Pakistan warned US of plans on emergency rule

LAHORE: President General Pervez Musharraf’s move to impose emergency rule and jail thousands of political activists was not a surprise to the US administration, according to a report published in The Wall Street Journal on Friday.

The report states that Gen Musharraf’s aides had forewarned US diplomats of the November 3 announcement in a series of meetings, according to Pakistani and US officials.

It states that one of the advisers said US criticism was muted, which some Pakistanis interpreted as a sign they could proceed. “You don’t like that option? You give us one,” the adviser says he told the American interlocutors. “There were no good options,” he added. However, a US official says the talks were part of “intensive efforts” to prevent the emergency.

The report also states that State Department officials deny the US has undercut Pakistani democracy by allying itself with Gen Musharraf. They say Washington never gave the signal that it would acquiesce to emergency rule. State Department strategists, meanwhile, say they are continuing to try to forge an alliance between Gen Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto. They say they are hoping political temperatures will cool, after which the pair could meet and outline an agenda. daily times monitor

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-11-2007_pg1_3