Kuwait Times

Published Date: May 05, 2007
By Nadeem Sarwar

With the approach of presidential elections this year, Pakistan is buzzing to reports about the return home of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto under a possible deal with President Pervez Musharraf. The longtime rivals, who in the past branded each other a "thug" and "dictator," are said to be discussing an alliance against religious parties and growing extremism in Pakistan while securing themselves high office for the coming years. Musharraf will seek a second term this autumn, and Bhutto has said she would not be averse to serving as his prime minister after she comes home from self-imposed exile in Dubai and London. "I plan to return to Pakistan by the end of the year whether Musharraf likes it or not," Bhutto told The Times in a recent interview, while noting that "back-channel" contact with the president had still not produced an understanding.

Bhutto says she is prepared to work with Musharraf if he restores democracy and allows free elections monitored by foreign observers. But with corruption charges hanging over her, she will not name a date for her return. She also fears that she may be immediately arrested or even assassinated, citing the "disturbance" her return can cause Al-Qaeda and the Taleban. Having served twice as premier in 1988 and 1993, Bhutto, 53, still remains the country's most popular political figure. Her liberal Pakistan People's Party (PPP) received the highest number of votes in the last parliamentary elections in 2002.

By contrast, Musharraf's rating is diminishing as he faces a growing challenge from Islamic militants in the tribal belt by the Afghan border and from thousands of religious students striving to impose strict Islamic law in the capital, Islamabad. He was beset by further troubles when he suspended the country's top judge, Iftikhar Chaudhry, in March for abuse of office, sparking nationwide protests by lawyers and opposition parties. A poll in March by Pakistan's International Republican Institute put his popularity rating as president at 54 per cent, down 9 points since September. A political accord between the two politicians is reportedly being facilitated by the US and British governments as they try to maintain stability in Pakistan, which is a key ally in the war against terrorism.

As well as making indirect contact through top aides, Musharraf himself made three secret telephone calls to Bhutto in recent months to "bargain for his political life", the US magazine Newsweek reported, While a senior minister, Sheikh Rashid, has claimed that a deal with Bhutto is in the "last round," Musharraf recently told the Arabic TV channel Al-Arabia, "There is no deal at all - no alliance." Pakistan's Daily Times quoted sources as saying that under an emerging agreement the PPP would first support the president's re-election by the current parliament and then back him in the election of a new assembly shortly afterwards.

As well as reaffirming its democratic credentials, the government would in turn drop corruption cases against Bhutto and her husband Asif Zardari, which are being heard in Swiss courts. But in public, the central leadership of the PPP categorically rules out any deal and rejects Musharraf's re-election by the current parliament as he seeks. The president's military brand of leadership also presents an obstacle to cooperation with the PPP, which has traditionally struggled against successive periods of military rule. The party demands that he only run for re-election after shedding the general's uniform that served as a potent symbol of his power since he ousted another prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, in a bloodless coup in 1999. Musharraf insists the constitution allows him to run again as army chief.

Meanwhile, Bhutto has kept up the pressure on him, questioning the use of billions of dollars in foreign aid and blaming the president for allowing extremism to spiral out of control. At the same time she praises him for his liberal policies towards women and minorities. "I will be surprised if a deal between the two gets through since they are so politically distanced from each other," political analyst Lt General Talat Masood said, warning that such a deal might spark a revolt within the leadership and ranks of Bhutto's party. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior party leader and member of parliament said he and others would quit in the event of a compromise.

"The deal will be a major setback for the party as it will not be accepted by the public," he said, adding that the PPP's platform favouring the poor would clash with Musharraf's pro-capitalist agenda. Others also foresee an alliance as backfiring on its architects. "An agreement between Musharraf and Bhutto would only benefit the Islamic fundamentalists because then clear lines will be drawn between the pro- and anti-American camps in Pakistan politics," a prominent local journalist, Hamid Mir of the private Geo television channel, said. - dpa