The US appears to be preparing for different eventualities as the political crisis in Pakistan deepens, according to a report in the New Times on Tuesday.
One US official told the newspaper, “Nobody is ready to cut him (President General Pervez Musharraf) off at the knees yet.” But another official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly on the issue, said that many people within the administration were worried that General Musharraf’s missteps would soon erode his base at home that he could be forced to give up power.”
BB still ‘in’: The Washington Post, however, reports that while Bhutto has “warned that she would hold no talks with Musharraf as long as the Constitution was suspended, analysts say that, despite those remarks, Bhutto is still open to a power-sharing deal with Musharraf.” The Financial Times writes, “Western diplomats in Islamabad said the seemingly harder line taken by Bhutto was unlikely to mark a complete end to several months of behind-the-scenes discussions between negotiators representing her party and the Musharraf government.” |