Bhutto and Sharif discuss joint campaign

Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf’s two main rivals began talks on forming an alliance against him today.

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who returned from exile last month, spoke by phone with former bitter rival Nawaz Sharif, whose government was overthrown by gen Musharraf eight years ago, to discuss setting up an opposition coalition.

Gen Musharraf is refusing to let Mr Sharif return from exile in Saudi Arabia before parliamentary elections have been held, probably in mid-January.

“She talked about the need for cooperation by all political parties on a one-point agenda aimed at the restoration of the constitution, lifting of the emergency and holding free and fair elections,” said a spokesman for her Pakistan People’s Party.

Ms Bhutto was put under house arrest for the second time in a week on Monday to prevent her from leading anti-Musharraf rallies.

Today a US diplomat was allowed to cross the police cordon surrounding the house in the eastern city of Lahore where Ms Bhutto has been confined.

Bryan Hunt, the American consul general in Lahore, emerged an hour later and said he had told Ms Bhutto of Washington’s wish for gen Musharraf to lift the emergency, quit as army chief and free opposition politicians and the media.

Meanwhile the president was finalising details of a caretaker government as the current Parliament’s five-year term end today.

Gen Musharraf’s presidential mandate also expires today, although he has extended it by calling the state of emergency that has thrown Pakistan into a deep political crisis.

The caretaker administration will be charged with guiding Pakistan towards the parliamentary elections to be held by January 9.

The key position of caretaker prime minister was expected to be announced today.

The elections are supposed to complete the restoration of democratic rule in Pakistan, eight years after gen Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup.

However, both opposition parties and Western governments say that the vote cannot be considered free and fair unless the general quickly lifts an emergency that many in Pakistan equate with martial law.

Musharraf seized extraordinary powers on November 3 and used them to detain thousands of opposition and human rights activists, sack senior judges and black out independent TV news channels.