The Hindu : Rocca hears parties' views on Pak. polls

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 30, 2002

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International

Rocca hears parties' views on Pak. polls

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD JULY 29. Even as the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, was speaking his mind on the do's and dont's for India and Pakistan in the specific context of the coming elections in Kashmir, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Christina Rocca, was on a quiet mission the same day assessing the divide between the Musharraf regime and political parties in Pakistan on the October general elections.

Ms. Rocca on Sunday met the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, for a first hand account of the plans of his regime to not only to stick to the schedule of the October general election but also ensure that they are "free, fair and transparent".

Later in the evening, she heard the views of representatives of all the major parties at a dinner hosted by the U.S. Charge d' Affairs in Pakistan. She apprised them of her interaction with Gen. Musharraf and told them that he had assured her that the elections would be free and fair.

``In our meetings with the President today, we discussed the coming elections. The President assured us that the elections would he held, and that they will be free and fair,'' she told them.

Most of the political parties in Pakistan have a grouse against Washington. They believe that the U.S. has put all its eggs in the basket of Gen. Musharraf and is prepared to turn a blind eye to the tactics being adopted by the regime to keep out the mainstream parties and leaders from the election.

Political parties are of the view that if the U.S. is genuinely interested in seeing the end of military rule, it must reign in Gen. Musharraf. They are particularly worked up over the silence of the Bush administration on a number of laws enacted by his regime in recent days that were seen as blatant attempts to block potential rivals.

There is a growing feeling in the Pakistan civil society that Washington would not do anything that could undermine the position of Gen. Musharraf because of his `unstinted' support to the U.S. in its war against international terrorism. This was evident when the State Department declined to entertain petitions from the former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, against some of the controversial laws enacted by the military Government.

This was also reflected when Gen. Powell declined to answer a specific question at his news conference with the Pakistan Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Inam ul Haq, on the curbs imposed by the Musharraf regime against Ms. Bhutto. The U.S. Secretary of State said he had broached the subject of general elections and the controversial statute changes proposed by Gen. Musharraf and the Pakistan President told him that no final view on them has been taken.

``The United States looks forward to free and fair elections that will return the country to democratic rule,'' Ms. Rocca told party leaders.

She said the U.S. hoped to contribute to the election process by training poll watchers and providing election observers, among other projects.

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