ISLAMABAD, July 19: The talks between the government and the Pakistan People’s Party have made some headway, with the PPP reportedly assuring the ruling coalition that it will not create hurdles in the way of President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s attempts to get re-elected from the present assemblies, according to some highly-placed official sources.
“PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto has already conveyed this (to the ruling part),” said the sources on Thursday. They added that she had informed the government through back-channels that she was ready to support Musharraf with certain conditions.
To meet one such condition and as a result of consultations with the ruling party leadership, including Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and PML president Chaudhry Shujaat, President Musharraf has conveyed to his confidants that he will doff his army uniform by December after being elected as the president for the next term in October, disclosed the sources.
Sources said in case Musharraf seeks vote from the present assemblies, the PPP would abstain, following the example set by the MMA in the last presidential election.
They said the PPP leader had assured the government that it would vote for Musharraf if he sought a re-election from the next assemblies.
“She has also assured a top presidential aide that the PPP would neither resign from the assemblies before Musharraf’s re-election nor let the other opposition parties do so at this critical juncture,” confided a senior government functionary.
Well-placed sources said the tacit unwritten agreement had been reached on this one particular issue between former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and a president’s aide in Dubai.
