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ISLAMABAD : Former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto said on Wednesday she wanted to meet President Pervez Musharraf face-to-face after making progress in talks on a power-sharing deal between them.
The two-time prime minister added that she would return home from self-exile in London and Dubai in "weeks, not months," ahead of upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.
"There has been progress in some areas and we are working on those areas," she told AFP in a telephone interview after the stalled negotiations resumed this week, adding that "good" progress had been made.
"I prefer face-to-face negotiations between himself and myself (but) I also appreciate that he has got a country to run and that might be very difficult," she said when asked if she would meet the military ruler.
Talks held in London last week between aides to Bhutto and Musharraf ended in deadlock, with the ex-premier saying that she would announce a date for her return from self-imposed exile due to corruption charges on September 14.
But the negotiations resumed in the Gulf emirate of Dubai this week.
Asked when she now planned to fly back to Pakistan, which she left eight years ago after serving as premier between 1988-1990 and 1993-1996, Bhutto said her return would take place in "weeks, not months."
Bhutto said one of the key issues in the negotiations - whether Musharraf will quit his role as army chief ahead of his bid to be re-elected as president in September or October - was "resolved".
Her Pakistan People's Party would regard any attempt by him to keep his military position as a deal-breaker, she said, adding: "As far as we are concerned, we cannot have a president in uniform".
The main progress in this week's talks was on the issue of "free and fair elections," she said, which party sources said included the setting-up of a caretaker government before polls.
Musharraf, who has been embroiled in crisis since a botched attempt to sack the country's chief justice in March, faced a related challenge Wednesday when the Supreme Court told him to name the date when his time as president expires.
But Bhutto said her negotiations with Musharraf are focused on solving other sticking points, including whether the president, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, should cede his powers to dissolve parliament.
There was no immediate reaction from the government on whether Musharraf would be prepared to meet Bhutto to seal the deal. But a minister confirmed on Tuesday that the talks were moving forward.
Meanwhile Bhutto put forward her credentials as a moderate leader who would be tough on Islamic militancy, a growing problem in Pakistan amid pressure from Washington to crack down on Taliban and Al-Qaeda rebels.
She said she would continue Musharraf's alliance with Washington and his cooperation with US-led and NATO forces in Afghanistan, who have complained that Pakistan is not doing enough to tackle extremism.
Negotiations between the Musharraf and Bhutto camps were given extra urgency last week when another former premier, Nawaz Sharif, said he planned to return to Pakistan from exile on September 10.
Sharif was ousted by Musharraf in 1999 and has vowed to oppose the president's bid to be re-elected.
He has criticised former ally Bhutto's dealings with Musharraf, slamming her for dealing with the "dictatorship".
However, Sharif's plan to return to Pakistan was criticised late Tuesday by Saudi Arabia, the country that gave him shelter after he was toppled.
"Wisdom dictates that Mr Nawaz Sharif abide by his promises not to return to Pakistan and to political activity," said an unnamed spokesman quoted by the state SPA news agency. - AFP/de
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