World | Pakistan
Assassination throws wrench into US policy
US officials huddled to assess the impact of Bhutto's passing just two weeks before legislative elections in the turbulent nation in which her party was expected to do well.
- AP
- Published: 00:32 December 28, 2007
Washington: The United States scrambled on Thursday with the implications of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination after having invested significant diplomatic capital in promoting reconciliation between her and President Pervez Musharraf to stabilise its key nuclear armed, anti-terrorism ally.
US officials huddled to assess the impact of Bhutto's passing just two weeks before legislative elections in the turbulent nation in which her party was expected to do well.
"Certainly, we condemn the attack on this rally," said deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey. "It demonstrates that there are still those in Pakistan who want to subvert reconciliation and efforts to advance democracy."
US intelligence officials were mobilised on the reports, but the CIA would not immediately offer confirmation of Bhutto's assassination. "We're still looking into it, to make sure we have all the facts," said CIA spokeswoman Michele Ness. In Crawford, Texas, where President George W. Bush is vacationing, there was no immediate comment, although a statement was planned.
The United States had been at the forefront of foreign powers trying to arrange reconciliation between Bhutto and Musharraf, who under heavy US pressure resigned as army chief and earlier this month lifted a state of emergency, in the hope it would put Pakistan back on the road to democracy. Bhutto's return to the country after years in exile and the ability of her party to contest free and fair elections had been a cornerstone of Bush's policy in Pakistan, where US officials had watched Musharraf's growing authoritarianism with increasing unease.
Terror threat
Those concerns were compounded by the rising threat from Al Qaida and Taliban extremists, particularly in Pakistan's largely ungoverned tribal areas bordering Afghanistan despite the fact that Washington had pumped nearly $10 billion (Dh36.7 billion) in aid into the country since Musharraf became an indispensable counter-terrorism ally after September 11, 2001 attacks.
Irritated by the situation, Congress last week imposed new restrictions on US assistance to Pakistan, including tying $50 million in military aid to State Department assurances that the country is making "concerted efforts" to prevent terrorists from operating inside its borders.
Under the law, which provides a total of $300 million in aid to Pakistan and was signed by Bush on Wednesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also must guarantee Pakistan is implementing democratic reforms, including releasing political prisoners and restoring an independent judiciary.
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