US sends firmer signal to Pakistan on democracy

WASHINGTON, June 15 (Reuters) The White House said democratic freedoms should not be ''infringed'' in Pakistan, sending a firmer signal to President Pervez Musharraf about the importance of upcoming elections.

Musharraf, who is seeking re-election, has triggered the biggest challenge to his authority since he came to power in a bloodless coup eight years ago with his March 9 suspension of Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.

That move has sparked concerns about the stability of the nuclear-armed country among US analysts, lawmakers and some officials although the Bush administration has continued to strongly support Musharraf.

Pakistan is a front-line state in the US effort to combat global terrorism and US officials regard its cooperation as as vital to countering al Qaeda as well as the Taliban insurgency in neighboring Afghanistan.

The White House stressed yesterday on the importance of democratic freedoms and omitted its typical emphasis on Pakistan's importance in fighting terrorism.

''The people of Pakistan have a long-standing respect for democracy and, as a friend of Pakistan, we want to see the further development of strong democratic institutions in that country,'' said US National Security Council spokeswoman Kate Starr.

''Freedom of press, freedom of assembly, an independent judiciary, and free and fair elections are essential to that development and must not be infringed,'' she added. ''We have stressed and continue to stress these points to our interlocutors in Pakistan at all levels of the government.'' Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, welcomed the firmer tone from Washington.

''The United States risks being on the wrong side of history in Pakistan. Through most of this crisis, it looked like the U.S. was aligning itself with one man against the vast majority of moderate Pakistanis,'' he said.

''There is potentially a new generation of democratic leaders in Pakistan and the United States risks alienating them if it sticks with Musharraf to the bitter end,'' he added.

Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, the top US diplomat for South Asia, is in Pakistan this week and is due to be joined by Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte on Friday and Saturday.

In addition to their unease about the effort to dismiss the chief justice, US officials said they were troubled by Musharraf's decision -- since rescinded -- to give the state broadcasting authority more power to shut down television stations.

''We don't want to be seen as driving or pushing the process. Neither do we want to give people the impression that Musharraf has carte blanche and he can do whatever he wants and we'll support him,'' a US official said on condition he not be identified.

Analysts believe Musharraf's main motive for seeking to dismiss the chief justice stemmed from doubts Chaudhry would be supportive in the event of constitutional challenges to the president's election plan.

Musharraf has said he will seek re-election by the sitting national and provincial assemblies before they are dissolved for a general election around the end of the year. He is also believed to be reluctant to give up his post of army chief, as he is constitutionally required to do by the end of the year.

Reuters AKD VP0415