Pakistan : Musharraf has agreed to resign as army chief

PAKISTAN'S weakened President Pervez Musharraf has agreed to resign as army chief in a power-sharing deal with exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto

A cabinet minister close to Musharraf also indicated a deal was near after several days of talks in London.

Bhutto was quoted in a British newspaper making a similar comment, although neither she nor Ahmed said explicitly that Musharraf had agreed to her demand that he step down as army chief.

Musharraf and Bhutto have been in talks for months about a pact that would protect the general's troubled re-election bid from looming legal challenges and public disenchantment with military rule.

In return, Musharraf is widely expected to give up his role as army chief, and Bhutto will return and contest parliamentary elections, eight years after she fled in the face of corruption charges.

"Both sides have agreed on the issue of uniform," Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, a close ally of the president, said of secret talks reportedly taking place in London.

Ms. Bhutto has seen her own political fortunes decline in recent weeks. She faces charges of political opportunism and hypocrisy after negotiating with her rival, President Musharraf.

tags: politics  pakistan  musharraf  

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