The United States is sending its No. 2 diplomat to Pakistan to tell President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in person to rescind emergency rule and allow free and fair elections.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, now on a four-nation West Africa tour, is expected in Pakistan on Friday to underscore U.S. concerns about the situation as Musharraf resists pressure to return to constitutional rule or to free opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, who has been placed under house arrest for a second time.

John Negroponte will be in Pakistan by the end of the week.
(CBC)

"I would expect that he will provide the same message in private to Pakistani officials that we have been saying in public," said deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey.

"We want to see all moderate political forces be able to work together," Casey told reporters. "We continue to want to see elections move forward in a free, fair and transparent manner [and] we want to see the emergency decree lifted."

Casey could not say exactly who Negroponte would see but that his visit was not expected to include stops outside Islamabad, making a meeting with Bhutto unlikely. She is under house arrest in Lahore and called for Musharraf's resignation on Tuesday.

Musharraf on Tuesday rejected Bhutto's call to resign as well as an appeal by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to lift the state of emergency.

"I totally disagree with her," Musharraf said of Rice in an interview in Islamabad with The New York Times, which posted it on its website. "The emergency is to ensure elections go in an undisturbed manner."

The Pakistani leader said last week that elections would go ahead by Jan. 9, a move the Bush administration had called positive.

Rice had telephoned Musharraf on Nov. 5, two days after he declared a state of emergency and suspended the constitution — measures he has said were justified because he claimed the Supreme Court had meddled in politics and because of the serious threat from terrorists.

The two spoke for 20 minutes, and the U.S. State Department said Rice made it clear that the U.S. was deeply disappointed and wanted Musharraf to rescind the emergency rule and hold elections.

Measured response

The White House, meanwhile, offered a measured response to Bhutto's demand that Musharraf resign and she ruled out serving under him in a future government.

The development marked another setback for a U.S. ally that has slid into crisis and away from the democracy it had promised.

"Obviously, there's a lot of political tension in Pakistan right now," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. "The most important thing is for the country to return to its democratic path."

Bush reiterated Tuesday that he wants Musharraf to lift the emergency decree, but also that he views the Pakistani leader as a trusted ally.

"He understands the stakes of the war, and I do believe he understands the importance of democracy," Bush told the Fox Business Network.

Musharraf's critics and chief international backers, including the United States, have said the restrictions imposed by the military leader — such as on independent media and rallies — would make it hard to hold a fair vote in upcoming parliamentary elections.