Former Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto and President General Pervez Musharraf appeared to suffer a major setback in their efforts to reach a deal that would shore up his fraught re-election bid and allow her to return to Pakistan to contest parliamentary elections.

Former Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto said today that power-sharing talks with President General Pervez Musharraf were at a standstill, but that she planned to return to the nation even without a deal.

Exiled former premier Benazir Bhutto’s party today met to decide whether to end talks with President Gen Pervez Musharraf over a pact that could see them share power and end military rule in Pakistan.