Benazir: Deal to share power almost done

Islamabad: Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf appeared to be on the verge of a power-sharing pact with Benazir Bhutto after the former premier said he had agreed to resign as army chief.

"Eighty to 90 per cent of issues have been settled. Ten to 20 per cent have yet to be decided," the former prime minister told the private Aaj television yesterday from London where she is holding talks with Musharraf's representatives. Railways Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmad, who is a close ally of Musharraf, told a news conference earlier that the two sides had agreed on his military role after several days of talks in London.

"There is no more uniform issue. It has been settled and the president will make an announcement," he said. "All issues have almost been settled between the PPP [Benazir's Pakistan People's Party] and the government. Only a few points remain and discussions are going on to settle them also," Shaikh Rashid said.

However, Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim was more cautious. "There is many a slip between the cup and the lip. Nothing has been sealed or signed as yet," he told Gulf News.