Endorsement of Musharraf rule? No way, says Clinton

Endorsement of Musharraf rule? No way, says Clinton
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON, MARCH 11: The United States has emphasised that President Bill Clinton's decision to go ahead with his visit to Pakistan is not an endorsement of the October 1999 military coup in that country.

While Clinton himself set all such speculation at rest recently, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart told reporters Friday that the White House would ``go any length'' to dispel the perception.

The White House has only reiterated Clinton's observation last week that he was visiting Pakistan for the people of that country, and not General Musharraf, it's military ruler.

Asked whether his decision to travel to Pakistan after concluding his March 19-25 trip to India and Bangladesh was some kind of endorsement for Pakistan's military government, President Clinton said, "Well, first of all, it's certainly not an endorsement of the military coup. I have made that clear. We made it clear yesterday (Wednesday). But it is a recognition, in my judgment, that America's interests and values would be advanced if we maintained some contact with and communications with the Pakistani Government. And I think that our ability to have a positive influence on the future direction of Pakistan -- in terms of the restoration of democracy, in terms of the ultimate resolution of issues in the (South Asian) subcontinent, and in terms of avoiding further dangerous conflicts -- will be greater if we maintain our cooperation. After all, Pakistan was our ally throughout the Cold War. Since I have been President, Pakistan on more than one occasion has helped us to arrest terrorists, often at some risk tothe regime."

He added, "So I think it would be a mistake not to go (to Pakistan), but it would be a grave mistake for people to think that my going represents some sort of endorsement of a non-democratic process which occurred there. That's not true."

Addressing reporters, Lockhardt said General Musharraf is ``wrong'' in his recent statement that President Clinton's decision to stop in Pakistan during his March trip to South Asia is an endorsement of Pakistan's military Government. "I cannot find another way or more emphatic way to say that he (Musharraf) is wrong in that statement," he said.

"For anyone who is under that perception (that Clinton's visit signals an approval of General Pervez Musharraf's regime), they would be wrong, and we will go great lengths to make sure that the perception is dispelled," Lockhart said.

He added, however, that the killing of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif's top lawyer Iqbal Raad did not mean cancellation of Islamabad from President Bill Clinton's itinerary for South Asia.

"I don't have any (of the President's) travel plan changes," Lockhart said, condemning the killing as "a horrific act of violence".

Asked to comment if the US believes the rule of law exists in Pakistan, Lockhart said: "Obviously the Constitution has been suspended. And we have been pressing the Pakistan (military) government to return to democracy. We'll continue to do that... (but) well, with the Constitution suspended, it makes it difficult to answer that question affirmatively."

Meanwhile, in Islamabad, a day after their colleague was gunned down, nervous defence lawyers for deposed premier Nawaz Sharif said Saturday they want their client's hijacking trial relocated out of Karachi as a ``matter of caution''.

Khawaja Sultan Ahmad, chief defence attorney for Sharif in the plane hijacking case, said the daylight murder of Iqbal Raad is not only shocking, but ``has scared us and we would like to have the venue of the trial shifted from Karachi either to Lahore or Islamabad as a matter of caution''.

The Lahore-based defence team ``is staying in a hotel in a city strange to us. There is no security for us in Karachi. We are too vulnerable to such incidents as it is very easy to target us,'' Ahmad was quoted today by the internet edition of English daily The Dawn as saying.

He said the killing has ``created certain suspicions'' in the minds of the defence counsel. Whether police investigators find the motive behind the gruesome killing or it is termed a `blind murder', the defence lawyers will not be able to proceed with the case in Karachi.

The police should investigate the matter and find out if the murder was motivated by political vendetta, he added.

Raad will be buried later Saturday near his home in Karachi's posh Defence neighbourhood. Paramilitary rangers and heavily armed police are deployed in the area.

So far no connection has been made between the killing and Sharif's hijacking trial.

The autopsy report confirmed that Raad was shot at six times in the chest.

The autopsy, conducted at the Civil Hospital Karachi, also revealed that the former judge's son, Shahzad Khatri and Raad's office peon Ghulam Abbas were shot at once in the head.

According to official news agency APP, Shahzad had gone to the building located in the port town's commercial district to collect rent, when he fell victim to the gunmen.

A first information report in connection with killing has been registered at the Artillery Maidan police station in the city under several sections of the Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.