The White House on monday welcomed Pakistan Pervez Musharraf’s move to lift a state of emergency, but said he had more to do to ensure that elections set for January 8,2008 are free and fair.
” It was good to see President Musharraf follow through on his pledge to lift that state of emergency,” spokeswoman Dana Perino said, as Musharraf’s critics said the six-week crackdown had effectively rigged the vote against them.
” Now that they move forward, torwards the election season, it’s very important that the opposition parties, and everybody, have access to a free media so that they can have a free and fair election,” Perino told reporters.
On Sunday, United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, Urged Musharraf to make ” a very robust and concerted effort” to ensure that campaigning ahead of the parliamentary elections go freely and fairly.
” And that means that the opposition has to be able to be gather and mobilise and has to have access to the press,” She told journalists on the plane to Paris, where she was to attend a Palestinian donors’ conference.
Pakistan’s eklection campaign began in earnest on Sunday, a day after Musharraf lifted emergency rule and restored the constitution.
” If there are real efforts that are made to make syre that the opposition can act on its own behalf…. then this can be an election that can move Pakistan forward on the democratic road,” Rice said.
”This is going to be a very closely watched election,” she added. Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999, imposed the emergency on November3, citing a surge in attacks by Islamic militants as well as what he alleged was interference by the judiciary.