Bhutto Inspires Hope, Doubts

The inconsistencies in Benazir Bhutto's stance on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf have stirred misgivings among many who wonder what her real intentions are. Bhutto, honored by Parliament at a reception yesterday, has exaggerated the numbers of followers at recent rallies and seems to some to have been making back-room deals with Musharraf, reports the New York Times.

Bhutto's history is at once revered and sketchy—the heir of Pakistan's most democratic PM, she herself has behaved autocratically and been mired in scandal. But the political dance between Bhutto and Musharraf has grown so calculated that some now see it as a diversion from the very serious problem of Islamic extremism that Pakistan faces. (More Pakistan stories.)