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Pakistan should have democratic rule: US

Stating that restoration of democracy in Pakistan was in the US interest, Washington has said that amendments proposed by President Pervez Musharraf should be consistent with the existing Pakistani Constitution.

"Full restoration of democratic civilian rule in Pakistan is very important to the US," state department spokesman Richard Boucher said on Friday.

"It is for Pakistanis to determine their government, and it is critically important that this determination be made in a manner that is transparent, fair and acceptable to the Pakistani people," he added.

But Boucher did not give specific comments on the proposed amendments.

"We have not commented on the specific constitutional changes proposed by President Musharraf. These are still out for public comment and President Musharraf has said that he intends to take these comments into account," he said.

Responding to a question whether US has 'actually asked Musharraf not to fiddle around with the Constitution', Boucher said, "I don't think that we have actually addressed it in that fashion."

"We have said... that it is very important to carry through on election commitments, that the election in October ...is part of an overall process of movement towards democracy, and that overall process remains very important to us," he said. "So we would expect to continue to see steps, including the election, along that road."

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