US disagrees with PPP proposal

NEW York: Talks between the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and a United States’ State Department official ended without positive results. The PPP delegation led by Raja Pervez Ashraf met the State Department’s South Asian Affairs director Stephen Engelken on Monday and asked for “early free and fair” elections in Pakistan.

Engelken reiterated US policy that America was trying that the next Pakistani elections be held in 2007, which would be free and fair under an independent election commission. Ashraf told Benazir Bhutto by telephone that the meeting was a “success” and the Americans understood the PPP’s philosophy, that it is a liberal party and the only representative able to stop extremists from coming to power.

The PPP delegation also met Pentagon officials and stressed the uniform issue, since it was dealing with the Pakistani government over the issue. nni

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