A senior US senator, in Pakistan to observe general elections, said on Sunday that Washington should cut military aid to Islamabad unless the polls are credible and broadly fair. "Obviously there is not going to be a pristine election," Senator Joseph Biden, a Democrat, told reporters.
But the polls needed to produce a "credible" result that was broadly in line with the wishes of the Pakistani people, he said. If they do not "I for one will move to cut off military aid". The United States has supplied $ 10 billion of military aid for the Pakistan army to fight Taliban and al Qaeda militants based in the rugged border region.
But there needed to be greater accountability on how that was spent, Biden said. "I'm not at all certain it is all being used on the war on terror." Biden and Senator John Kerry, another Democrat, said the United States had to turn from a policy of backing Musharraf to one of backing Pakistan.
"Our hope and our purpose in being here is to encourage the accountability and credibility of this election and to underscore the importance to the world of a Pakistan that emerges with a credible government," said Kerry.
Both senators said instability in Pakistan could further destabilise neighbouring Afghanistan and that the key to undermining support for radical groups was a democratic government elected in a credible election.