Islamabad: Benazir Bhutto and General Pervez Musharraf have agreed to the final draft of a “reconciliation'' deal, party officials and the government said last night, as the former prime minister said she would not obstruct the Pakistan President's re-election bid this weekend.
“Benazir Bhutto has accepted the draft but that does not mean a conclusive agreement has been reached,'' Senator Farooq Naik told Dawn TV. Bhutto's party was now waiting for the government to formally publish the agreement in the form of a presidential ordinance, he said.
“They have agreed on the draft and it will be issued by the president tomorrow. Benazir Bhutto has given her assent,'' Railways Minister and Musharraf confidante Shaikh Rashid was quoted as saying by AFP. There was no independent confirmation from Bhutto.
The agreement gives an amnesty for politicians who served in Pakistan between 1988 and 1999, effectively clearing Bhutto of the corruption charges that forced her into exile eight years ago.
Earlier, Bhutto said if a deal is reached, her party members would not quit parliament, but would either vote for their own candidate in the polls or abstain.
