welcome at Islamabad airport.
Provincial authorities started releasing the supporters in time for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins in Pakistan tomorrow, Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Javed Iqbal Cheema said.
Musharraf “wished every Pakistani to observe Ramadan with due solemnity and in true spirit of tolerance and forbearance,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan quoted a presidential spokesman as saying.
The releases are unlikely to soften opposition calls for Musharraf, who toppled Sharif’s government in a 1999 coup and became a key US ally after the September 11, 2001 attacks, to step down and restore civilian rule.
Sharif’s party has already challenged his expulsion before the Supreme Court, which last month ruled that he had an “inalienable” right to return.
Pakistani media commentators say the move bared the authoritarian nature of Musharraf’s rule, but it has removed a key political rival who had vowed to upset his re-election plans.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, his Cabinet ministers and allied parties reiterated their support for Musharraf to seek another term.
“All coalition partners present in the Cabinet said that the re-election of the president is essential for the country’s stability, security and growth,” said an official statement issued after Aziz headed a meeting with his ministers.
Musharraf has also been under international pressure to strengthen its efforts against Taliban and al-Qaida militants operating along the Afghan border.
He got a boost yesterday when visiting US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte heaped praise on his government’s efforts.
“There is no doubt whatsoever of Pakistan’s commitment to restoring and establishing security in that part of the country and more than doing its share in the war against terror,” Negroponte said.
Asked about Sharif’s expulsion, Negroponte offered no criticism, saying it was an internal matter for Pakistan.
