Musharraf rejects pressure for Bhutto decision

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has rejected calls by ex-premier Benazir Bhutto for a quick decision on a power-sharing deal that would see him quit as army chief, his spokesman said on Thursday.   

Bhutto told Britain's Guardian newspaper that Musharraf had until on Friday to respond to her about the pact following talks in London, adding: "There are no ultimatums, but we need to know where we stand by then."   

But Musharraf's official spokesman said the president would not react to pressure and dismissed media reports that Bhutto had in fact delivered an ultimatum during the talks.   

"While the president believes in dialogue and deliberations on all important issues he never works under any pressure or ultimatum," retired Major General Rashid Qureshi said in a statement.   

"The president would take all decisions only in national interest at appropriate times according to the constitution and law," he said.

Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, is under intense pressure to give up his army role but has said he still intends to be re-elected for another five-year term as a uniformed president.   

A cabinet minister said on Wednesday that the military issue had been "settled" while Bhutto has said that Musharraf has agreed to leave the army.   

Bhutto told the Guardian that Musharraf had also agreed to drop corruption charges against her, her husband and dozens of other lawmakers in a general amnesty covering the period from 1988 to 1999.