U.S. To Musharraf: End Emergency Now
The United States has strengthened its call for Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to drop emergency rule and hold elections.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said Wednesday that Musharraf - a vital ally in the U.S.-led war on terrorism - should drop the measures, which have allowed him to arrest thousands of political opposition supporters, "immediately".
CBS News White House correspondent Peter Maer reports that Perino said, "It's hard to imagine having free and fair elections under a state of emergency."
But the White House's most decisive message since Musharraf declared a state of emergency on Nov. 3 may fall on deaf ears.
The military ruler conducted his first private interviews with journalists Wednesday, and made it clear that he had no intention of lifting the measures before parliamentary elections in January.
"Emergency is not meant to rig elections," the General told the Associated Press in his military office in the garrison town of Rawalpindi. "Emergency is, in fact, meant to make sure that elections are held in a peaceful manner."
He said he expects to step down as army chief by the end of November, and confidently said he would then begin a new presidential term as a civilian, warning that Pakistan risked chaos if he were to give into opposition demands to resign as chief executive.
The U.S.-backed general had originally planned to quit as chief of the powerful army by Thursday, when his presidential mandate and the term of the current parliament expire, but he said he was forced to delay the restoration of civilian rule until a court ruling on his recent re election.
Appearing calm and resolute in the 45 minute interview, Musharraf pointed to history as proof that elections can be held under emergency rule and still be legitimate. "From 1965 to 1985, for 20 years Pakistan was under emergency, and there were three elections held in this time. The fairest election was supposed to be 1971," he said.
"My concern is to have free and fair elections, transparent elections, and my concern also is to ensure law and order," Musharraf said. "We are inviting any amount of foreign observers to Pakistan... let them come and see the transparency of elections."
Musharraf has maintained, since imposing emergency rule and suspending the constitution, that the steps were necessary to ensure safety in the face of a threat from Islamic radicals.
CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar reports that, "as long as he has the support of his powerbase; the army... it's very unlikely" that Musharraf will resign. The general said Wednesday that the army remains completely loyal to him.
But Musharraf's vows to hold "free and fair" elections will not likely appease Bhutto, who was under her second day of house arrest in the city of Lahore Wednesday, and who has called for Musharraf to step down from his post.
Nor will the other opposition leaders, who have led massive street rallies broken up by Pakistani security forces in recent days, likely trust the General to keep his promise for legitimate elections. All of the president's prominent opponents were either under house arrest, or being detained at undisclosed locations on Wednesday.
The last one to remain free, Imran Khan, a former cricket superstar who now leads a small but vocal opposition party, was arrested Wednesday when he emerged from hiding to lead a rally in Lahore. He's being detained, but the government would not say where.
Musharraf accused Bhutto and the other members of the opposition of fomenting unrest in the country. "They want to disturb law and order, and they want to undermine governance. So their ulterior motive is to throw the blame on emergency (rule)."
Before Musharraf declared emergency rule, Bhutto had been engage in U.S.-backed power sharing negotiations with him - but Washington's hopes of seeing the two moderate leaders unite were dashed when Ms. Bhutto said Tuesday that it was no longer possible for her to consider any alliance with the General.
Sharif is still free, but he is in exile Saudi Arabia after attempting to reenter Pakistan weeks ago. He was removed from power in a bloodless 1999 coup led by Musharraf, and he still faces corruption-related charges in Pakistan.
Sharif reacted positively to the prospect of an alliance with Bhutto after she had declared her unwillingness to work with Musharraf - he had previously refused to hold talks with her due to her cooperation with the general.
According to Maer, Perino also told reporters at the White House Wednesday that it is important for "moderate elements to unite" in Pakistan. She did not specifiy which elements on the convoluted Pakistani political landscape were still deemed by the White House to be "moderate".
Asked about the threat by Bhutto and some other opposition figures to boycott the January election if it is held under the present state of emergency, Musharraf told the AP, he was, "to an extent", concerned that it would undermine the legitimacy of the vote.
"And they must not boycott. And I don't think they are going to boycott," Musharraf said, without elaborating.