By DPA
Islamabad : US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte arrived in Islamabad Wednesday to take part in a Pakistan-US strategic dialogue amid growing turmoil for the country’s military ruler, President Pervez Musharraf.
Negroponte arrived from Afghanistan on a two-day visit, which as well as examining joint efforts in counter-terrorism and other fields, may herald a breakthrough in power-sharing talks between the embattled president and exiled liberal opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.
As Musharraf prepares to seek a further five-year mandate from parliament, a deal with the former prime minister is viewed by Washington as a means of stabilising the nuclear-armed Islamic country while fighting Al Qaeda and the resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan and the border area.
Musharraf, an army general who came to power in a bloodless coup in 1999, has been a key US ally in the fight against terrorism since 2001.
But he has been unable to contain rising militant violence in recent months while suffering a sharp decline in his popularity. Public opinion is also increasingly turning against his close ties with Washington.
Meanwhile, there is growing pressure in the United States on the administration to be firmer with Musharraf over his failure to stamp out terrorist refuges in the tribal areas by the Afghan border.
The strategic dialogue was initiated by US President George W. Bush and Musharraf in 2006. Its second round involves delegations led by Negroponte and Pakistani Foreign Secretary Riaz Khan.
Negroponte was accompanied by Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, who made several visits to Islamabad this year.
The agenda of the talks was to be focussed also on education, energy, economic cooperation and science and technology, the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said.
A breakthrough in the deal with Bhutto was anticipated after Negroponte’s visit, Pakistani media reported Wednesday, citing government sources.
Negroponte was expected to sign off on the deal and “return to Washington with ‘good news’ and the liberal political forces in Pakistan would join hands against the anti-US extremist religious elements,” the paper added.
The US official was also expected to call on President Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri.
According to Pakistan’s The News, sources close to the president said he was likely to inform the Deputy Secretary of State that he will step down as army chief after his re-election as president in voting due to take place before Oct 15.
His relinquishment of his military status was a key requirement by Bhutto for her support.