By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS
Islamabad : Negotiations between Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto to cut a power-sharing deal have hit snags and now the chances of a deal are “very remote”, says a top government official.
“Benazir Bhutto is too demanding… In return for her support to President Musharraf’s re-election she is demanding assurances to become the prime minister,” said the official requesting anonymity.
The official said that though Musharraf’s aides are still in contact with Bhutto, there are “very remote” chances that the two would reach a deal.
Talks held in London last week between aides to Bhutto and Musharraf ended in deadlock, with the ex-premier saying that she would announce on Sep 14 a date for her return from self-imposed exile due to corruption charges.
The negotiations resumed in the Gulf emirate of Dubai this week, but reportedly are now in the doldrums again.
Bhutto has admitted to talking with Musharraf on a power-sharing formula under which Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would not oppose his re-election as president.
In return, Bhutto is demanding scrapping of the constitutional amendment under which a prime minister cannot be elected for a third term. Bhutto has already served as prime minister twice – first in 1988 and again in 1994.
Bhutto, the life chairperson of PPP, is also demanding a “level playing field” for her party in the coming elections by seeking amnesty in about 13 cases pending against her in different courts. There are arrest warrants out for her in two cases.
She is in exile since April 1998 when then prime minister and arch rival Nawaz Sharif initiated corruption cases against her. Since then, she has been living in Dubai and London with her ailing mother and three children. Her spouse Asif Ali Zardari joined her last year after he was released from jail where he was languishing since November 1996 when Bhutto’s government was sacked by her own handpicked president Farooq Leghari, who is now Musharraf’s ally.
According to the government official, Bhutto has also sought assurances for her party’s win in the coming elections.
On Wednesday, she said that she wanted to meet Musharraf face-to-face after making progress in talks on a power-sharing deal between them. Though not confirmed by either Bhutto or Musharraf, there have been media reports that the two met for 90 minutes in Dubai last month to initiate the dialogue for the power-sharing formula.