The United States has said that it has not "given up" on Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, even as its officials in Islamabad were in touch with opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party on the emerging situation there."No. Absolutely not", White House Press Secretary Gordon Johndroe said when asked if the Bush administration had given up on Musharraf."I think his remarks yesterday were notable for calling for elections early next year, as well as removing the uniform. So we expect him to uphold those commitments that he's made," he said.Johndroe, also the White House Deputy Spokesman, said that the Bush administration officials were in touch with Bhutto's party on the emerging situation in Pakistan."US officials on the ground in Islamabad have been in touch with members of a variety of the political parties, including Bhutto's. So we are urging all sides to engage in a dialogue, to work through this peacefully and to get to free and fair elections, which is obviously in the best interests of the people of Pakistan," he said.Emphasising upon a need for dialogue between political parties to resolve the situation, he said: "I would also say there are a lot more people involved on the ground than just one person, and the point is that all of these people need to work together."The deputy spokesman, at a briefing at Crawford, Texas, also suggested the US' financial aid to Islamabad may not be cut as it was directed to benefit the people of Pakistan."The review of aid remains ongoing. But the ultimate goal is not to punish the people of Pakistan; it's to help them get back on a path to democracy, and that is by having free and fair elections and lifting the state of emergency," Johndroe said."I think there's been some discussion of preliminary findings of that review, but that's what they are, they're preliminary," he said later during the briefing.The deputy spokesman said the aid from State Department to Islamabad was "designed to help the people of Pakistan" and "to help with democracy-building, education, health issues and basic services."The assistance that flows out of the Defence Department is to fight the war on terror and to counter extremism, which is absolutely in the best interest of the US. So we'll review this, but again, the overarching goal is to help the people of Pakistan have a democracy that serves them well and is an ally to the US; it's not to punish them," he said.Stating that the US was "concerned" about the situation on the ground, Johndroe urged the protests by the opposition groups to be peaceful."We don't want people to be beaten. We want people who have been detained or had their freedom of movement curtailed, we want that lifted," he said.The US would "hold him (Musharraf) to his commitments, but more importantly, I think the people of Pakistan will hold him to his commitments to have elections and take off the uniform," Johndroe added.
