Musharraf holds talks with Bhutto

1 hour, 21 minutes ago
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf held secret talks with opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, a government minister said Saturday.
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Minister for Railways Sheirkh Rashid Ahmed said the president and Bhutto "held a successful meeting" in the Gulf emirate of Abu Dhabi on Friday, confirming earlier media reports.
Pakistani newspapers and television networks reported that Musharraf and Bhutto discussed a possible power sharing deal in a meeting that lasted about an hour and ended without agreement.
Musharraf, an army general who seized power in 1999, is a key U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism. He has been politically weakened by a failed attempt to oust Supreme Court Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry and also faces an alarming upsurge in Islamic militancy.
The Abu Dhabi talks faltered when Bhutto, who leads the Pakistan People's Party from self-imposed exile in London, refused to agree to support Musharraf if he did not resign from the military, Geo television reported, citing unnamed sources.
Bhutto served as prime minister twice in the 1980s and 1990s, but fled the country to avoid corruption charges after her second government collapsed.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf held secret talks with opposition leader and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto about a possible power sharing deal, media reported Saturday.
The meeting, held Friday in the Gulf emirate of Abu Dhabi, lasted about one hour and ended without an agreement, Pakistani newspapers and television networks reported.
Official spokesmen for Musharraf and Bhutto said they had no information on any meeting.
"I am not in a position to confirm or deny the development," said Farhatullah Babar, Bhutto's spokesman in Pakistan. He said he hoped to speak with Bhutto later Saturday about the reports.
Musharraf's spokesman Maj. Gen. Rashid Qureshi declined to respond to the news reports. "I have really no idea so I don't want to comment," he said.
Reports of the meeting come amid intense speculation that Musharraf would seek Bhutto as an ally in his plans to seek reappointment from legislators for another term.
The plans face constitutional hurdles, weakening the hand of Musharraf, an army general who seized power in 1999 and who is a key U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism.
Musharraf has recently been politically weakened by his failed attempt to oust Supreme Court Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry and also faces an alarming upsurge in Islamic militancy.
The talks faltered when Bhutto, who leads the Pakistan People's Party from self-imposed exile in London, refused to agree to support Musharraf if he did not resign from the military, Geo television reported, citing unnamed sources.
A potential deal would include changing part of Pakistan's constitution that blocks Bhutto from becoming prime minister again, The Nation and other newspapers reported.
Bhutto served as prime minister twice in the 1980s and 1990s, but fled the country to avoid corruption charges after her second government collapsed.
Back-channel talks between envoys for the two leaders have been reported for months, and a face-to-face meeting between the two may indicate the sides thought they were close to a deal.
Musharraf has kept a low profile since the Supreme Court ended his bid to fire its chief judge, seen as a major setback to his plans to win a new five-year presidential term from lawmakers this fall.
The downturn in political fortunes comes as attacks have surged in Pakistan since an army assault on the pro-Taliban Red Mosque in Islamabad killed at least 102 people two weeks ago. A controversial security deal with tribal leaders on the Afghan border to contain Taliban and al-Qaida forces has also collapsed.
With U.S. pressure mounting on Musharraf to do more to stop extremists in the border region, Bhutto, whose party is Pakistan's largest opposition group, has been positioning herself as a champion of democracy and anti-terrorist campaigner.
In an interview with The Associated Press in a London earlier this month, Bhutto attacked Musharraf's record of fighting Islamic extremism but left open the possibility of returning to the country while he was still president.
Before she would return, she said the president would have to give up the power to sack the prime minister and dissolve parliament and show that free and fair elections could be held.
If he wanted to remain president, Musharraf must give up his role as army chief, she said.