Tuesday, December 21 2004 10:27 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The United States has said that it will continue to promote Pakistan's democratic transition but avoided questions on President Pervez Musharraf's decision to remain as his country's Army Chief.

"The US has believed and expressed its belief for a long time that it is in Pakistan's interest to continue its transition towards a fully functioning and stable democracy," State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher yesterday (Dec 21, 2004) said in an interaction with reporters.

"We do expect to see continuing progress towards this goal, which is central to Pakistan's becoming a modern and moderate nation," Boucher said.

Asked to comment on Musharraf's decision to remain as the Army Chief, Boucher said, "We will continue to promote progress towards democracy in a variety of ways."

Rejecting suggestions that Washington was backtracking on its commitment to Pakistan's democratic transition, he said, "I don't think in any way we have ever soft-peddled our support for democracy in Pakistan. I think we have consistently supported it in our public statements, in our private discussions with the Pakistani leaders, including directly with President Musharraf.

Asked whether keeping Musharraf in the position he has taken would maintain progress towards democracy, Boucher said, "I am not going to try to analyse this particular step, or lack of step as we discussed. There are different factors involved. We have heard about them from the Pakistanis and from President Musharraf. I think what is important is the long-term horizon and the ability to continue to move towards that horizon."