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Leader urged to resign

Benazir Bhutto's call for Pakistan's president to quit dashes hopes in the West for an alliance.

LAHORE, Pakistan - Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto demanded the resignation of U.S.-backed President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday, dashing Western hopes that the two moderate leaders would form an alliance to confront Islamic extremists.

Bhutto, just placed under house arrest for the second time since her return from exile, said she was working to forge a partnership with Nawaz Sharif, the man overthrown as prime minister in a 1999 coup by Musharraf.

Sharif, speaking to the Associated Press from exile in Saudi Arabia, welcomed Bhutto's comments and urged opposition parties to unite against Musharraf.

Bhutto's move, which could see Pakistan's two main opposition parties joining, raised a new threat for Musharraf, a key U.S. ally who faces growing pressure at home and abroad to end emergency rule and restore democracy.

It further complicated matters for Washington, which has criticized Musharraf's recent crackdown on dissent but sees him as a dependable partner in the fight against al-Qaida. A senior U.S. envoy headed to Pakistan was expected to reiterate the U.S. calls for an end to emergency rule, which has led to thousands of arrests and a clampdown on the media.

The White House said it still hoped Pakistan's "moderate elements" could unite, but Bhutto said she would no longer try to work with Musharraf.

Musharraf responded that Bhutto "has no right" to ask him to resign, and said in an interview with the New York Times on Tuesday that she has an exaggerated view of her popular support.

Musharraf has defended emergency rule as needed to curb political unrest that he says is hampering the government's fight against Taliban- and al-Qaida-linked militants, who have been gaining the upper hand in the country's northwest along the border with Afghanistan.

Critics say the Nov. 3 emergency decree was a cover to oust independent-minded judges who had crimped Musharraf's powers in this country of 160-million people. They call his move outright martial law since authorities now have unchecked power to detain opponents and military courts can try civilians for treason.

Authorities placed Bhutto under house arrest to block her from staging a protest procession to the capital, Islamabad. The march went ahead but was quickly stopped by police, and security forces also clashed with antigovernment protesters in other cities.

[Last modified November 14, 2007, 01:35:33]