Musharraf Brings "Essence Of Democracy"

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Friday swore in a caretaker administration and declared he had "introduced the essence of democracy in Pakistan" as a senior U.S. envoy arrived in Islamabad to urge him to lift the state of emergency and end a wave of repression that has cast his country into political crisis.

In an apparent move to blunt criticism from Musharraf's key foreign backer, authorities released opposition leaders including Benazir Bhutto and a U.N. human rights expert from house arrest and let two independent TV news channels go back on air.

But the general also pressed on with disputed plans for January elections, swearing in a caretaker government charged with overseeing the vote and defending his record during the eight years since he seized power in a coup.

Bhutto immediately took advantage of her freedom to

She railed against Musharraf's regime with remarks aimed at Pakistan's crucial allies in the West - not least the United States - as much as the domestic audience.

The former Prime Minister warned Western democracies that Musharraf is a leader who "looked moderate," offering a government "packaged to sell to the West." Without naming any country or person, she warned the West to "think about its interests, because the West's interests lie in a democratic Pakistan."

She said the military ruler's moves to force herself and the other key opposition leader, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, out of the country for years had led directly to the precarious security situation now facing Pakistan.

"The absence of the two major leading parties, led to the rise of the religious parties. It led to the rise of the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the tribal areas of Pakistan," Bhutto said.

Trucks and tractors were still parked across the road leading to the house in Lahore, in eastern Pakistan, and police would not let reporters cross the cordon.

Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte landed in the capital, Islamabad, U.S. Embassy spokesman Elizabeth Colton said.

Negroponte was expected to meet Musharraf, long a key U.S. ally, and leaders of Pakistan's opposition, but details of his schedule were not disclosed.

Negroponte arrived from a stop in Africa, where he said that the democratic process in Pakistan had been "derailed."

"Our message is that we want to work with the government and people of Pakistan and the political actors in Pakistan to put the political process back on track as soon as possible," Negroponte said.

(APTV)

She has the highest profile among the thousands of political activists who have been detained in a government crackdown on dissent that sparked an outcry at home and abroad.

Bhutto claimed Friday that her party alone had seen "13,500 workers arrested in 2 weeks."

Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, insists he is still moving toward a restoration of democracy and civilian rule that Western governments believe could help stabilize the nuclear-armed country as it battles rising Islamic extremism.

At a ceremony in the capital, Islamabad, a somber-faced Musharraf said the outgoing Cabinet should be proud of having helped turn around the economy and move Pakistan back toward democracy.

"I take pride in the fact that, being a man in uniform, I have actually introduced the essence of democracy in Pakistan, whether anyone believes it or not," the general said after installing the caretaker ministers at the presidential palace.

The interim government, headed by Musharraf loyalist and former Senate chairman Mohammedmian Soomro, is charged with guiding Pakistan through the parliamentary elections.

Musharraf insists he declared the emergency to prevent judicial interference and the rising threat from militants linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda from derailing the vote.

But Musharraf's emergency faces stiff criticism from countries including the United States, his key international backer, that the ballot cannot be fair unless restrictions on the opposition and the media are ended.

Bhutto called the day before on opposition parties, who deride Musharraf as a dictator trying to shore up his own fading power, to form a national unity government to replace him and organize the elections.

Her proposal, made in a telephone interview with AP, was quickly accepted by her archrival Nawaz Sharif, though the exiled former leader said the priority was to get Supreme Court judges ousted by Musharraf reinstated.

The general has long managed to keep the opposition divided and has refused to quit, telling AP on Wednesday he expects to relinquish his role as army chief by the end of November but stay on as president.

He suggested emergency rule would remain in place during the elections and blamed Bhutto for the chill in their relations that has dashed Western hopes that the two pro-Western secularists could join forces.

In Washington, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen said there is no sign that Pakistan's political unrest has undermined the security of its nuclear weapons arsenal.

Deepening the political crisis Thursday, police said unidentified gunmen opened "indiscriminate gunfire" in Karachi, killing an adult protester and two boys aged 11 and 12. They were the first reported deaths in unrest during the emergency.

Supporters of Bhutto had clashed with police in the same violence-ridden neighborhood since morning. The protesters, angry at Bhutto's house arrest, traded fire with police who also used tear gas to try to disperse them. Police and hospital officials said eight protesters and one policeman suffered gunshot wounds.