Islamabad: With rumours ahead of President Pervez Musharraf's visit to the US earlier this month (July) suggesting he was set to inform Washington of his plan to dismiss the elected government, new information suggests he was in fact asked by the US not to carry out this plan.

A report appearing in the Lahore-based English language newspaper, 'The Daily Times', Musharraf was ready to dissolve the elected Assemblies on his return from Washington because of the ongoing deadlock on the Legal Framework Order (LFO) issue but was dissuaded from doing so by the Bush administration.

US sources privy to the exchanges on this issue between the visiting Pakistani military leader and his hosts are quoted as saying that Musharraf expressed his frustration with the politicians who he said were responsible for paralysing the elected Parliament.

The situation, he argued, was becoming so untenable that he may be forced to dissolve the Assemblies and nullify the October 2002 elections. But he was told by the Bush administration that if he took that action, he would need to hold fresh elections in 90 days, something that Musharraf was not willing to promise, as he felt that in the event of dissolution, it would need time before things settled down.

The Pakistan President was told in no uncertain terms that if he nullified the October 2002 elections and did not order fresh elections within 90 days, it would be difficult for the administration to persuade the US Congress to respond positively when it came to the passage of the $ 3 billion package that Pakistan had been promised by Bush.

That, rather than any other argument, was what persuaded Musharraf to continue efforts to resolve the present Constitutional crisis in the country.

It is believed this dialogue in Washington played a huge part in he decision taken to avoid any swift dissolution of Assemblies and to try and find a way out of the current political impasse.

Circles close to the President however suggest some aides are still advising that Assembly dissolution will "become a necessary reality" in the days ahead, and that efforts needed to be geared up to "convince the Americans there is no way out of this".

Sources also say Musharraf was able to obtain support for his sweeping reform, including changes in the Constitution. As such, he remains determined to avoid a compromise on the LFO, and this suggests that it may not be so easy to reach any kind of agreement with major political parties who remain united in questioning Musharraf's own legitimacy as President of the country.

ANI