US senator have called for interational pressure on Musharraf

Noting that Pakistan is in a "major crisis" following imposition of Emergency, senior US Senators have called for international pressure on President Pervez Musharraf and said that he should not be allowed a "free pass" this time around.

"The US should take the lead, with other world powers, in putting maximum pressure on Musharraf to return to democracy. I think it's not enough that Secretary Rice speaks out. The president has to speak out, and in more specific terms. We have bolstered Musharraf with billions of dollars in recent years, and military support, and we ought to be specific that it's not going to continue," Republican Senator Arlen Specter said during a TV interview.

"... I'm not about to suggest military intervention. But I'm not in favour of giving him a free pass, either. I don't think we can continue to support a Musharraf government which ousts the Supreme Court and which seizes dictatorial control and leads them in a path which is even more destructive and more against the US and world interests," he argued.

Senator Diane Feinstein, senior Democrat sitting on the Intelligence Panel, also argued in the same lines. "There's no question that this is a major crisis. And the fear is that the country disassembles, and therefore, its military power, namely its nuclear power, becomes a huge, huge risk," she added.

Courtesy:timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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