Benazir vows early return

Dubai: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said yesterday she would return to Pakistan "very soon" despite failing to reach a power sharing deal with President Pervez Musharraf.

Benazir, who had been in talks to become prime minister again, with beleaguered Musharraf stepping down as army chief but seeking a new term as president, said at a press conference in London that the deal appeared to have been stalled due to intervention of ruling party hardliners.

"No understanding has been arrived at," she told the crowded news conference about her negotiations with Musharraf. She said talks between her Pakistan People's Party and envoys sent by Musharraf had been 80 per cent successful "but matters appear to have stalled following resistance by members of the ruling party".

She said the Musharraf delegation had returned to Pakistan for consultations. Asked if talks on a deal could resume, she was quoted as saying by Reuters: "This is a question you need to put to them."

Benazir said she would announce the date of her return on September 14.

"I plan to return to Pakistan in the next few weeks to work for a moderate, democratic Pakistan that is free from the threat of terrorism and which can address the basic needs of its people," Benazir told Reuters Television. "I feel the stage is set for the restoration of democracy and I hope to go back to play my part," she told reporters after meeting colleagues from her party. She also told Reuters she expected to be a candidate in upcoming parliamentary elections.

Another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, has announced he will return on September 10.

Reacting to the news of the stalled deal, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) said "serious reservations" conveyed by the party leadership to Musharraf over accepting Benazir's excessive demands had prevailed. Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim said Benazir had been trying to pretend as if PML and other parties in the ruling coalition "do not exist".

"The political hype was created by Benazir Bhutto and now she has come down to accept the ground realities that there is a democratic government functioning in Pakistan," he said.

In Islamabad, Musharraf continued consultations with aides yesterday. The President was trying to "thrash out differences with the PML leadership, which opposes an amendment that may pave the way for Benazir or Nawaz Sharif to hold the prime minister's office for the third term," a source close to the discussions told Gulf News.