US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday he was concerned that instability in Pakistan could distract Pakistani forces from anti-terrorist operations. Gates said Musharraf had been an important US ally in President George W. Bush's "war on terror" declared after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
He noted that General Musharraf had set a new date for parliamentary elections. "I think that's very important," Gates told reporters aboard his plane as he flew back to Washington from Tokyo at the end of a three-nation tour of east Asia. "We said from the very beginning it's important to move back to constitutional processes as quickly as possible."
He added: "The concern I have is that the longer the internal problems continue, the more distracted the Pakistani army and security services will be in terms of the internal situation rather than focusing on the terrorist threat in the frontier area."
US URGES MUSHARRAF TO SET DATE FOR ELECTION: The United States on Friday urged President General Pervez Musharraf to set a date both for holding elections and resigning as army chief to show he means to return to constitutional rule.
The public appeal for dates from State Department spokesman Sean McCormack signalled a tightening of US pressure on Musharraf, who sparked international outrage with his declaration of emergency rule on Saturday. "President Musharraf should roll back the state of emergency, schedule a fixed date for elections coming up," McCormack told reporters.
"He committed to those elections no later than February 15, he also recommitted to taking off the uniform," he said. "He should make that commitment publicly and fix a date for the Pakistani people so that they have an expectation that they are now going to return to constitutional rule and the pathway to democracy," he added.