A former prime minister of Pakistan says she will return to her country regardless of whether she reaches a deal with President Pervez Musharraf.
"We understand that there is severe reaction within the present ruling party to any understanding with the Pakistan People's Party," Bhutto said Saturday in London, who described the talks as being at a standstill.
"Due to that reaction no understanding has been arrived at and we are making our own plans to return to the country."
Bhutto left Pakistan in 1999 in the wake of her government's collapse and Musharraf taking power in a military coup. She could face corruption charges there and has previously insisted on the dropping of any such charges before she returned.
However, Bhutto said she must end her exile.
"We've taken the decision to announce on Sept. 14 the date of my return because we feel my return would be a factor for the stability of Pakistan," she said. "I feel the stage is set for the restoration of democracy and I hope to go back to play my part."
Musharraf is seeking re-election as president, hoping to win another five-year term when national and provincial assembly elections are held between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15. Parliamentary elections must be held by mid-January.
A constitutional amendment allowing him to simultaneously hold the offices of president and army chief expires on Dec. 31.
In recent months, his popularity has taken a beating over his attempt to fire the country's chief justice, who was reinstated in July, and the storming of the militant Red Mosque in Islamabad.
His talks with Bhutto are seen as an effort to broaden his political support. "Bhutto is still one of the most popular politicians in Pakistan," said Nasir Islam, an Ottawa political scientist.
The two sides need each other. Musharraf wants Bhutto's party to abstain from the presidential election and help him get around a constitutional requirement that government officials spend two years out of office before running for re-election.
Bhutto wants the lifting of a ban on prime ministers serving a third term. She has previously served between 1988 and 1990 and 1996 and 1999. This would help both her and Nawaz Sharif, another former prime minister in exile who wants to return and run again for prime minister.
In Pakistan, supporters of Musharraf said Bhutto is asking for too many concessions. She wants Musharraf to give up the title of army chief and relinquish the president's power to dismiss the prime minister besides the withdrawal of the old charges.
"Our party was not ready to allow a corrupt politician like her to return to Pakistan and take part in politics against us," Azim Chaudhry, a senior member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q party, told The Associated Press.
"She wanted that the president should not have the power to dissolve the parliament. She wanted that we should scrap corruption cases against her, and this is what we didn't accept."
Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, a close aide to Musharraf, said he thought the talks could yet succeed.
Pakistan, a Muslim country of about 161 million people that is a member of the nuclear weapons club, is seen as a key part of the so-called war on terror.
Musharraf has generally been seen as an ally of the West, but he has come under increasing pressure to do more to control militants in the tribal regions along the border with Afghanistan.
A U.S. intelligence report released in July said al Qaeda's operational capacity is the strongest it has been since 2001, the year of the 9/11 attacks. The report said al Qaeda has a safe haven in Pakistan.
The president has recently called for unity amongst Pakistani moderates in the fight against extremism.
Nasir Islam said the U.S. is pushing Musharraf to make a deal with Bhutto: "The Americans feel Musharraf is the best bet to deal with terrorism, but they also feel he must have internal political legitimacy."
With a report from CTV's Roger Smith files from The Associated Press
