Self-exiled Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has said she can share power with President Pervez Musharraf [Images], but only if he quits as army chief, media reported on Monday. Bhutto's comments, in a television interview, followed a secret meeting with General Musharraf on Friday in the United Arab Emirates. Confirmation of the encounter by a cabinet minister in Islamabad intensified media speculation on the future of Pakistan's troubled government.
"Deal done, sealed," said one newspaper headline in Islamabad, according to The Guardian. But there was little hard information about what transpired in the meeting, which followed months of quiet negotiations.
The sticking point appears to be whether General Musharraf can retain his dual role as president and head of the army.
In an interview with the local KTN station late on Saturday, Bhutto said, "We do not accept President Musharraf in uniform. Our stand is that, and I stick to my stand."
Sher Afghan Niazi, a minister in Musharraf's cabinet, said earlier that the president and Bhutto "...agreed to accommodate each other to steer the country out of the crisis of religious militancy." In an interview with Sky News, Bhutto said she would be willing to stand for the Pakistani premiership again.
"If the people of Pakistan vote for me then certainly I would consider it. But this is more than a struggle for me, it's a struggle for the heart and soul of Pakistan," Bhutto said. The former premier observed, "We have already said that our negotiations are going on and we have achieved forward movement on some matters."
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