Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said on Saturday that she had not yet reached a power-sharing deal with President Pervez Musharraf, but was planning to return to the country soon.
"No understanding has been arrived at and we are making our plans to return," she told a press conference in London, adding that her political party in Pakistan would announce the precise date of her return on September 14.
Nawaz Sharif announced on Thursday that he would return to Islamabad on September 10 to lead a campaign to oust Musharraf from power. Addressing dozens of reporters in a packed house in central London, Bhutto said that negotiations with Musharraf were "80 percent successful."
Asked what remained to be discussed, she said: "What was left was one and a half points pertaining to the sovereignty of parliament and the presidential and parliamentary elections." "I am unaware of how the talks will go ... it's very unclear because they went back to Pakistan. I have only seen the newspaper reports on it," she added later. The military leader has faced opposition from his allies in parliament, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Party (PML-Q), over his plans for a deal with Bhutto.
Official sources in Islamabad told AFP negotiations had stalled over Bhutto's demands that Musharraf shed his military uniform before seeking re-election, give up his powers to dissolve parliament and allow prime ministers to serve a third term.
A cabinet minister told AFP on Saturday the PML-Q had told Musharraf he should not concede the demands, which would pave the way for Bhutto or Sharif to return to the post. Musharraf would have to amend the Constitution, which requires a two-thirds majority in the parliament, to facilitate Bhutto's return to power.
Sharif, meanwhile, has refused to negotiate with Musharraf, having said that the issue of whether or not he sheds his uniform is not relevant. Bhutto said at the press conference that Nawaz Sharif had embarked on a "personal vendetta" against Musharraf, adding that her party's politics were not based on personality.
Responding to questions whether her return to Pakistan could destabilise the country, she said: "I want the country to be secure and I want my people to be happy so I stayed away five years, but in these five years, I saw my country destabilised by my absence." She said that her party was looking for a "moderate future for Pakistan" that was "free of terrorism." "The very unity and integrity of our country is at threat."
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