U.S. diplomat urges Musharraf to lift emergency rule

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte urged Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to lift emergency ruleand free detained political opponentsahead of January's scheduled elections, thediplomat said Sunday.

Negroponte'stwo-hour meeting onSaturday with Musharrafin Islamabadmarked the first high-level talksPakistan's military rulerhas held with a U.S. officialsince hedeclared emergency rule on Nov. 3.

The emergency order effectively suspended the constitution and led to the arrests of hundreds of Musharraf's political opponents, as well as the blacking out of independent media broadcasts.

"I urged the government to stop such actions, lift the state of emergency and release all political detainees," Negroponte told apress conference at the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy at the end of his visit.

"Emergency rule is not compatible with free, fair and credible elections."

Negroponte also urged Musharraf to honour his pledge before declaringthe emergency order to step down as army chief.

Butthe U.S.diplomatpraised Musharraf's efforts in the war on terror, and said he was heartened by the announcement of a parliamentary election date for Jan. 9.

Musharraf has insisted that the emergency rulepowerswere necessary to ensure fair elections and to strengthen the fight against Islamic militants. He reiterated Saturday that he would not lift the widely criticized measures unless the security situation improves.

The meeting came just hours afterformer prime ministerBenazirBhutto was released from house arrest. A prominent human rights activist was also released, and several opposition television news stations were allowed back on the air.

However,the broadcasts of two major independent television news stations, Geo and ARY —which transmit from nearby Dubai — werecut Saturday. Both stations said Dubai took action in response to pressure from Musharraf.

Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup, swore in a caretaker governmenton Fridayand declared he had "introduced the essence of democracy" in the country.

Bhuttoand Musharraf had been negotiating a power-sharing arrangement, but talks apparently collapsed as the general moved against the opposition following his decision to suspend the constitution.

She has in recent days made increasingly strident demands for Musharraf to resign, and has proposed the opposition form a unity front to serve as a transition government ahead of the scheduled elections.