US wants Musharraf to share power with Bhutto: report

NEW YORK: The Bush administration is quietly prodding Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf to share authority with his rival as a way of broadening his base and keep him in power amidst deepening political crisis in the country, media reports said on Thursday.

General Musharraf, an important ally since the September 11 attacks, has lost so much domestic support in recent months that the US officials have gotten behind the idea that an alliance with former prime minister Benazir Bhutto would be his best chance of remaining the president, the New York Times said.

The two met in an unannounced session in Abu Dhabi on July 27, but neither has publicly admitted to the meeting.

Since then, many in Pakistan have heard the rumours and voiced their doubts about the workability and political wisdom of such a deal, and the US officials concede that the proposed power-sharing could come with problems as well as benefits, the report said.

But after weeks of unrest in Pakistan, the US officials say a power-sharing agreement that might install Bhutto as prime minister could help defuse a confrontation in which General Musharraf has already flirted with invoking emergency powers.

The US officials were quoted as saying they fear that General Musharraf could eventually be toppled and replaced by a leader who might be less reliable as a guardian of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and as an ally against terrorism.

Even if General Musharraf were to insist on remaining as the country's military leader, the US officials say sharing power could bring a more democratic spirit to Pakistan, which has been a quasi-military dictatorship since 1999, when he seized power and ousted Bhutto's successor, Nawaz Sharif.

Even in supporting a power-sharing agreement, the US officials said they were worried that any diminution of his power could only complicate the US' counter-terrorism efforts at a time when al-Qaeda is believed to be rebuilding in Pakistan's tribal areas.

They also say that Bhutto's return could fuel Pakistani nationalism and kindle new calls for Pakistan to distance itself from Washington.

Bhutto has been holding talks in recent weeks with senior Bush administration officials, including Zalmay Khalilzad, the US ambassador to the UN, with whom she met privately late last week, the report said.

Administration officials have taken pains not to endorse a power-sharing agreement publicly, so as not to seem as if the United States is trying to influence Pakistani politics, the report added.

But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the Times said, did discuss the idea of a power-sharing arrangement when she called President Musharraf last week in Pakistan to warn him not to declare emergency powers.

One of the biggest obstacles to any possible deal, the paper said, is whether Bhutto would demand that President Musharraf relinquish his post as army chief of staff before agreeing to a power-sharing deal.

Bhutto has said in the past that she would demand this, but the Times reported that there have been suggestions in Pakistan in recent days that to salvage a deal, she may be willing to concede that point.

The complexity of Pakistani politics makes it difficult to predict what shape a political deal could take, the US officials were quoted as saying.

But a first step could be a decision by General Musharraf to allow open parliamentary elections next month, because Bhutto's party now appears poised to win the largest share of the vote.

A victory by her party could pave the way for Bhutto to become the prime minister, but she would "probably" need Musharraf's support to overcome further obstacles, including a law prohibiting former prime ministers from returning to that office.

In turn, Bhutto's support could be crucial for President Musharraf to win the subsequent presidential elections that would allow him to stay in his current job, the report said.

"We have met with all parties, and have expressed our support for open and fair elections. We have encouraged the parties to strengthen the moderate center of Pakistani politics in order to better deal with the problems of extremism," Sean McCormack, the State Department spokesman, said Tuesday when asked by the Times about the US support for a power-sharing deal.

Teresita C Schaffer, a Pakistan expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that the US officials saw a deal between President Musharraf and Bhutto "as a potential lifeline" and one that would get him less deeply involved with the religious parties.