Musharraf aides: Yielding uniform is not a done deal

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Pervez Musharraf, beset by increasing public discontent over his military-backed regime, has not decided whether to step down as Pakistan's army chief and become purely a civilian leader, his aides said yesterday.

The statement came a day after exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto announced that Musharraf had agreed to give up his military uniform as part of a potential power-sharing deal.

"The issue of the uniform will be decided by the president . . . and he will not take any pressure on that issue," Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani said.

Musharraf, whom the Bush administration considers an important ally in the battle against Islamic terrorism, has pledged in the past to give up his uniform, only to renege.

Meanwhile, another rival for the nation's leadership, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said he would return from exile to Islamabad on Sept. 10 to challenge the president. The Pakistan Supreme Court ruled last week that Sharif, whom Musharraf ousted in a coup eight years ago, was entitled to come back to his homeland after years of exile in Saudi Arabia.

"This man, Musharraf, is on his way out," Sharif said at a news conference broadcast from London. ". . . We will be launching a movement against Mr. Musharraf and his government."

The dramatic and contradictory comments from Bhutto, Sharif and Musharraf's camp, made within 24 hours, highlighted the country's deep political uncertainty as Musharraf's popularity has plummeted.

The statements also appeared to be part of an emerging round of gamesmanship among the three leaders as Pakistan heads toward parliamentary and presidential elections by the beginning of next year.

Bhutto's announcement Wednesday that Musharraf had agreed to relinquish his job as army chief set off feverish speculation as to whether he would do so before the constitutionally mandated deadline of the end of the year.

Musharraf's railway minister, a confidant, said Wednesday that the president and Bhutto had reached an agreement on the uniform question.

Yesterday, Musharraf's aides were backing away from such a declaration. The months-long power-sharing talks with Bhutto were ongoing, they said, adding that a deal could be sealed within the next few days but that it was premature to talk about specific elements.

Musharraf is hoping that joining hands with Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party will lend his presidency more legitimacy, under an arrangement that could see corruption charges against Bhutto dropped and allow her to return to Islamabad to serve a third term as prime minister.

Bhutto is under pressure to seal a deal quickly now that Sharif, an unwavering critic of Musharraf, has reentered the fray. Analysts say a concern that Bhutto, with further delay, could be cast as soft on military rule might have prompted her declaration on the uniform question Wednesday before a final deal had been sealed.

Bhutto spokesman Farhatullah Babar maintained yesterday that Musharraf had agreed to resign as army leader, despite the denials by his aides.