Musharraf, Bhutto reach accord

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – 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 today.

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

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.

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.