Dawn : Musharraf, Bhutto agree crunch deal

Musharraf, Bhutto agree crunch deal

AFP | October 5, 2007

ISLAMABAD -- President Pervez Musharraf struck a last-minute deal Friday with former premier Benazir Bhutto that paves the way for power-sharing and clears a key hurdle to his smooth re-election.

The government and Benazir’s party said they had both agreed on a national reconciliation accord which would be made public later Friday.

The deal gives an amnesty for politicians active in Pakistan between 1988 and 1999 -- effectively clearing Benazir of the corruption charges that forced her into exile eight years ago and prepares the ground for her planned homecoming on October 18 ahead of parliamentary elections due by early 2008.

The pact was announced after she met with key party members in London.

The cabinet was reported to have given formal approval before sending the pact to Musharraf to sign.

“The agreement says that there will be an across-the-board indemnity for public office holders between 1988 and 1999,” a senior government official who has seen the draft said on condition of anonymity.

A senior party member in Islamabad, PPP lawyer Farooq Naik, confirmed the deal.

Officials said the amnesty would not apply to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, whom Musharraf ousted in 1999.