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Islamabad: Pakistan's embattled President Pervez Musharraf may quit as army chief in return for support from political parties to re-elect him for another term, a newspaper reported yesterday.
The offer is being discussed by Musharraf's aides with self-exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in London as part of a power-sharing pact, Dawn newspaper said.
Musharraf, who has seen his popularity plummet in recent months, wants to get re-elected president for another five years between mid-September and mid-October, before his term as army chief expires at the end of the year.
Under his plan, a general election will then be held at the end of the year or early next year.
But US ally Musharraf faces opposition - legal challenges on constitutional grounds and perhaps even street protests - raising concern about stability in the nuclear-armed country seen as vital to efforts to tackle terrorism and pacify Afghanistan.
An agreement with two-time prime minister Bhutto, whose Pakistan People's Party is seen as the country's most popular party, would help Gen Musharraf secure another term.
Insistence
But liberal-minded Benazir is insisting he stand down as army chief before he runs for re-election.
"President Musharraf has offered to doff the uniform even before the presidential elections," the English-language Dawn reported.
"But in the trade off, he wants all political parties to agree to elect him president ... after the new assemblies come into being following the next general election."
A cabinet minister declined to comment except to say Gen Musharraf had made up his mind on his uniform. "The uniform is no longer an issue between Benazir Bhutto and President Musharraf," said Railways Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmad, a close ally of the president, who held talks with Gen Musharraf on Monday.
Imminent challenge
An aide to Benazir said August 31 was the deadline for a deal with Gen Musharraf. She will then decide when she will return. Gen Musharraf is also facing an imminent challenge from another exiled former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who Gen Musharraf ousted in 1999 and later sent into exile.
The Supreme Court ruled last week that Sharif should be allowed to return and he later said he expected to be back by mid-September. Gen Musharraf is expected to launch his bid for a new term by end of September.
Aziz seeks reconciliation
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz called for reconciliation between the country's main political parties as President Pervez Musharraf prepares to seek re-election, but said the government had no plans to allow two key opposition leaders who had each served two terms as prime minister to stake claim to the office again.
In a television interview aired late on Monday, Aziz said Musharraf's government had been in touch with all the major political parties to discuss the matter.
"This will improve the political atmosphere, and we have always said that we want national political reconciliation in the interest of Pakistan," he said on Geo television.
However, he said the government has no plan to lift the constitutional bar on prime ministers serving more than two terms - a key demand of Benazir and Sharif.
"For now, in our view, this law is right and it is in the interest of the country," Aziz said.
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