Can Pakistan's X-prime ministers save the day?

Posted By David Bosco Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - 1:29 PM Share

Saturday Day Night Live used to run a cartoon skit called the "The X-Presidents" in which Bush I, Carter, Reagan, and Ford would team up to snatch the country from the jaws of disaster. (It later became a comic book by Robert Smigel.) The concept is no joke in Pakistan, where former PM Benazir Bhutto appears poised to triumphantly return and save a flailing Pervez Musharraf:

A power-sharing pact between Pakistan's embattled President Pervez Musharraf and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has almost been finalized, a cabinet minister said on Wednesday. Bhutto, who has lived in self-exile since 1998, has demanded a commitment from Musharraf to quit as army chief and become a civilian president as a condition for any deal, but Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the issue had been settled.

Meanwhile another ex-PM, Narwaz Sharif, is waiting expectantly in London for his vindication. But what happens if the ex-prime ministers fight amongst themselves? That may soon be the critical question.

UPDATE: Bhutto herself is now reportedly confirming that Musharraf has agreed to step down as army chief.

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