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US Presses Musharraf to Share Power With Rival

Bhutto as PM would signal change

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 16, 2007 9:28 AM CDT

(Newser) – To strengthen Gen. Pervez Musharraf 's shaky hold on crisis-rocked Pakistan, the US is pressing him to share power with his biggest rival, the New York Times reports. Musharraf is deeply unpopular, and the White House thinks his best chance of remaining president is to join forces with former PM Benazir Bhutto. The US fears that a Musharraf ouster would endanger the counter-terrorism effort in Pakistan.

Bhutto has been holding talks with US officials in the past weeks, and she and Musharraf met secretly in Abu Dhabi on July 27. Pakistan has been a quasi-military dictatorship since Musharraf seized power in 1999, and a power-sharing arrangement with Bhutto, as PM, could lead the country in a more democratic direction.

Supporter of Pakistan's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto attends anti-government rally holding poster of her leader, Thursday, May 24, 2007 in Lahore, Pakistan. Thousands of anti-President Gen. Pervez Musharraf rallied nationwide, the first street protests since burst of political violence in Pakistan's business capital deepened a crisis clouding his plans...
Supporter of Pakistan's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto attends anti-government rally holding poster of her leader, Thursday, May 24, 2007 in Lahore, Pakistan. Thousands of anti-President Gen. Pervez...   (Associated Press)
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf reacts during a joint peace meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday Aug. 12, 2007. Musharraf, who spoke in both his native Urdu and English, said that while the world is forging ahead, Pakistan and Afghanistan are confronted with a particularly dark form of terrorism fostered by foreign...
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf reacts during a joint peace meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday Aug. 12, 2007. Musharraf, who spoke in both his native Urdu and English, said that while the world...   (Associated Press)
In a  file photo  Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf gestures during an appearance   in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2006.  Musharraf gets no respite from his political woes after backing away from emergency rule, with Washington intensifying pressure to deliver results on fighting militants and homefront rivals demanding more democracy.   (AP...
In a file photo Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf gestures during an appearance in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2006. Musharraf gets no respite from his political woes after backing away from...   (Associated Press)
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto addresses members and guests of the Council on Foreign Relations, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007 in New York.  (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto addresses members and guests of the Council on Foreign Relations, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007 in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)   (Associated Press)
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Related Links

A talk with Bhutto
Council on Foreign Relations

Benazir lays down the law
IndiaInfo.com

Musharraf in trouble
Financial Times (UK)

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