U.S. condemns Pakistan presidency move

Pakistani foreign minister Jaswant Sattar gave U.S. no notice of presidency move

WASHINGTON -- The United States has condemned the decision by Pakistani military ruler General Pervez Musharraf to declare himself president, saying it will complicate the Bush administration's decision-making on the future of U.S. sanctions on Islamabad.

Musharraf's move seriously undercuts the mission of Pakistan Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar who held talks with top U.S. officials in Washington this week in a strong bid to persuade them to lift at least some of the myriad sanctions that have been levied on his country.

Responding to Musharraf's surprise decision, the U.S. State Department said sanctions imposed after Pakistan's October 1999 military coup would remain until the country moved toward democracy.

But spokesman Richard Boucher did not rule out lifting other sanctions, namely those activated against India and Pakistan after they tested nuclear weapons in May 1998.

The administration is expected to lift those so-called "post-nuclear" sanctions on India, possibly within weeks, officials have told Reuters.

But U.S. officials are just beginning a review of policy toward Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan that could result in some new approaches toward those countries as well.

"We are very concerned and very disappointed that Pakistan takes another turn away from democracy rather than, as we had hoped, a step toward democracy," Boucher told reporters.

He said the action by the general, who also dissolved the elected legislatures that he suspended after taking power in a coup in 1999, "severely undermines Pakistan's constitutional order and casts Pakistan as a country ruled by decree rather than by democratic process."

Boucher added, "Pakistan, we believe, should understand that U.S. sanctions imposed because of the military coup cannot be lifted until the (U.S.) president determines that a democratically elected government has taken office."

Move 'blindsided' Powell

He said Sattar had not given notice of Musharraf's move in talks with Secretary of State Colin Powell on Tuesday, the highest level contact between the five-month-old Bush administration and Pakistan.

In fact, the foreign minister led off the meeting by assuring the Americans that Pakistan would hold elections next year, officials said.

The Musharraf decision "was not a welcome piece of news here. Powell was blindsided," one U.S. official said.

"It will complicate what was already a complicated task" -- deciding what to do about the sanctions imposed on Pakistan after the 1998 nuclear tests, he said.

Unlike when Indian Foreign and Defense Minister Jaswant Singh visited Washington recently, President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney did not "drop in" on Sattar's meeting with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice at the White House.

Given Musharraf's move, U.S. officials who cautioned against according Sattar that extra bit of recognition have been proven right, the official said.

Judge us 'on performance'

At a news conference Sattar said he was informed of Musharraf's decision last night -- after his separate talks with Powell and Rice.

Sattar dismissed U.S. criticism of Musharraf's action, saying similar complaints were heard after the general led a bloodless coup in October 1999 against a democratically-elected government that was accused of corruption.

"But gradually they came to appreciate that this government was providing better governance ... I think the United States will see that we are moving in that direction (toward democracy) and we are quite prepared to be judged on our performance," he added.

The nuclear test-related sanctions imposed on India and Pakistan as a result of their May 1998 nuclear tests included bans on foreign assistance, munitions sales and licenses; government credits and financial assistance; and U.S. support for multilateral financial assistance.

Both countries want all sanctions permanently removed.

Reuters contributed to this report.