New Delhi: Former Pakistan prime minister, Benazir Bhutto has come out in defence of the much-touted power-sharing deal between Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and herself, after rumours that the pact was nearing a collapse.
"We tried our best to workout the deal. Now, everything is up to President Musharraf. Our primary aim is to restore democracy in Pakistan but time is very short," sources quoted Benazir Bhutto as saying.
Sources have also told CNN-IBN that the negotiations for the deal are continuing between the two leaders.
A minister close to the General was quoted by news agency PTI as saying on Saturday that the deal had collapsed over Bhutto's demand that prime ministers must be allowed a third term.
"It is finished. The President said 'no'. If you insist, there are very thin chances of salvaging it — just 1 or 2 per cent," the Dawn newspaper quoted Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad as saying.
"Maybe some last-minute attempt is made... to salvage the deal. But personally I am not at all hopeful, the reason being Bhutto's insistence that prime ministers must be allowed a third term," he was further quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, a Pakistan minister said on Sunday that Nawaz Sharif would be arrested if he set foot in the country.
"It is Nawaz Sharif's imagination that he is coming back to Pakistan. We will deport him back. He will have to face arrest and a trail in Pakistan," the minister said.
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