US backs Musharraf, calls for fair elections

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Farhan Bokhari, FT Syandication Service
ISLAMABAD: John Negroponte, the US deputy secretary of state, on Saturday offered US support to General Pervez Musharraf, after stressing Washington's desire to see Pakistan's president guide the country to free and fair elections later this year.
His remarks were a clear indication of the Bush administration's apparent determination to support Gen Musharraf in spite of his growing domestic political problems, western diplomats said.
Over the weekend there were further signs of a growing anti-government movement, triggered after the March 9 suspension of Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary, chief justice of the supreme court, on charges of misconduct.
Mr Chaudhary arrived on Saturday to a hero's welcome to address a lawyers' gathering in the industrial city of Faisalabad in central Pakistan. His defiance of the government's charges has made him central to an opposition campaign against Gen Musharraf.
"We believe that we have an excellent partnership together [with Pakistan] in facing various challenges" Mr Negroponte told journalists. "We strongly believe that those elections should go forward, that will be a positive development in the advancement of democracy here and that it would be important that these elections be carried out in a fair, free and transparent manner".
Mr Negroponte's visit has sparked speculation over a US role behind the scenes, encouraging an understanding between Gen Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister and the exiled head of the Pakistan People's Party.
Mr Negroponte refused to comment on the speculation but said such an issue "will have to be resolved between the Pakistani political actors themselves".
Western diplomats said, a growing number of western countries favoured Ms Bhutto's return from exile to lead her party on a reformist agenda in to the next elections. The Oxford-Harvard educated Ms Bhutto who became the muslim world's first woman prime minister in 1988 has the kind of public appeal which will allow her party to block the political rise of anti-western islamists who favour hardline policies, one western diplomat said.
Analysts said, the US support which has been built up through the provision of billions of dollars in assistance to Pakistan in the war on terror, may ultimately not make a difference in completely influencing political outcomes. "Once the mood on the streets is set, its not always possible for the US to influence the outcome," said Shahid Masood, political commentator for the privately owned GEO TV channel. "The US has interests and influence in Pakistan but the public mood has been turning against the government for some time now".
General Musharraf who came to power in a coup in 1999 is under pressure from opposition parties to quit his position as the army chief before the next elections this year. But analysts say, he is unlikely to do so as the army chief's position gives him more influence than his civilian presidency.