The political pressure,backed by a financial heft by US to Pakistan

US President George Bush on Monday turned the heat on his "tight" buddy Pervez Musharraf to force the Pakistani dictator to back down from his confrontation with the country's civil society and restore the modicum of democracy he had allowed.

The political pressure, backed by a financial heft that saw the feeble Pakistani economy shudder at the first sign of American muscle, appeared to yield some immediate results. Musharraf signalled through his factotums that he would stick to January election timetable, but he left the uniform issue unaddressed.

Bush stepped into the picture more than 48 hours after the turbulent events began to unfold in Pakistan, using a White House photo-op with the visiting Turkish prime minister as an opportunity to address the issue that's leapt to the front and centre of US foreign policy concerns.

He told reporters, who were prime hours ahead that he would speak on the subject, that he expected Musharraf to hold elections as soon as possible and also remove his military uniform.

Although Bush's tone in making the demands was peremptory (he said he had asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to call Musharraf and convey this message and that he had briefed the Turkish PM about the call), the US President made it amply clear that the Pakistani ruler remained in his favour and he would be happy to deal with him if he rolled back his crackdown.

Courtesy:thetimesofindia.indiatimes.com
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