US hopes new Pak Govt will be an effective partner

Washington, Feb 27 : The State Department has said that it hopes for the formation of a Pakistan Government that is going to be an effective partner for the United States.

State Department spokesman Tom Casey said that the new government would help not only in confronting extremism, but also in helping Pakistan achieve the broad-based goals for that country's political and economic development.

The State Department made no direct reference to President Pervez Musharraf by name, nor did it express the desire, that it has invariably done in the past, of continuing to work with him.

Answering a question, Casey said that it is for the Pakistanis and for the new government to decide who winds up in a coalition, who winds up in which ministry, what happens in terms of judicial reform or in terms of judicial appointments.

"So again, what we want to see is a government that's working effectively to be able to meet the challenges that are there, but we're not trying to offer specific advice to them on how to deal with some of these internal questions," the Daily Times quoted Casey, as saying.

ANI