The White House on Thursday underscored that it was up to the Pakistanis to decide about leadership of their country, with a senior official also saying that moving forward on impeachment proceedings appeared to be within Pakistan's constitution.
Press Secretary Dana Perino, commenting on the latest political developments in Pakistan in the wake of coalition parties' move towards impeachment of President Musharraf, reaffirmed Washington's pledge to continue working with the new elected government.
The spokeswoman discounted possibility of any military coup, in response to a question at the daily briefing. "I haven't heard of a military coup in the cards. I think if they are moving forward on impeachment proceedings, it seems to be within their constitution and that they're following their own laws," she stated.
President George Bush, she said, was "regularly briefed on it, and he is going to let Pakistanis make the decisions on who will be in the leadership of their country." "We will continue to work with the new government," she said, in reply to a question on various reports, some of them claiming that President Musharraf was contemplating to step down imminently in the wake of coalition parties' impeachment decision.
The US, she said, "continues to monitor various reports going back and forth." "We've heard the reports, and we continue to monitor it. We've always said that the issues of who would be in the leadership of Pakistan is going to be up to the Pakistanis," she remarked.
Perino also reiterated Washington's desire that "all political actors move forward expeditiously with addressing the critical issues facing the Pakistani people," including the issue of militant hideouts in areas along Pakistan-Afghanistan border.