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US will not interfere in Pakistani politics: envoy

A senior US envoy promised Washington would not interfere in Pakistan's politics to save longtime ally Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, but he was cautious on the new government's hopes to talk peace with pro-Taliban forces.

Deputy US Secretary of State John Negroponte offered little defense for Musharraf, the former army general whose help in combatting Islamic extremists was deemed crucial by Washington after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the US.

Any debate "with regard to the issue of his status is something that will have to be addressed by the internal Pakistani political process," Negroponte said on Thursday, alluding to calls for Musharraf to resign and an impeachment threat from an incoming government bent on slashing presidential powers.

"We will certainly respect whatever is decided in that regard," he said in Karachi, the southern city that is Pakistan's business center.

It was a clear indication Washington had shifted from its singular reliance on Musharraf in relations with the nuclear-armed Islamic nation, where voters repudiated the president's allies and handed his opponents a resounding victory in parliamentary elections last month.

Negroponte and US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher met this week with Musharraf's foes, who are setting up a governing coalition after winning the most seats in the Feb. 18 voting.

Partners in the new government have suggested dialogue with pro-Taliban groups that are blamed for the country's escalating violence -- an approach that has drawn criticism from Washington, which has provided about US$10 billion in aid to Pakistan since 2001.

Negroponte said he did not see how it would be possible to hold discussions with some "irreconcilable elements who want to destroy our way of life."

"I don't see how you can talk to these kinds of people," he said.

But he added that he thought some religious hard-liners could be persuaded to take part in the democratic process.

While Pakistan is unlikely to entertain the possibility of talks with militants linked to al-Qaeda, the government could be willing to talk with pro-Taliban fighters mounting attacks on Pakistani security forces and suspected of attacks in Afghanistan.

The incoming regional administration in the North West Frontier Province has signaled a willingness to negotiate with Mullah Fazlullah, leader of a militant uprising last year in the Swat Valley.

A senior lawmaker in former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's party, which holds the second largest number of seats in parliament, assured the US the incoming government's counterterrorism policy would "not only prove feasible for Pakistan but also for them."

"Let us make it clear that we are going to hold talks only with reconcilable elements, and we believe that the irreconcilable elements, if any, will consequently be phased out," lawmaker Sadiq ul-Farooq said.

Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda suspects are believed to be hiding in the border region, which has seen a spike in US airstrikes in recent months.
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