"The uniform issue is key and there has been a lot of movement on it in the recent round of talks." In a separate interview with the Financial Times also published on Wednesday, fellow exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said that he planned to return to Pakistan within a fortnight to lead a campaign to oust General Musharraf.
Benazir's comments come just a day after a cabinet minister and a paramilitary secretary hailing from ruling party resigned to protest Musharraf's plan to remain as army chief and be re-elected as president-in-uniform by the assemblies between mid-September and mid-October. Musharraf's opponents say his re-election in uniform is unacceptable and would contravene the constitution.
General Musharraf , who seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999, suffered a setback last week when the Supreme Court - flexing its muscles after Musharraf's botched bid to sack Chief Justice of Pakistan- said Sharifs were allowed to return from exile.
Musharraf overthrew Nawaz Sharif in 1999 when the premier tried to fire him as army leader. According to Benazir, Musharraf's side tabled a "new issue" in talks in London, by seeking her backing for a constitutional amendment that would allow him to be re-elected.
Benazir said that Musharraf's government would have to make "an upfront gesture of reciprocity, a clear indication of political support for the Pakistan People's Party (PPP)," the party to which she belongs. She added that the PPP wanted to see a sign that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) was "no longer calling the shots."
Among her other conditions for a deal, according to the Telegraph, were immunity from prosecution, the lifting of a ban on prime ministers serving a third term, and the curbing of presidential powers to sack the government. Benazir said that while a deal was not yet concluded, "we are close to an agreement," adding that the deadline for the deal was the end of the month.
Speaking to the FT business daily, meanwhile, Nawaz Sharif said that Benazir 's attempts to deal with Musharraf were a "setback" and a "clear violation" of a deal (charter of democracy) agreed between the two former prime ministers to do "no deals with military dictators."
"She decided to go down a different path," Sharif said, but added that Bhutto's discussions with Musharraf were offset by "the overwhelming support of the people" for the end of military rule.
"Today the people, civil society, the judiciary, the political forces and the media are on one side, and the dictator and his shrinking support are on the other side ... The battle lines are clearly drawn, and the king's party has no legs to stand on." In comments published in the Telegraph, Nawaz Sharif also said that Musharraf's offer to step down as army chief was "too little, too late."
"Musharraf does not qualify to be a presidential candidate, whether in or out of uniform ... He has lost credibility and the people of Pakistan want him out."