Time for negotiations with Musharraf running out: Benazir

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has ruled out any political understanding with President Pervez Musharraf, and said the time for negotiating with the General is running out, even as she finalises her plans for returning to Pakistan.

London, Aug 27 : Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has ruled out any political understanding with President Pervez Musharraf, and said the time for negotiating with the General is running out, even as she finalises her plans for returning to Pakistan.

"While we have been holding negotiations for the transition to democracy, no agreement or understanding has yet been reached," Bhutto told The Sunday Telegraph.

"Time is running out and both sides will know shortly where each stands," she said.

Bhutto, who arrives in London on Tuesday to plan the final details of her return to her homeland, would hold meetings with supporters of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP), and is expected to decide on a date in October for her return, the Daily Times reported.

The paper said Bhutto's plans are being made amid growing signs of the proposed power-sharing deal becoming a non-starter.

Apart from Musharraf's apparent unwillingness to agree to Bhutto's conditions, her own willingness to do business with the General is said to have damaged her popularity ratings in Pakistan, the paper said.

Last week's verdict by Pakistan's Supreme Court to allow exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to return to Pakistan is said to have queered the political pitch.

The Sunday Telegraph quoted a PML-N source as saying that Bhutto and Musharraf would soon go their separate ways.

"I think that deal will be doomed. Gen Musharraf is highly discredited, finished: She can't be seen to do a deal with him," the source said.

ANI