Bhutto says Pakistan power-sharing talks stalled
ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's plans for power-sharing with Benazir Bhutto hit trouble Wednesday as the ex-premier said talks were "totally stalled" and his allies opposed an amnesty for her.
Musharraf, a key US ally who seized power of the nuclear-armed Islamic republic in a 1999 coup, also faced pressure at home as the Supreme Court heard last-ditch appeals against his bid for re-election on Saturday.
The Pakistani government said on Tuesday it would drop corruption cases against Bhutto, one of her conditions for a pact ahead of her planned return from exile on October 18.
But the former prime minister disputed Wednesday that any pact to decide the country's political future had been sealed or the threat of jail removed.
"The power-sharing deal is totally stalled," Bhutto said on arrival at talks of her Pakistan People's Party in London, adding that Musharraf refused to take "tangible steps" toward restoring democracy.
"It's absolutely wrong, the news the corruption charges have been dropped," she added. "It's a disinformation campaign run by... the head of the intelligence bureau."
As the time ran by for a pact, Bhutto hinted that her party MPs may resign from parliament following the mass resignation of 85 MPs from another opposition grouping this week.
"I think that the resignation of the Pakistan People's Party MPs will be a severe blow to the legitimacy of the presidential election," she said.
Bhutto, who served as premier between 1988 and 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996, further warned that the current stalemate ahead of the weekend's elections could lead to violence on the streets.
Musharraf maintained the election would still be democratic despite the earlier walkout as around 1,000 of the 1,170 MPs would still cast their votes.
"If there are more resignations then it may affect the credibility of (the) election," Musharraf told the private Geo TV station in a recorded interview.
In Islamabad, a split emerged in the government over the amnesty offer between Musharraf and some members of a coalition led by his ruling Pakistan Muslim League party.
"We have conveyed our reservations against this proposed amnesty offer. We are not in favour of it," Religious Affairs Minister Ijaz-ul Haq told AFP.
"There should be no amnesty to corrupt politicians, especially those who are accused of looting 1.5 billion dollars," added the minister.
Haq is the son of late military dictator Zia-ul-Haq, who had Bhutto's father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto executed in 1979.
Musharraf made a further move to seal the deal on Tuesday when he named a former spy chief who led the government side during months of talks with Bhutto's aides to be his successor as army chief.
He has promised to quit his military position and become a civilian leader if, as expected, he wins Saturday's vote, which is by the national and provincial parliaments.
But Musharraf faced a final legal hurdle to his attempt to win another five-year term as the Supreme Court began hearing last-minute challenges filed by his election rivals.
Makhdoom Amin Fahim, the vice-chairman of Bhutto's party, and former judge Wajihuddin Ahmad are seeking to block his candidacy on the grounds that he is not eligible to stand while keeping his role as army chief.
They also say that Musharraf cannot be elected by the current assemblies, whose term will end soon with general elections due by early 2008.
Judge Javed Iqbal, heading a nine-member bench dealing with the case, summoned the government's attorney general to appear on Thursday to answer "very serious questions concerning public importance."
Fearing a possible delay in the elections, a source close to the presidency said the government was prepared for anything.
"If at the last minute the court tries to pull the rug from under the president, things will be very murky," the source said on condition of anonymity.
"If pushed to the wall anything can happen in the next 48 hours. The president cannot afford to let the system destabilise."
The hearing was delayed for two hours when one judge withdrew, saying that he had already given his opinion on the case when the Supreme Court threw out earlier opposition appeals last Friday.
The United States has pressed for a Bhutto-Musharraf accord on the grounds that they are both liberals who would be natural allies in the fight against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
