Britain urges Pakistan to ensure fair elections

Britain on Monday urged President Pervez Musharraf to ensure next month’s delayed elections pass without incident, saying the country’s stability was vital for the whole of south Asia.

The call came as protestors staged noisy protests against Musharraf’s visit to London, at the end of a week-long trip to Europe. At a joint news conference after what he described as wide-ranging talks, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Pakistan remained a “key ally” in the fight against militancy.

“I urged President Musharraf to engage with all political parties in Pakistan for a peaceful, democratic future for Pakistan,” he said at his Downing Street offices.

For his part, Musharraf said he had a “strong desire” to hold the general election, postponed since the December 27 martyrdom of leader Benazir Bhutto.

“I am very sure that we will have a peaceful transition and we will have a strong democratic government following the February 18 election,” he added.

Musharraf had been expected to brief Brown on the latest developments in the probe into Benazir’s killing, but neither mentioned it when they faced the media.

Musharraf rejected claims that his government was losing the battle against extremists.

He described that situation as “a desperate act, maybe to take away attention from the military operation outside”, adding: “I think we will keep going strong on the side of acting against the terrorists.”

On the wider fight against extremism, he said Pakistani efforts to tighten up the notoriously porous border with Afghanistan had seen a 42 percent reduction in cross-border movements of militants.

But he repeated that the fight would be drawn out and needed multilateral support.

“The battle is long and we will persevere with this. It may take a long time and the perseverence has to be on both sides, on the Afghan side and the Pakistan side. Winning on one side will not be enough,” he told reporters.