Tuesday, January 1, 2008
WASHINGTON, Dec 31 (Reuters) - The United States expressed concern on Monday about any indefinite postponement of elections in Pakistan after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and encouraged Islamabad to go ahead with the vote.
"If elections can be held in a safe and secure way, and in a positive way, on Jan. 8, then that's probably what should happen," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.
Pakistani electoral officials will decide on Tuesday whether to go ahead with the Jan. 8 election, but there were expectations it could be delayed by up to two months.
The death of Bhutto, an opposition leader and former prime minister, in a suicide attack on Thursday touched off a wave of violence in Pakistan.
The United States has been involved in efforts to restore democratic government in Pakistan, where President Pervez Musharraf, a key ally in U.S. President George W. Bush's war on terrorism, seized control in a military coup in 1999.
Casey said Washington, which had been involved in pushing Pakistan to hold new elections, would not object to a short delay if the main parties all agreed or if there were technical barriers to being able to hold the vote on Jan. 8.
"The key here is that there be a date certain for elections in Pakistan," Casey said. "We would certainly have concerns about some sort of indefinite postponement of the elections."
"We very much want to make sure that there is a clear date set for the Pakistanis to be able to elect their new government," he added.
Washington was instrumental in Bhutto's return to Pakistan, working to convince Musharraf to give up his role as military chief and accept elections and a power-sharing arrangement with Bhutto.
(Reporting by Paul Eckert, writing by David Alexander, editing by Doina Chiacu)
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