WaPo : Musharraf, Bhutto Reach Tentative Deal to Let Her Return With Amnesty

Musharraf, Bhutto Reach Tentative Deal to Let Her Return With Amnesty

Pakistan Supreme Court Rules that Scheduled Election Can Proceed

By Griff Witte | Washington Post Foreign Service | October 5, 2007

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 5 -- President Pervez Musharraf and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto have reached tentative agreement on a deal that is designed to give his election more credibility and allow her to return to Pakistan without facing corruption charges, officials on both sides said Friday.

The deal, which followed months of seesaw negotiations, was expected to be formally announced later Friday, the eve of a planned presidential vote in the national and provincial assemblies.

The Pakistan Supreme Court ruled Friday that the vote could proceed on Saturday as scheduled, despite a pending legal challenge to Musharraf's eligibility. However the court said that the results could not be announced until justices finished considering the case -- a partial setback to Musharraf's plans for a smooth transition between terms.

Though the court ruled last week that Musharraf could still run for president despite his dual role as chief of the army, the ruling today will delay the reelection process until at least Oct. 17, the next scheduled court hearing and the day before Bhutto's planned return from exile.

Musharraf has the support he needs to win a new five-year term, but Bhutto's party had threatened to join other opposition groups in resigning from the assemblies in protest. Such a move would further erode the credibility of a vote that is already being questioned because Musharraf is choosing to have his tenure extended by assemblies that are about to expire. Under the deal, Bhutto's party members will either abstain or vote for their own candidate, but will not step down.

In return, the government has agreed to grant amnesty to Bhutto and other politicians who have outstanding corruption charges dating to 1999 or earlier, but have not been convicted. The amnesty clears the way for Bhutto to return from exile on Oct. 18, after eight years abroad, and compete in parliamentary elections slated for late 2007 or early 2008. Bhutto, who twice served as prime minister in the late 1980s and 1990s, has said that she wants to win back her old job.
ad_icon

On Thursday, Bhutto told reporters in London that although the deal with Musharraf was not finalized, she was optimistic.

"We expect there will be no obstacle in the path of my return," she said.

Musharraf, meanwhile, told Dawn News on Thursday night that he believed there was space for Bhutto in Pakistani politics.

"In the process of national reconciliation, the People's Party and she have a role to play," he said.

The United States has been quietly facilitating the negotiations, hoping that Musharraf and Bhutto -- both considered moderates -- can join forces to battle a rising tide of radicalism in the country's northwest.

The amnesty deal apparently does not include former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who returned from exile last month only to be deported four hours later. He was convicted on charges in 2000, and government officials say that those convictions still stand.