WASHINGTON, Oct 8: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto spoke with President Pervez Musharraf during her visit to Washington two weeks ago, diplomatic sources told Dawn.

The telephone call to Gen Musharraf, according to these sources, was made from the office of Congressman Tom Lantos, the powerful chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Also, on Thursday US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned both Gen Musharraf and Ms Bhutto to ensure that they had reached an agreement, the sources added. The next day, the Musharraf government announced that it would drop criminal cases pending in Pakistan against Ms Bhutto, fulfilling her key demand.

The two telephone calls show the extent of Washington’s involvement in Pakistani politics and contradict the State Department’s repeated assurance that while the US backs the formation of “a moderate political centre in Pakistan, it does not favour any particular candidate or party.”

Congressman Lantos, although a strong advocate for democratic reforms in Pakistan, also enjoys good relations with Gen Musharraf. He played a key role in attaching democratic reforms as one of the conditions for continued US assistance to Pakistan to a new law the US Congress passed earlier this year.

Neither Ms Bhutto nor the congressman publicly discussed the conversation but the sources said that Mr Lantos spoke briefly with President Musharraf and then passed the phone to the PPP leader.

Ms Bhutto’s September visit to Washington was more fruitful than her previous visits. She was everywhere in the media – from Washington Post to CNN – giving interviews, writing articles and issuing statements. She also met several senior US officials and about a dozen lawmakers. At least two cabinet-level officials attended the dinner hosted by a Pakistani-American member of the Republican Party.

Senior officials stayed away from the dinner Ms Bhutto hosted in return, as the Bush administration does not want to be seen as endorsing the Musharraf-Bhutto deal. Several lawmakers, however, attended the dinner. During her visit, Ms Bhutto appeared particularly concerned about her security in Pakistan and also sought US support in assuring that the MQM would not resist her plan to land in Karachi on Oct. 18.

Concerns in Washington over Ms Bhutto’s security increased after a pro-Taliban insurgent leader Baitullah Mehsud threatened on Sunday to target Bhutto when she returns to the country.

“We don’t accept Musharraf and Bhutto because they only protect US interests and see things through its glasses. They’re only acceptable if they wear the Pakistani glasses,” Mehsud was quoted as saying. Responding to the statement, Ms Bhutto acknowledged that she took such threats seriously. ‘’I know there are security risks, people who want to kill me and to scuttle the restoration of democracy,’’ Bhutto said in an interview with the Sunday Times ahead of her planned return home on October 18. “But with my faith in God and trust in the people of Pakistan, I’m sure the party workers will be there and will protect me,” she added.