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| Sunday, 13 October 2002 |
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U.S. plays down Islamist gains in Pakistani vote WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The United States on Friday played down electoral gains by Islamist parties in Pakistan, an ally in U.S. President George W. Bush's war on terrorism, and said it hoped all parties would reject extremism. The State Department said Washington would accept the results of the elections if observers confirmed the initial impression that voting was relatively free and orderly. The United States welcomes President Pervez Musharraf's commitment to hand over chief executive authority to a new prime minister early in November, spokesman Richard Boucher said. Hard-line Islamic parties opposed to the U.S. role in Afghanistan made gains in the elections, potentially giving them the balance of power in a coalition set to take over from a military government. The religious parties used anger at Pakistan's cooperation in the U.S. military campaign to virtually sweep the board in conservative parts of western Pakistan bordering Afghanistan. Their success could complicate the U.S. military's attempts to crack down on Taliban fugitives and members of al Qaeda in the troubled border region. Boucher told a daily State Department briefing: "There is an alliance of six religious parties who did quite well in Baluchistan and the Northwest Frontier Province. It will be one of several parties in the parliament." "We think that Pakistan's people and government have already demonstrated their strong opposition to terrorism and extremism, their desire to move their society in a more moderate and stable direction. "We have said we welcome that. We look forward to working with them on that. We hope that all parties will be committed to moving in that direction," he added. The spokesman said the success of the Islamists was not necessarily a failure for the United States, but Washington would continue to expand its "public diplomacy" efforts to explain U.S. policy. He called the elections an important milestone in restoring democracy in Pakistan after the 1999 coup by Musharraf, who overthrew an elected government. The United States, because of its need for Musharraf's cooperation in Afghanistan and the border regions, has been relatively tolerant of his domestic political strategy. Musharraf has given himself the right to dissolve parliament, institutionalized the military's role in politics and effectively barred two former prime ministers in exile from returning or ever becoming prime minister again. In August, when Musharraf changed the constitution to his own advantage, Bush said he appreciated that Musharraf was "still tight with us in the war against terror." But Boucher said: "The government and political leaders now have a joint responsibility to ensure the smooth transition to a sustainable form of democracy and civilian rule. "The next crucial step is the transfer of power to the new national assembly and establishing its role. We are pleased to see that President Musharraf has said that he expects to hand over chief executive authority to a new prime minister some time around November 3." |
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