WASHINGTON, May 17: Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has said that it would be inappropriate for her to talk about “an emerging partnership” with President Pervez Musharraf now when public sentiments against the government are running so high.

In an unusually candid interview to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s radio programme “As It Happens”, Ms Bhutto explained why she was talking to the Musharraf government before the judicial crisis and how Islamabad’s inability to “act quickly” blocked progress.

Ms Bhutto acknowledged that during her contacts with the Musharraf government, she had urged Islamabad to drop all corruption charges against Asif Zardari and her. She said she agreed with the assessment that Gen Musharraf was now losing control over the situation.

“I believe that power is slipping out of Gen Musharraf’s hand very quickly. His authority has been badly damaged by the suspension of Pakistan’s top judge. And I share the view that it is only a matter of time before he leaves the government.”

But she warned that a lot depended on the international community and the armed forces of Pakistan. “If they continue to back him, he might be able to cling on,” she said.

“Part of it depends on Gen Musharraf himself. Is he able to make the compromises necessary to respond to the sentiments of the people?“So far he has not shown an inclination to compromise and I think that has been his basic failing.”

Ms Bhutto politely rejected former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s allegation that she had betrayed her allies in the movement for restoring democracy to Pakistan by holding talks with Gen Musharraf.

“The PPP is not interested in dictatorship. Our contacts have been for a transition to democracy. The pact that PPP has with Mr Sharif is for strengthening democracy. The contacts between Gen Musharraf and the PPP were also aimed at helping facilitate Pakistan’s transfer to a democratic order,” she said.Ms Bhutto agreed with the suggestion that for any progress in her talks with the government, it was absolutely essential that President Musharraf quits the army. “I would see that to be a political leader, Gen Musharraf needs to take his uniform off. And in fact, I would say that Gen Musharraf needs to take the initiative,” she said.

This initiative, according to her, should include inviting all the political leaders to a roundtable conference to discuss Pakistan’s future, to discuss the transfer of power and to discuss the balance of power between the president and the prime minister.

“And obviously if there’s no movement on the issues that the opposition is concerned about then there wouldn’t be any settlement,” said the former prime minister.

Asked if during her contacts with the government, she had asked Islamabad to shut down the investigation into corruption charges against her and her husband, she said: “Very much so. We believe that all political parties must have a level playing field.

“And the PPP has been hobbled by politically motivated allegations that have remained unproven for a decade despite vast sums of money from Pakistan’s national treasury being spent on them.”But she said that dropping corruption charges were not enough for the talks to be fruitful. “Even if corruption allegations were to end tomorrow, more would need to be done because we are talking here about Pakistan’s transition to democracy,” she added.

“There are other issues that need to be addressed, such as the constitutional issue spelling out the powers between the president and the prime minister. There is the issue of how and when Gen Musharraf takes off his uniform. So there are several issues involved and there hasn’t been any movement on any of the multiple issues.”