Musharraf, Benazir -- Pakistans `new odd couple

If two people are to be designated the new version of the popular television serial -- The Odd Couple, then surely President General Pervez Musharraf and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto would fit the bill.

Islamabad, Aug.24 : If two people are to be designated the new version of the popular television serial -- "The Odd Couple", then surely President General Pervez Musharraf and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto would fit the bill.

In a country with a history of fierce political rivalries, the idea of a union between Musharraf and Bhutto seems preposterous, says Simon Robinson in a report for The Time.

"After all, they hate each other with an undisguised passion. She has a phobia about military dictators--her politician father was executed by one--and has described General Musharraf as an incompetent ruler who indulges in "puerile brinkmanship. In his view, she and Nawaz Sharif, another former Prime Minister, epitomize the weak, deeply corrupt democracy he overthrew in a bloodless 1999 coup," says Robinson.

There is a summation that the relationship between the two is not only "odd, but contradictory", and this comes out through the fact that while both are publicly hemming and hawing about their secret meeting in Abu Dhabi, the two did actually meet there and appear ready to do business with each other.

According to Robinson's report, Musharraf may want to personally "kick" both Sharif and Bhutto for the "perceived ruin of Pakistan", but he seems quite aware of the mounting public opinion against him, and therefore, seems willing to consider a political balancing act.

According to Robinson, Washington knows that Musharraf needs help, which is why it has covertly encouraged a Musharraf-Bhutto deal, with the goal of rallying the moderate majority in Pakistan.

"The interest we have had is in trying to bring together the middle of Pakistani society to refocus efforts against the extremes," said one Bush Administration official.

The theory being bounced around in Washington is that Bhutto's personal popularity would bolster Musharraf's weakening support, and that such an alliance would probably pursue policies not radically different from those of the present government.

But it is far from certain that Musharraf and Bhutto can come to a working agreement, even if they can set aside their mutual antagonism and some early sticking points.

There's little reason to believe that a Musharraf-Bhutto union would bring about the systemic change that Pakistan so desperately needs.

Both leaders represent Pakistan's failed past, a history defined by close ties between the ruling �lite and the military, recurrent corruption and the creeping Islamization of a country whose original vision was a more secular Muslim state.

Eight years of military rule have left Pakistanis frustrated and angry. Many now see Musharraf as little more than a U.S. stooge. Support for Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, too has weakened by the revelation that she is contemplating a deal with Musharraf.

So a pairing could end up weakening both sides rather than strengthening them.

Washington is hopeful that a deal can be worked out. But it knows that Musharraf has a history of getting out of a mess by taking out his weapons.

As an Administration official put it, "The question still becomes, At what point does his tendency as a commando to, you know, blow his way out of the situation, take over?"

ANI