The government of President Gen Pervez Musharraf still hopes to reach a power-sharing deal with ex-premier Benazir Bhutto but with negotiations stalled because of fierce opposition from the ruling party, hopes are fading and Musharraf could be drifting toward his political demise.“It leaves him in a pretty desperate corner,” said Ayaz Amir, a former lawmaker and newspaper columnist. “I try to figure out what he can do. There are no clear answers.”In London on Saturday, Bhutto said the long-running talks with Musharraf’s camp aimed at gaining her support for the general’s bid to win a new five-year term had reached a standstill. She declared her intention to return to Pakistan with or without his support.Some view that as a pressure tactic on Musharraf to agree to her demands, but it also underscored the pitfalls of reaching a deal that must satisfy both leaders and their political supporters, while overc oming myriad legal and constitutional obstacles.Bhutto has already served twice as prime minister between 1988 and 1996 — elected governments that collapsed amid allegations of graft.Bhutto wants the government to drop corruption charges against her and to support a constitutional amendment that would allow her to serve a third term as prime minister. In return, her party would back another amendment to help the Musharraf prolong his eight years in power.A match-up between the longtime political rivals is an attractive proposition for Western governments, particularly the US and Britain, looking for liberal government that could combat the Talibanisation of Pakistan’s border regions where al-Qaeda is feared to be regrouping.It could also offer a political life raft to Musharraf, a key ally in the US-led war on terrorism, whose popularity has sunk since he unsuccessfully tried to oust the country’s top judge in March, straining public acceptance of the military’s dominance in Pakistan.
