US ready to work with new Govt
By Our Diplomatic Correspondent

ISLAMABAD—The U.S. Senators have appreciated the fulfillment of President Musharraf’s commitment to hold elections in a free and transparent manner and added that the President now has a great opportunity to strengthen the democratic process and take the country forward.
The US Senators while talking to President Pervez Musharraf in a meeting held here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Tuesday emphasized that a democratic and economically stable and strong Pakistan was important for regional peace and stability. The US Senators who called on President Pervez Musharraf including Senators Joseph Biden, John Kerry and Chuck Hagel. The U.S. Senators are visiting Pakistan to observe the elections.
During the meeting, the discussions focused on the successful completion of the 18 February elections and Pakistan-U.S. relations. The US Senators stated that Pakistan’s role in fighting terrorism was important for itself and for the world. They emphasized that Pakistan-U.S. relations should not be transactional and limited to cooperation on counter terrorism but these must be broad-based and diverse to serve the best interest of both the countries. The President underscored his unswerving commitment to democracy, which was once again vindicated by the free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections held in the country. He added that the post-election scenario had unfolded new political dynamics, which hopefully would move in a positive direction.
The President hoped that the new government would work in a harmonious manner with all the stakeholders and that all must focus on the future and cooperate in the best interest of the country. President Musharraf also underlined the importance of a broad-based relationship between Pakistan and the United States, based on commonality of interests and better understanding of the realities in Pakistan.
The Bush administration said Tuesday that while Pakistan’s election was a step toward restoring democracy in the key U.S. anti-terror ally, it is holding off on a definitive assessment until final results are in. With President Pervez Musharraf’s ruling party conceding defeat in Monday’s vote, the State Department said Tuesday it was “pleased” that the election, which was postponed from January after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, had come off relatively peacefully and without major apparent fraud. “This is an important step on the path towards an elected, civilian democracy that reflects the choices of the Pakistani people,” said Nicole Thompson, a department spokeswoman. “We and others in the international community have stressed the importance of having as free, fair and transparent an election process as possible.”
She noted there were numerous international and independent local election monitors who had yet to offer reports on the voting process, and she declined further comment until they had spoken and the final official tally is released. “We will wait for the final election results and the chance to review the monitoring groups’ reports before commenting further on the process,” Thompson said. Traveling with President Bush in Africa, White House press secretary Dana Perino said it was important that the election instill confidence among the Pakistani people.