Islamabad (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Pressures from the press and the international community will not influence President Musharraf’s decision whether to leave or not his post as army chief. “He will decide it himself and in the light of the constitution and law,” said Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani in response to question about a possible deal between the president and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto who has been living in exile in London since 1996.
According to the terms of the deal which should lead to a transition to democracy, Ms Bhutto will tell her supporters to vote for General Musharraf in the upcoming presidential elections. In exchange he would call a general parliamentary election within 60 days and drop corruption charges against her and pick her as her next head of government.
Ms Bhutto, who heads the Pakistan People’s Party, appears to have asked the president to quit his military post. But asked about it, Mr Durrani said that “[n]o decision has been made."
A deal seems close at hand none the less. Both parties are united by a share dislike for another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, Musharraf’s bitter enemy and the one responsible for Ms Bhutto’s first fall from grace.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court recently announced that he can stand for the presidential election and return home from his exile in Saudi Arabia where he had been living since the 1999 military coup.
Musharraf’s continued military role remains the main obstacle to the transition to democracy. But it appears that after a long tug-of-war he is now willing to resign from the army as part of the deal with Ms Bhutto, replacing his khaki uniform for a three-piece suit.
On its editorial page, the popular Daily Times writes that in order to stay in power General Musharraf is even willing to wear pink pyjamas.
