US President George W. Bush on Monday strongly urged Pervez Musharraf to end a state of emergency imposed over US objections and "restore democracy as quickly as possible." "We expect there to be elections as soon as possible, and that the president should remove his military uniform," Bush said during a joint public appearance with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
But Bush brushed aside a question about what he would do if Musharraf refuses or whether he would cut US aid, saying "all we can do is to continue to work with the president" for now and "we'll deal with it" if he does not.
The US president said Musharraf's emergency powers "undermine democracy" but hailed the Pakistani leader "a strong fighter" in the global war on terrorism and added "our hope is that he will restore democracy as quickly as possible."
But softening his remarks, Bush also pointed out that Musharraf "has been a strong fighter against extremists... After all they tried to kill him three or four times." Erdogan, speaking through an interpreter, said he hoped to see "a return to democracy in the shortest time possible."
RICE CALL MUSHARRAF: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Monday to press him to end the country's state of emergency and restore democracy, her spokesman said.
Sean McCormack told reporters travelling with Rice in the Middle East that the chief US diplomat spoke with Musharraf from her plane after leaving Tel Aviv. It was the highest level US contact with the military ruler since he on Saturday imposed emergency rule, a move that has been criticised by Washington.