According to the International Herald Tribune, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has announced that she and President Pervez Musharraf are in the process of brokering a deal in which he would resign as army chief and run for another term as president, while she would return to Pakistan to contest parliamentary elections, currently planned for mid to late October. Mr. Musharraf’s lawyer has said on September 18th that he would resign his army post if re-elected, the New York Times discloses.

This power-sharing arrangement is backed by the United States government as the best bet against Islamic extremism, the International Herald Tribune writes. Negotiations are currently stalled due to fierce opposition from the ruling coalition, whose members are needed to pass constitutional amendments needed by both Mr. Musharraf and Ms. Bhutto in order to stay in power.

Former Prime Minister Sharif, ousted by General Musharraf in 1999, won a Supreme Court order allowing his return to Pakistan in order to contest the upcoming general elections, The New York Times writes. Mr. Sharif tried to enter Pakistan on September 9th, but was immediately faced with corruption charges and was deported back to Saudia Arabia, where he is currently under house arrest, BBC News reports.

The Musharraf-Bhutto deal could be blocked if.Sharif and others tap into public anger over the way in which serious corruption charges will be brushed aside, The Economist notes.