Former Pakistan premiers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif have agreed to join forces to oust President Pervez Musharraf from office, a top party official said.
ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan premiers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif have agreed to join forces to oust President Pervez Musharraf from office, a top party official said on Thursday.
If the deal is pushed through it would unite two of the country's biggest opposition parties against the military ruler, whose imposition of emergency rule has triggered a national crisis.
The two leaders, who have been rivals during the past, agreed to bury their differences to launch a 'joint struggle' against Musharraf, said Raja Zafar-ul Haq, chairman of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N party. The two spoke Wednesday by telephone, officials from both parties said.
"She has assured she will continue the struggle against General Musharraf until he resigns from both offices," Haq said. "He is not acceptable, neither as president nor as army chief." Bhutto's party confirmed the pair spoke but said she would give details of their conversation later in the day. She is under house arrest in the eastern city of Lahore while Sharif leads his party from exile in Saudi Arabia.
"They will launch a joint struggle," Haq said, adding Sharif was 'ready to bury the past'. Bhutto, whose Pakistan People's Party is the country's biggest opposition group, had been in Western-backed power-sharing talks with Musharraf before he imposed emergency rule on November 3.
On Tuesday, however, she ruled out further talks and vowed never to serve under him in government, a shift in position that has moved her closer to the rest of the fractured opposition.
Bhutto was prime minister from 1988 to 1990 and 1993 to 1996. In between, Sharif was premier, and he held the post again between 1996 and 1999, when he was ousted in the coup that brought Musharraf to power. A previous alliance between the two broke up over Bhutto's contacts with Musharraf.
From under house arrest, Bhutto has also been in touch with the leaders of other opposition parties, including Islamic fundamentalists, to try to form a united front against the military ruler. She also spoke to cricket legend Imran Khan before he was arrested on Wednesday and charged under anti-terrorism legislation.
Haq said she had 'realised' the futility of negotiating with Musharraf. "She has seen a number of her party workers arrested and molested, and the anger against Musharraf is widespread and it is not possible now."
Musharraf has promised general elections by January 9, but said emergency rule would continue until then. Opposition parties are considering whether to boycott the vote, saying it could not be free or fair if held under the present conditions.
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