Musharraf-Benazir anti-terror pact shaky: analysts

President Pervez Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto plan to forge an alliance to fight extremism following the return of the former premier to Pakistan, but analysts warn the deal already looks shaky.
The United States in recent months has quietly supported moves towards a power-sharing deal between the pair, ahead of Bhutto's homecoming on Thursday after eight years in self-imposed exile.
An alliance would boost their support among Islamic moderates, the US hopes, and embolden the pair to step up US-ally Pakistan's fight against extremists operating in the volatile Afghan border region, analysts said.
But rather than back the deal, many supporters have reacted with dismay, a major blow for Musharraf, who needs legitimacy after seizing power in a 1999 coup, and who is already suffering a severe slump in popularity, they said.
"America's main interest in Pakistan revolves around fighting the war on terrorism," political analyst Hasan Askari told AFP.
The Americans "are fully conscious of the fact that this war does not enjoy popular support because of the dubious democratic credentials of Musharraf's regime," said Askari, former head of political science at Punjab University.
"They think if Benazir comes on board the requisite support will be available and this would also stem the tide of extremism in Pakistan," he said.
Bhutto needs Musharraf's support ahead of a general poll in January to become prime minister in a new government. But supporters are angry that she is dealing with a military dictator, given her pledge to restore democracy, and for toeing the American line, analysts said.
Bhutto, the first female leader of an Islamic nation, has pledged to root out Islamic militancy, saying recently that Pakistan had become the "petri dish of the international extremist movement".
But analyst Shafqat Mahmood said Bhutto has no history of fighting Islamic extremists, and her pledges appear hollow. The Oxford-educated Bhutto served two terms as prime minister before the September 11 attacks on US soil that sparked the "war on terror."
"Our American friends think that by bringing together Benazir Bhutto and Musharraf they can cobble together a dream team to fight extremism and terrorism," Mahmood, who writes for English daily The News, told AFP.
"If this dream team's objective is to finish extremism then this team cannot work because both are considered hostile to religious elements.
"Benazir Bhutto does not bring anything extra because she has no support in the tribal area and is seen by religious elements throughout the country as an adversary just like Musharraf.
"This will leave them with the only option of using force as a means to deal with the threat of extremism and this strategy has not worked under Musharraf."
Some 90,000 Pakistani troops are fighting pro-Taliban and Al-Qaeda extremists in the lawless tribal region after hundreds fled over the Afghan border after the fall of the hardline Taliban regime.
But their success has been limited, according to experts, and the US says Osama bin Laden's network has been regrouping in the area.
Musharraf abandoned Pakistan's support for the Taliban after the September 11 attacks and joined Washington's war on terror. He has been bankrolled ever since by the US, which is seeking political stability in Pakistan.
Despite concerns over a Musharraf-Bhutto alliance, analyst Najam Sethi said they need each other to survive in Pakistan's volatile political climate.