Pakistan political pact talks due, doubts grow

ISLAMABAD, Sep 3 (Reuters)The Pakistani government is expected to resume power-sharing talks with former prime minister Benazir Bhutto but opponents inside the ruling party must be won over if a deal is to be struck, a government official said today.

Military president Pervez Musharraf is expected to seek election to another term in votes by national and provincial assemblies some time between September 15 and October 15. But after eight years in power the army chief faces sliding popularity and mounting legal and political opposition.

A pact with Bhutto, who has been in self exile for eight years, would bolster his support and help him overcome constitutional challenges, while helping her skirt corruption charges and return to politics.

But Bhutto said at the weekend that talks with the government on a package of proposals had stalled after opposition from members of Musharraf's ruling party, who fear being sidelined by a deal that could clear the way for Bhutto's return to power.

''We expect that the dialogue will resume soon,'' said Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim Khan. But he and a spokesmen for Musharraf said they had no information about a meeting.

With Musharraf's term as president and army chief coming to an end, and his opponents vowing to end his rule, Pakistan -- a nuclear-armed US ally on the front line of the West's fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban -- faces months of uncertainty.

A spokesman for two-time prime minister Bhutto said she had travelled from London to Dubai -- she has lived in both places over the past eight years -- but he knew nothing of any talks.

DEMANDS Bhutto has insisted that Musharraf step down as army chief.

She also wants immunity from prosecution for herself and others who served in the late 1980s and 1990s.

She is also demanding the lifting of a ban on a prime minister serving a third term, and that the president be stripped of the power to dismiss governments.

In return, Musharraf would receive the support of Bhutto's party for a constitutional amendment clearing the way for him to continue as a civilian president.

But fierce opposition to the deal from Musharraf's ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML), as well as from some members of Bhutto's party, could scupper it.

''It's going to be harder day by day because of hardliners from both sides,'' Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told Dawn Television.

Deputy Information Minister Khan said the ruling party -- Musharraf's power base -- had to approve any pact: ''Perhaps the ground realities have dawned on people that matters are not as simple as they seem.

''A simple understanding with the People's Party will not do, that will not be sufficient,'' he said, referring to Bhutto's party. ''That is something that has been overlooked.'' Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani said yesterday some of Bhutto's demands were ''undemocratic''. Khan said the corruption cases Bhutto faces were a major sticking point.

Bhutto has said she will announce plans to return home on September 14 -- with or without a deal. Another former exiled prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, is vowing to return on September 10 to launch a campaign to unseat Musharraf.

He told Reuters in London he was looking forward to returning after years in exile, despite the threat of arrest by Musharraf's forces: ''Mr Musharraf is trying to threaten me with dire consequences, but I'm not scared.'' Separately, lawyers, outraged when Musharraf tried to sack the chief justice in March, are due to begin an agitation campaign against him on September 6 while several cases against his bid for another term have been lodged in the Supreme Court.

The government is sounding out Islamist parties for their support but they appear lukewarm after Musharraf broke a promise to them to step down as army chief in 2004.

REUTERS SYU KP2051