Murky deal could bring Benazir back to Pakistan, says Canadian daily

If the Canadian daily -- The Vancouver Sun -- is to be believed, former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will use a murky deal to wiggle her way back into Pakistan after a self-exile of nearly a decade.

Vancouver (Canada), May 3 : If the Canadian daily -- The Vancouver Sun -- is to be believed, former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will use a "murky" deal to wiggle her way back into Pakistan after a self-exile of nearly a decade.

According to the paper, the agreement between Bhutto and President General Pervez Musharraf has been in the works for about three years, and is now being given the required prod thanks to Britain and the United States.

The paper says there are two major objectives behind this deal -- One is to give political legitimacy to Musharraf, the former army commander who seized power in a bloodless coup in October 1999, and the second is to smother the perception that Pakistan is a hotbed of fanatical Islam when the record shows that puritanical Islamic parties have won, at most, 13 per cent of the vote in free and fair elections.

Tthere is ample evidence that Pakistani radical Islamists and foreign extremists such as the Taliban have found a haven in Pakistan during Musharraf's rule, and the hope is that by returning Pakistan to democratic rule in 2008, with Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leading the government and Musharraf as president, the radicals will be stifled, says the paper.

Some people involved in the communication even say the only agreement between the two is that the most practical outcome is that there be no visible agreement.

There is a view that a formal pact would create consternation, especially among Bhutto's PPP followers.

The critical point is on what future powers will Musharraf enjoy.

He, like most dictators, feels insecure and is intent on keeping control of the armed forces, the true source of his power, as well as the presidency. Musharraf's leashed and muzzled parliament is due to reconfirm him as president for five years in October.

But it is near impossible for Bhutto to accept a "uniformed president", however much she might wish to do so if it means the dropping of corruption charges against her, her ability to return home and the revival of her political career.

Mainstream elements the PPP would be outraged if she agreed to Musharraf remaining both as president and military chief.

Bhutto herself has been less than clear about the exact nature of her political relationship with Musharraf.

Speaking from her home in Dubai to British and American reporters last week she said "all this talk of an 'understanding' I find very confusing."

But then she added her own level of confusion. "If the people vote for my party (PPP) and parliament elects me as prime minister, it would be an honour for me to take up that role, and General Musharraf would be there as president, so I think a good working relationship between him and me would be a necessity for Pakistan," she said.

Bhutto says she will return to Pakistan by the end of the year to contest the elections due in January. There are, however, two significant impediments to her returning to political power.

There are still outstanding corruption charges and an in absentia conviction against her. And the Constitution says a prime minister can serve only for two terms, which she has already done.

ANI