Washington: Apparently accepting Pakistan Parliament's nod to allow President Pervez Musharraf to hold the post of Chief of the Army, United States has said it expects Islamabad to continue its transition to a full and sustainable democracy with free and multi-party Parliamentary elections as scheduled in 2007.

"Our view is that Pakistan needs to continue to make progress towards democracy. Whether he (Musharraf) takes this specific step is something that's going to have to be decided in Pakistan," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. Asked specifically if the State Department had no opinion on the matter, he told reporters, "I'm trying to suggest that we've said before, we thought it would be a good step (that) progress towards democracy in Pakistan doesn't rest solely on this step (i.e. Musharraf shedding his uniform).

"We continue to encourage progress, and we continue to encourage Pakistanis to look for ways to make progress," Boucher told reporters yesterday (Oct 14, 2004).

He said, "We want these (2007) elections to meet international standards, and we want to see Pakistan in the meantime strengthen judiciary and Parliament to enable political parties to operate freely and increase transparency.

"President Musharraf regularly affirms his vision of Pakistan's progress towards democracy. That's a vision that we share, and we'll continue to encourage him to move in that direction."

Pakistan National Assembly yesterday passed a bill allowing Musharraf to hold the dual posts of the President and the Army Chief.