By DPA
Islamabad : Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf refused to lift the emergency rule immediately, as he met US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte Saturday, officials said.
“The US diplomat expressed concern over the existing political instability in Pakistan and asked President Musharraf to take certain measures to calm down the opposition forces,” a Pakistani presidential official said.
Among the proposed measures were the immediate lifting of the state of emergency, Musharraf’s resignation from his post as chief of the army and the holding of free and fair elections on schedule.
But the army general, who took over in a bloodless coup in 1999, said he was trying his best to revoke the emergency as soon as it was possible but could not give any date, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The emergency rule was helping government to fight the “menace of terrorism and extremism”, he said, adding that the general elections would be held before Jan 9 as Musharraf had pledged.
The official said Negroponte also urged Musharraf to avoid confrontation with the country’s moderate forces, such as opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, saying such confrontation “would only strengthen extremist forces”.
“But the president made no promise on the issue,” the official said.
The US has previously encouraged a power-sharing deal between the two leaders, believing support from the largest political party would aid Musharraf in his fight against rising Islamic militancy and maintain stability in the country.
Two-time prime minister Bhutto has vowed to unite all opposition parties in what she calls her struggle against “military dictatorship”.
Disturbed by the prospect of political turmoil going out of control, the US administration, which has cautiously criticised Musharraf for imposing authoritarian rule, is trying to revive a power-sharing accord with Bhutto.
The US envoy held talks Friday evening with the army general’s close aide Tariq Aziz, who had played a key role in the deal with Bhutto. He also spoke with Bhutto after she was released from a four-day house arrest.
In his conversation, Negroponte reiterated “the importance of moderate forces working together in Pakistan”, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told a briefing in Washington.
It was not clear if the US official could convince Bhutto to resume talks with Musharraf, particularly when she has repeatedly ruled out such a possibility.