Musharraf Holds Secret Talks with Bhutto

Musharraf is a desperate man. So desperate he is willing to deal with his arch enemy, Benazir Bhutto, to fend off his other arch enemies, the militant Islamist groups in Pakistan. It is a ploy to make himself more legitimate and to make her share the criticisms directed at the government. Its like Bush using General Powell to sell his fraudulent Iraq War:

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf held secret talks with opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, a government minister said Saturday. Media widely reported that the once-bitter rivals had discussed a power-sharing deal.

The president, who is struggling with twin upsurges in Islamic militancy and calls for democracy, "held a successful meeting" with Bhutto in the Gulf emirate of Abu Dhabi on Friday, Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said. He would not elaborate, but said "hopefully" Bhutto's secular, socially liberal Pakistan Peoples Party — Pakistan's largest opposition party — would decide to back Musharraf.

Pakistani media reported that Musharraf and Bhutto discussed a possible power-sharing deal for nearly an hour but ended without agreement.

Sher Afgan Khan Niazi, a minister in the coalition government that backs Musharraf, said it appeared the two were trying to strike a deal to secure another term for the general while paving the way for Bhutto to return as prime minister.

Ms.Bhutto would be a fool to climb on board a sinking ship. The solution, if Musharraf wants to save Pakistan from an Jihadist-Islamic takeover, is for him to step down and allow free and fair elections. I'll bet Bush isn't arguing for democracy in that country. The neocons want a puppet who will rule in a way that doesn't allow anti-Western dissent:

Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, is a key U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism. The general plans to seek reappointment from legislators for a new-five year presidential term this fall.

The Abu Dhabi talks faltered when Bhutto, who leads her party from self-imposed exile in London and the United Arab Emirates, refused to agree to support Musharraf if he did not resign from the military, Geo television reported, citing unnamed sources.

Musharraf is in the weakest position of his political career. He recently attempted, and failed, to oust Supreme Court Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, an independent-minded judge who could rule on expected legal challenges to Musharraf's plans for re-election.