Deal terms still unclear

Islamabad: President Pervez Musharraf's secret rendezvous with former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in Abu Dhabi last week has left people guessing on the nature of the alliance that is taking shape, with elections only months away.

Musharraf is going through the weakest phase of his eight years in power and dearly wants another term.

Benazir herself is raring to mark a return to national politics after nearly a decade of self-exile and to become prime minister for a third term.

While both Musharraf and Benazir have preferred not to talk about what transpired in Abu Dhabi last Friday, analysts say the main obstacle to a deal is Benazir's refusal to support Musharraf's re-election while he is still chief of the army staff.

"It will be difficult for her to sell the deal to her supporters if the president refuses to shed his uniform," Hasan Askari Rizvi, a Lahore-based analyst said. "If Musharraf wants to stay in uniform, then the chances of a deal are bleak. She cannot accept it."

Ideally, Musharraf would like to be re-elected in September or October by the current assemblies, while still army chief. Benazir, according to analysts, wants him to step down as army chief and be re-elected by the parliament formed after the elections, in December or January, which she expects her party to win.

Musharraf's need for a new political friend became more urgent after the Supreme Court's decision earlier this month to reinstate a chief justice he had suspended in March.