India regrets difficult times in Pakistan

New Delhi, Nov 3: In a swift but guarded reaction to the imposition of emergency in Pakistan, India today regretted the ''difficult times'' the country was going through and hoped that normalcy would soon return there.

''We regret the difficult times that Pakistan is passing through. We trust that conditions of normalcy will soon return permitting Pakistan's transition to stability and democracy to continue,'' the External Affairs Ministry said here this evening in a brief statement.

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The statement came shortly after Gen Parvez Musharraf imposed emergency in Pakistan, suspending civil liberties and putting the democratic machinery including the Judiciary in a limbo.

Immediately after the emergency was declared in Pakistan, suspending all fundamental rights, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed the emerging situation in that country. The meeting also examined the situation in the sub-continent following the latest developments, sources said.

The sources, when asked whether the developments would have any impact on the ongoing Composite Dialogue Process (CDP) between India and Pakistan, declined a categorical comment saying they would prefer to ''wait and watch.''

UNI