US working well with Musharraf who has taken Pakistan to moderate direction: Boucher

United States Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Richard Boucher has said that US is working well with President General Pervez Musharraf, who has taken the country to a moderate direction.
"We work well with President Musharraf, I am not apologising for that, he has taken the country in this more moderate direction, he has also taken the country towards an election later this year - so we think that is the right direction," Boucher said in an interview to a private Pakistani television channel.
Boucher said the US was interested in Pakistan's success as a stable, moderate and democratic nation. "We want you to succeed as a country that is stable moderate, playing a role in the world, having a democratic system, where people can express themselves - we are interested in Pakistan's success as a stable, moderate and democratic nation," he told the private channel.
Boucher said the US wanted to see a democratic Pakistan. "We want to see a democratic Pakistan, we want to see a free and fair election this year -that is why I tell people Pakistan is headed in the right direction, they've got economic growth, they've got progress towards elections, they've got progress confronting the extremists and making it inhospitable for al Qaeda --and that is the right direction and part of that direction is democratic election," he stated.
In the long run, he observed in reply to a question, Pakistan is to be headed by people who are chosen by the people of Pakistan. Asked if Washington supporting a free and fair election means allowing Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to come back, Boucher said individuals had different issues with the Pakistan legal system that they are going to have to address with Pakistan authorities in the legal system.
"So I don't think for us it's about individuals, for us it is about having a competition of political parties, it is having a system that counts the votes so people's choices are respected," he added.
When asked about the Pakistani leader's "taking off his uniform," Boucher echoed the US position that President Musharraf had said he was going to deal with the matter in the context of the election process and in the context of Constitution.
The US Assistant Secretary of State said Pakistan was doing a lot in fighting extremism and noted that militants were under pressure from both sides of Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
"I think there are a lot of signs that Taliban consider Pakistan inhospitable, it is not safe for them anymore it is not safe certainly for some of the foreign fighters and not for the senior leadership of Taliban- that is why some of them crossed over into Afghanistan."
Citing serious efforts on both sides - by Pakistan on the Pakistani side and Nato and Afghan government on the Afghan side - he noted that some of the important Taliban commanders have been eliminated.
Questioned if the Pakistani government was doing what it ought to do to curb activities by militants, Boucher replied: "I think they are doing a lot" and added there are always other things that need to be done on both sides.
"We can step up our efforts on both sides we need to co-ordinate better, but there is a lot going on - I think if you listen to what the Taliban are saying, they are saying it is no longer comfortable for them in Pakistan."
Boucher said the US played a role at tripartite meeting in solving recent border clashes and reiterated US commitment to work with both sides and help guard that whole region better "so that people can live safely, have enormous development plans, we need to be able to get on with development plans. "We have a common problem. We have to deal with it together."
In the context of improvement in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, he welcomed the statement issued by the two neighbouring countries after their foreign ministers' met at the G-8 Ministerial in Germany last week. "The statement that was issued was very positive."
He also noted co-operation between the countries on the issue of refugees, cross-border co-operation and military issues sometimes and added there can be a lot more.
Assistant Secretary Richard Boucher said a lot of US assistance, extended to Pakistan over last several years, had gone into economic development and social sectors like education.
He pointed out that more than 300 million dollars went into economic support programs each year and several hundred million were being spent on reconstruction in areas devastated by October 2005 earthquake.
"We put over 100 million dollars in education system in Pakistan, this is very important - we have the largest Fulbright scholarship program in the world, 20 million dollars worth," he stated, defending US offering assistance to Pakistan since it became a crucial ally in the fight against terrorism.
The official noted the United States and Pakistan had trade and economic relations and Pakistan had a fast-growing economy because of the country's efforts and US co-operation.
Boucher was confident that Pakistan's economic progress was sustainable. "I think it is definitely sustainable, the numbers would show that the big growth in Pakistani economy was investment, exports, new opportunities created by the private sector."
He did not see any significant fallout of current situation on Pakistan's economy. "Realistically speaking that people in Pakistan know how to do business and know how to create economic growth despite some very difficult circumstances."
On the judicial case, he commented it has been a difficult situation but added it does perhaps reflect in part the fact that it is a political year, a lot of it is seen through political lens by the different players.