Power-sharing talks between Pakistan's embattled President Pervez Musharraf and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto have stalled but political compulsions are likely to push both back to the table, analysts said.
President Musharraf and self-exiled two-time prime minister Bhutto have been sounding each other out for years but with Mr Musharraf's terms as both president and army chief due to end soon, they have intensified efforts to reach an agreement.
But Ms Bhutto said in London yesterday the talks had stalled and she planned to return to Pakistan soon even without an deal. She will announce details of her return on September 14th.
Any agreement would likely see President Musharraf stepping down as army chief before he stands for another term between mid-September and mid-October, while clearing the way for Ms Bhutto, who still faces graft charges, to return to politics and take part in general elections due at the end of the year.
The two are natural allies, both opposed to Islamist militancy and in favour of free-market reforms.
The West would like to see cooperation between moderates in the nuclear-armed country on the front line of the fight against al Qaeda and vital to tackling the Taliban in Afghanistan.
But with President Musharraf's popularity plummeting, legal challenges to his rule mounting and former exiled prime ministers Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif preparing to return home, Pakistan is facing the risk of turmoil.
While some analysts said the mistrust between President Musharraf and Ms Bhutto was too deep for them ever to reach a broad pact, others said they needed each other.
"Both will try to the last, I do not think it's over," political commentator Nasim Zehra said today.
"It's a political compulsion for both of them given their objectives -- for one to stay in power and for the other to come back very actively in the political sphere."
Ms Bhutto's decision to only announce her return plans on September 14th had given that much more time for talks. Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani said today negotiations would continue.
"The success of the talks depends on their wish-list," he said, referring to Ms Bhutto's demands.