Pakistan Views

President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday won pledges of support from French President Nicolas Sarkozy who called for free, transparent and safe elections next month in the unstable nation.
Musharraf met with Sarkozy on the second leg of a European tour aimed at shoring up his battered image after months of turmoil and the martyrdom of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto last month.
“France will continue to provide its full support in the fight against terrorism, because France and the world have an interest in stability, unity and democracy-building in Pakistan,” said Elysee spokesman David Martinon.
“The only response to terrorism and terrorists is holding elections in the best possible conditions, with freedom, plurality, transparency and security,” added Sarkozy’s spokesman.
Musharraf earlier dismissed fears on Tuesday that his country could slip into al Qaeda’s hands, saying there was a “zero percent chance” of a takeover by extremists.
On the first leg of his European tour in Brussels, Musharraf won backing from Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who said the Pakistani leader was “part of the solution and certainly not part of the problem”.
But EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana warned European future cooperation would depend on the conduct of the elections.
Musharraf travels later Tuesday to Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum and is to meet Wednesday with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
He wraps up his European tour in London on Saturday.