"The fact is that a lot has happened in Pakistan. There's a reason that you have a vibrant, civil society. There's a reason that you have a vibrant media. Some of those changes have come during the period of President Musharraf's rule. But it's important now that they take the next step, that they go to free and fair elections," Rice said.

"It's very important that they carry out free and fair elections. That would put Pakistan back on a course for democratic reform," she said at a meeting of a Women's Foreign Policy Annual Luncheon.

The top US diplomat also said Washington has been encouraging all the moderate forces in Pakistan to come together and oppose extremism, to participate in the elections so that Pakistan can move "a step further away from extremism".