President Musharraf of Pakistan is probably under American pressure to hold talks with a former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, about sharing power, an analyst said.

“This is about credibility, and the U.S. has been more comfortable with Benazir Bhutto,” P.R. Chari, former director of the New Delhi-based Institute of Peace & Conflict Studies, said yesterday in a telephone interview from the Indian capital. “Musharraf may be under pressure to negotiate with her.”

General Musharraf and Ms. Bhutto met in Abu Dhabi to discuss a power-sharing deal, Associated Press reported yesterday, citing Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. The meeting may result in Ms. Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party, the largest opposition party, deciding to back General Musharraf, Associated Press reported.

The two may be trying to strike a deal to secure another term for General Musharraf, while paving way for Ms. Bhutto to return as prime minister, Associated Press said, citing Sher Afgan Khan Niazi, Pakistan’s parliamentary affairs minister.

To achieve that, the government would have to change the constitution, which bars anyone becoming prime minister more than twice.

The talks faltered when Ms. Bhutto made her support conditional on General Musharraf relinquishing his military post, Associated Press said, citing Pakistan’s Geo Television.

“It is quite obvious the U.S. wants Musharraf to make some gestures for the democratization of Pakistan,” Mr. Chari said. “He has to make some overtures to the people he has driven out of the country for him to have some credibility.”

Opposition to General Musharraf’s rule has intensified, with criticism focused on his dual role as president and army chief as he seeks another five-year term.