Islamabad, Nov 09: The jailed husband of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was visiting his sick mother in a Karachi hospital today, a day after revealing Bhutto's party was in talks with the military government which may prove key in breaking the country's political deadlock. Asif Ali Zardari, who has been in custody for the past six years on corruption and criminal charges, has become the focus of attention as parties continue wrangling over forming government more than four weeks after polls led to a hung parliament.
The Oct 10 polls were the first since President Pervez Musharraf seized power in a bloodless 1999 coup and were supposed to lead to the formation of a civilian government.
Zardari, a former senator and former minister in his wife's cabinet, told afp yesterday -- before being flown from Islamabad to Karachi -- that a dialogue was in process between Bhutto's anti-regime Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the military government.

"A dialogue is definitely on and there are certain proposals under discussion between the two sides," Zardari said.
He said PPP parliamentary leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim was in touch with the "powers that be and talked with me about their proposals".
Zardari did not elaborate but broadly hinted that the proposals related to the formation of a PPP-led coalition government.
He rejected suggestions of a deal regarding his release was in the works, saying only that negotiations were in the nature of "accommodation and a policy of co-existence". Bureau Report