Negroponte to press Musharraf on Pakistan democracy

Washington’s second most senior diplomat will have a crucial meeting with Pakistan’s military leader President Pervez Musharraf today, hoping that face-to-face diplomacy will convince the general to move back on the path to democracy.

US deputy secretary of state John Negroponte’s trip was seen as a last best chance to avoid political turmoil in Pakistan, which has seen its Supreme Court purged and thousands of protesters detained since General Musharraf declared emergency rule on November 3.

Mr Negroponte phoned opposition leader Benazir Bhutto overnight, the US State Department said, in the highest-level US contact with the Pakistani opposition leader since the emergency began.

The conversation came just hours after Ms Bhutto was released from house arrest, one of a number of face-saving measures the government took ahead of the senior American diplomat’s arrival. A prominent human rights activist was also released and several opposition television news stations were allowed back on the air.

But there were also some ominous signs, with two major independent television news stations – Geo and ARY – which transmit from nearby Dubai, deciding to take their broadcasts off the air in response to what they said was pressure from General Musharraf on the Dubai government to shut them down.

GEO news broadcast a continuous video of a thunderstorm at sea, with its logo floating on the choppy waves. It said in a statement that it had made the decision after receiving word that “the government of Pakistan is using its influence with a foreign country to get the Geo TV network closed down”.

Pakistan’s government did not immediately comment on the allegations.

Ms Bhutto and General Musharraf had been negotiating a power-sharing arrangement, but talks apparently collapsed as the general moved against the opposition following his decision to suspend the constitution.

Negroponte “wanted to hear from her how she viewed the political situation in Pakistan”, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said of the call to Ms Bhutto, who has been increasingly strident in her demands that General Musharraf resign.

She has proposed that the opposition come together in a unity front, which could serve as a transition government ahead of elections if General Musharraf can be convinced to step down.

The general, who until recently had been considered a vital US ally and a bulwark in the war against terrorism, has steadfastly refused. In recent interviews, he has expressed exasperation with the mounting pressure from the West since he declared the emergency.

He has also come under fire for his military’s recent losses in fighting with pro-Taliban militants in Swat, where fighting has raged since July. The army announced today that it had killed up to 40 militants, bringing to more than 100 the number who have died in recent days.

Forces loyal to a rebel cleric – Maulana Fazlullah – had captured several villages, police stations and government building.

Mr Negroponte and General Musharraf were expected to speak today, McCormack said, although no time was given and the meeting was not expected to be open to the media.

In his discussion with Ms Bhutto, Negroponte underscored Washington’s opposition to General Musharraf’s extraconstitutional actions and its desire to see her and other opposition figures free to peacefully participate in Pakistan’s political sphere, McCormack said.

Mr Negroponte came to Islamabad to press General Musharraf and his government to quickly end the state of emergency, set a date for free and fair legislative elections in January and release opposition leaders. The US also wants him to give up his position as army chief.

Mr Negroponte arrived yesterday 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,” he said.

General Musharraf is pressing ahead with disputed plans for January elections, swearing in an interim government led by a loyalist charged with preparing Pakistan for the vote, and defending his record during the eight years since he seized power in a coup.

But opposition parties, as well as the US and Britain, say the ballot cannot be fair unless the restrictions are lifted.