Power-sharing with Musharraf could work, says Bhutto

STRIKE A DEAL: Benazir Bhutto also insisted that it was important for Musharraf take off his uniform.

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New Delhi: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Sunday admitted that she is in power-sharing talks with the General Pervez Musharraf regime.

In an interview to CNN, Bhutto said that negotiations between her and Musharraf on the future elections in Pakistan are still going on.

“We haven't officially admitted such contacts, but on the other level we have admitted negotiations with the present regime to find a way to get Pakistan to the democratic track. I still believe that if we can a balance of power, we will be able to come up with a situation where we can under mine terrorism and address the real needs of the people,” Bhutto said.

Bhutto also repeated her insistence that Musharraf give up his post as the country's military leader under any deal.

“It is very important for Musharraf to take off the uniform. His side has told the Pakistan People's Party (PPP that he doesn’t need our votes for President. He is going to fight on his own bat through the present assembly. We have reservations because there are other parties involved like the law,” Bhutto said.

However, Bhutto did not confirm reports that she had met with Musharraf in Abu Dhabi last month for secret talks on a possible deal.

The meeting had come after Bhutto's recent remarks that her party would lose votes in the polls due to be held later this year if she aligned with Musharraf in the aftermath of the recent Supreme Court judgment reinstating suspended Chief Justice Iftikar M Chaudhry.

The meeting also took place against the backdrop of attempts by militant students to re-occupy the Lal Masjid, which was captured in a military raid. Its capture resulted in a spate of suicide bomb attacks mostly in tribal areas targeting Pakistani troops.