ISLAMABAD, 17 August 2007 — A senior US official said yesterday that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, a close ally in the “war on terror,” was committed to a stable transition from military rule to democracy.
With Musharraf under intense domestic pressure over his dual role as president and head of the military since seizing power in a 1999 coup, US official Richard Boucher said the general was committed to new elections.
“There’s a definite commitment there for the election, but it’s also part of a bigger program,” said Boucher, the US assistant secretary of state for South Asia. “It fits with making a stable transition from military rule to a newly-elected government this fall, and that’s a process we look forward to,” he said. “He’s worked for many years on a program to develop society, to open up the media, to open up civil society,” said Boucher. “These are all things that are committed to making a modern country.”
The US diplomat skirted questions about reports that Washington was mediating talks between Musharraf and exiled two-time former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto aimed at forging a power-sharing deal. “Our interest in this election is that it be free and fair, that the voters in Pakistan get a choice, and that they have the opportunity to decide on the next government,” Boucher said.
Earlier, Pakistan’s security forces said they had thwarted suicide attacks on Independence Day celebrations as a senior US official discussed the urgent terrorism threat with the country’s leaders.
Militants had planned suicide attacks in the capital Islamabad on Aug. 14, but security forces disrupted their plans, Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Javed Iqbal Cheema said.
“Security forces have homed in on the gang plotting the attacks and they will soon be arrested,” Cheema said. Earlier reports quoted him saying that “would-be suicide bombers” had been arrested in Rawalpindi, a garrison town adjacent to the capital, and that more arrests were expected in the coming days.
Cheema’s comments came as Boucher held talks with senior Pakistani officials to discuss strategy for dealing with terrorism. Officials said the Pakistani side sought assurances on reported US threats of unilateral military action against militants with bases inside the country. They told the American diplomat such action would be “counter-productive,” the officials added.
During his hour-long meeting with Boucher on Wednesday, Musharraf had also conveyed Pakistan’s concerns over recent US legislation linking security assistance to the country’s progress in fighting militants, a presidential aide said.
Boucher’s visit comes ahead of a second round of an ongoing strategic dialogue between Pakistan and the US scheduled for next month. The diplomat met Foreign Ministry officials yesterday to discuss the upcoming meeting.
Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte will lead the US delegation in the dialogue with Pakistani Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan and his team on Sept. 11-12, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said. The bilateral dialogue covers cooperation in fields including counter-terrorism, energy, economics and politics.
The Interior Ministry’s Cheema said Boucher had expressed his appreciation for Pakistan’s contribution to the fight against terrorism in a meeting early yesterday with security officials.
“The discussion today mainly focused on the successful completion of the joint Pakistan-Afghanistan tribal meeting in Kabul last week and the strategy adopted in the light of the meeting,” Cheema said.
He said a 50-member committee had been formed with 25 delegates each from Pakistan and Afghanistan. “The US side expressed satisfaction over the strategy adopted for achieving results in the light of the decision made at the jirga council meeting,” he added.
