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U.S. envoy urges Musharraf
to end emergency rule
Simon
Gardner
Reuters
Sunday November 18, 2007
U.S. envoy John Negroponte said on Sunday he had urged Pakistani
President Pervez Musharraf to end emergency rule, warning it was
"not compatible" with free and fair elections due by
early January and would undermine them.
The U.S. deputy secretary of state, who met General Musharraf
on Saturday, praised his role in the fight against al Qaeda and
Taliban militants, saying Washington valued its partnership with
its ally. But he bluntly called on him to lift emergency rule.
"Emergency rule is not compatible with free, fair and credible
elections," Negroponte, the United States' No.2 diplomat,
told a news conference at the U.S. embassy.
(Article continues below)
Negroponte said he had also called on Musharraf to release thousands
of opposition figures who have been rounded up and imprisoned,
and to stick to his word to quit as army chief.
"If those steps aren't taken, it will certainly undermine
the government's ability to conduct satisfactory elections,"
he said.
Negroponte said reconciliation between moderate political forces
-- apparently referring to a public rift between Musharraf and
opposition leader Benazir Bhutto -- was "very desirable".
Full
article here.
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INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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