Bhutto says edging closer to deal with Musharraf

ISLAMABAD, Aug 29 (Reuters) Pakistan's exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said today she was moving closer to clinching a power-sharing deal with embattled President Pervez Musharraf.

''Eighty to 90 per cent of issues have been settled. 10 to 20 per cent have yet to be decided,'' the liberal-minded Bhutto told private Aaj television from London where she is holding talks with Musharraf's representatives.

Bhutto, who has lived in self-exile since 1998, has demanded a commitment from Musharraf to quit as army chief and become a civilian president as a condition for any deal. A cabinet minister said the issue of Musharraf's uniform has been resolved.

''There is no more uniform issue. It has been settled and the president will make an announcement,'' Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who is a close ally to Musharraf, told a news conference earlier.

Musharraf, whose popularity has plummeted in recent months, aims to get re-elected president for another five years between mid-September and mid-October, before his term as army chief expires at the end of the year.

The Supreme Court last week added to pressure on Musharraf to agree terms with Bhutto, by ruling that Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister Musharraf overthrew in 1999, could return from exile in London.

Sharif, who has allied himself with conservative religious parties, is consulting his aides in London and will announce the date of his return tomorrow, his brother told a news conference in London that was broadcast in Pakistan.

''It will definitely be before September 15,'' Shahbaz Sharif, who is also a politician, said.

Speculation is rife that Bhutto will also seek an early return to offset backing for Sharif, who has earned public support for his refusal to negotiate with a military president.

Western governments are closely following the political turbulence in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state whose support is critical to fighting al Qaeda and crushing a Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

LEGAL HURDLES, EBBING SUPPORT Petitions challenging the legality of Musharraf's plan to get re-elected, or hold dual office, are piling up at the Supreme Court, which is seen as hostile to Musharraf since he tried to oust the chief justice in March.

At the same time, cracks are beginning to appear in Musharraf's power base.

Two members of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) have quit their government posts, saying they could not vote for Musharraf in uniform.

A pact with two-time prime minister Bhutto, whose Pakistan People's Party is the country's single largest, could see Musharraf to safety, but he will have to pay Bhutto's price.

Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper today quoted Bhutto as saying the ''uniform issue is resolved''.

Bhutto wants a package of issues to be agreed including the removal of a ban on serving a third term as prime minister and stripping the president of power to dismiss parliament and the government.

''Some matters relating to a balance of power between the parliament and presidency are still pending,'' Bhutto said in the television interview.

She also wants corruption charges against her and other civilians in power after 1988 to be dropped.

Bhutto is due to meet her party leaders in London on Friday and wants terms agreed terms by then, so her party can decide whether it will be for or against Musharraf.

REUTERS SS RAI2018