US diplomat arrives in Pakistan
The high-ranking diplomat has arrived in Pakistan to hold talks with the government
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Published by Gibson Square, out November 15th, 204 pages, £12. |  |
Saturday, 17, Nov 2007 09:25
US deputy secretary John Negroponte has arrived in Pakistan for talks with the government on the present state of emergency.
The US, which is a key backer of the current government, has called for the extraordinary situation in the country to be lifted and for elections to be held on time.
It has also supported efforts to create a moderate alliance between former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and president Pervez Musharraf in order to boost efforts to fight terrorism.
The proposed alliance, which saw Ms Bhutto return to Pakistan, is now in disarray with each side unwilling to work with the other.
Mr Negroponte has spoken to Ms Bhutto via telephone and is scheduled to meet members of Pakistan's interim government today.
Yesterday, General Musharraf lifted the house arrest order against the former prime minister and named senate chairman Mohammedmian Soomro as interim prime minister and head of the caretaker government.
Ms Bhutto immediately rejected the members of the temporary set-up as "unacceptable" and made up of close aides of the president.
Responding to Ms Bhutto's comments Gen Musharraf accused her of stirring trouble in the country, adding that her party was in no position to win forthcoming elections.
He also urged the west to support him and to understand that the emergency imposed on November 3rd was not meant to derail the transition to democracy in the south Asian country.
The president added that circumstances had forced him to take "unconstitutionally legal" measures to suspend civil liberties in the country and that he had never taken such measures before.
Gen Musharraf, who is also the chief of the army, has named November 31st as the latest final date for him to give up his army uniform.
He had previously said he would give up his post as the Pakistani army's chief of staff after being elected for a second term as president on October 15th.
After having the legitimacy of his candidacy questioned in the country's supreme court, Gen Musharraf announced a state of emergency on November 3rd, delaying his resignation.
His commitment to stand down before December remains conditional on the supreme court validating his second term in power, but as he has used the state of emergency to remove judicially independent judges this seems likely.