Lahore, Nov 7 : President Pervez Musharraf has weakened his position after proclaiming emergency rule in Pakistan whereas Benazir Bhutto has become stronger and is now in a position to deal with Musharraf according to her own conditions, Najam Sethi, the Editor of the Daily Times, has said.

Musharraf had earlier been on strong footing, but has become unpopular with the imposition of emergency, thereby giving Bhutto the upper hand at the negotiation table, Sethi told Geo TV.

He ruled out the impression that Musharraf had imposed the emergency after receiving a green signal from the West, saying Western countries had been oblivious to Musharraf’s emergency plans.

"The West is in fact disturbed, and it wants Musharraf to fulfil the promises that he had made earlier about holding free and fair elections and doffing his uniform before taking oath as President," Sethi added.

He said that the new PCO, rather than the emergency, was the real issue, adding that only the next Parliament could annul the PCO.

Sethi said Musharraf should hold free and fair elections as soon as possible since the only way left for him to get out of the present crisis was transparently conducted elections.

He said Musharraf would be isolated and would not last if he delayed the polls.

The situation would not have been the same had Musharraf resorted to an amendment through the Parliament with the support of Bhutto and opposition leader Fazlur Rehman, Sethi said. (ANI)