DUBAI, Aug 20: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto said she wants General Pervez Musharraf to retire from his position as the Chief of the Army Staff to pave the way for younger generals and indicated that she could “get along with some generals”.
According to report in a Dubai newspaper, she said next two weeks would be crucial for any working arrangement with President Musharraf.
“There is no agreement yet, the next two weeks will be crucial,” she was quoted as saying by Khaleej Times.
The PPP chairperson who lives in Dubai in self-exile also declared that deal or no deal, she would return to Pakistan after September this year and said that right now she felt “excited and tense”.
She emphasised that Gen Musharraf should quit his army post to unblock the promotion chances of other capable generals.
“Gen Musharraf needs to resign to clear the way to promotion for younger, capable generals,” she was quoted as saying.
She described her readiness to work with President Musharraf to rebuild democracy, calling the process as “internal reconciliation”. She also justified her reported power-sharing agreement as “dealing with reality”. “We can get along with some generals,” she said when questioned about her dealing with the army’’.
She denied that Washington had any role to “engineer a deal to keep key ally Gen Musharraf in power by having Benazir and her Pakistan’s People’s Party join his government as junior coalition partners”.—Correspondent
