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2007 Pakistan Election: Pakistan emergency rule troubles ally US WASHINGTON — Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's calling of emergency rule Saturday drew strong censure from the United States, pointing to limits in Washington's power over a key ally in its fight against extremism. "This action is very disappointing," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement. "President Musharraf needs to stand by his pledges to have free and fair elections in January and step down as chief of army staff before retaking the presidential oath of office." Musharraf's dramatic move apparently did not drive Washington to cut military support for its key south Asian ally, however. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said there was no plan to suspend military aid to Pakistan. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in reaction to the move insisted that Pakistan must push ahead with general elections due in January. "Anything that is extra-constitutional, anything that takes Pakistan off the democratic path, off the path of civilian rule, is a very big problem," she said in an interview with CNN news. Musharraf declared a state of emergency earlier Saturday, sacking the nation's top judge -- the chief justice of the Supreme Court -- and blaming judicial interference in government and a wave of Islamic militant attacks. He has faced a possible paring back of his power as political and military head of his country, under pressure to step down as army chief of staff. A US-backed proposed power-sharing deal between him and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto had been expected to prompt a transition to civilian rule in Pakistan. Troops and police surrounded the Supreme Court in Islamabad, which had been due in coming days to give a verdict on the legality of Musharraf's victory in an October 6 presidential election. The United States has long been troubled by Musharraf's resistance to strengthening democracy in the Islamic country, even as it has depended heavily on him to help pursue Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan. In early August, when Musharraf considered but then decided not to impose a state of emergency to confront growing violence, US President George W. Bush spoke out, saying he was hopeful the country would hold open elections. But he also at the time renewed calls for full cooperation from Islamabad in the search for Al-Qaeda leaders believed to be holed up along the Pakistan-Afghan border area in remote tribal lands. While careful to express respect for Pakistan's sovereignty, Bush said he had "made it clear" to Musharraf "that I expect that there be full cooperation in sharing intelligence" and "swift action" against Al-Qaeda inside Pakistan. In early October the US military said it had observed an ongoing Al-Qaeda re-emergence in sanctuaries in Pakistan's tribal areas from where the militant network supported attacks in Afghanistan. Rice said the United States has recently been in close contact with Musharraf but declined to say whether Washington had heard of plans to impose emergency rule. "I have spoken to President Musharraf over the last several days," she told CNN. "Our ambassador has been in constant contact with President Musharraf and with members of the Pakistani government, and so have other high-ranking officials." "We expect that that pledge to hold free and fair elections is going to be upheld," she added. Teresita Schaffer, a former diplomat and now a South Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said on NPR radio the state of emergency marked a "downturn" in US-Pakistani relations. The United States had for years held sanctions against Pakistan for its nuclear program, and strengthened them in 1999 because of the bloodless military coup that brought Musharraf to power. However relations thawed when Pakistan began supporting the US fight against extremists after the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, with Washington boosting economic assistance to Pakistan. The US "certainly will have to continue working with Pervez Musharraf on the key issues that have driven US policy over the past several years," Schaffer said, namely "issues touching Afghanistan and ... terrorist violence." "But I think some of the warmth will have gone out of the relationship."
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