DREAMING HOME: Benazir addresses a rally at London's Trafalgar Square

Will she or won't she? And if she will, when? Self-exiled former premier Benazir Bhutto's travel plans have become the talk of the country. On the eve of the national elections, her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) is painting a homecoming as grand as her return in 1986 during the days of General Zia-ul-Haq.

According to a media report, dozens of western journalists, television crews as well as two US senators and one British peer are scheduled to fly in with her. For her part, Benazir told a television channel this week that she "was all packed and ready to go on the 20th" but only delayed her departure from London because of a court ruling that allowed her election nomination papers to be filed in her absence.

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OTHER STORIES RELATED TO NEIGHBOURS Interview: Benazir Bhutto

Fuelling speculation is the fact that Benazir has now filed papers for two National Assembly seats-one in her home province of Sindh and another reserved seat for women. These acts of defiance come in the backdrop of President Pervez Musharraf's repeated statements that he would not allow her to contest the elections. On August 27 "perpetual arrest warrants" for Benazir were dispatched by the military-headed National Accountability Bureau to all the four provinces, directing the police to arrest her on her arrival.

The two-time former prime minister was convicted in her absence by an Accountability Court last year on charges of absconding from justice. The conviction for the crime remains her only conviction so far in the dozens of corruption cases she is facing and are being contested by her lawyers who claim that, under Pakistani law, sentences cannot be awarded in absentia. Benazir has also appealed in the courts against Musharraf's decree setting a two-term limit for prime ministers which in effect disqualifies her from becoming the head of government again.

So desperate has the military leadership become that Musharraf personally met Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed to persuade him to join the anti-PPP coalition. During the war in Afghanistan, Musharraf had termed Qazi Hussain "an unbalanced man" because of his vocal opposition to Pakistan's support to the US. Hussain turned down the proposal.

FAUX POPULI: By keeping popular leaders in exile and preventing them from contesting elections, Musharraf hopes to retain power

The Government, however, may have achieved a modicum of success on another front. Former premier Nawaz Sharif stepped down as Pakistan Muslim League (N) chief in favour of his brother and former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, who is in exile in Saudi Arabia, after receiving indications that the Government might be willing to consider a rapprochement. However, the alleged deal turned sour when Musharraf ruled out Shahbaz's return to Pakistan. Musharraf said, "If he tries to fly into Pakistan, he will board the next plane back to Saudi Arabia." The PML(N) struck a deal with the PPP for seat adjustments in the elections, signalling a breakthrough between the bitter rivals.

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It is also still far from clear how Benazir's comeback will fare. Her candidacy papers may yet be rejected by the Election Commission. And even if she stages a dramatic return, there is no guarantee that she will get the kind of public reception she did in 1986 when she was untainted by allegations of corruption. "Despite her bravado, I don't think she will attempt to come back without some sort of nod from somewhere," says a PPP stalwart.

Musharraf has, however, taken enough precautions. According to the latest constitutional amendments, he would remain President and army chief concurrently for the next five years. If the future parliament tries to reverse his amendments, he said, "Either they will have to quit or I will quit." The General is determined to make Benazir's landing difficult.