US urges democracy in volatile Pakistan

CNews CRAWFORD, TEXAS: The United States appealed for calm and urged its "war on terror" ally Pakistan to press on with its elections after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Thursday.Condemning the "cowardly" suicide attack that killed her, US President George W. Bush urged Pakistanis "to honor Benazir Bhutto's memory by continuing with the democratic process for which she so bravely gave her life."The attack at an election rally in the Pakistani city Rawalpindi sparked deadly riots and fears for stability in the nuclear-armed country, as well as overshadowing next month's planned elections, which Bhutto had been tipped to win.Bush telephoned Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to discuss the situation, the White House said, while US officials appealed for calm in Pakistan amid deadly riots following Bhutto's murder."The US strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy," Bush told reporters.He called on Pakistanis to stay on the path of democracy after Musharraf ended six weeks of emergency rule ahead of the elections due on January 8."We stand with the people of Pakistan in that struggle against the forces of terror and extremism," Bush said near his ranch in Texas where he is spending the end-of-year holidays.Bush made a "brief" call to Musharraf at 1815 GMT, spokesman Scott Stanzel said. He gave no details of the conversation but cited Bush's concerns for democracy and security in Pakistan, which has aided the United States in its hunt for extremists linked to the Al-Qaeda network.US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, and her successor as head of the Pakistani People's Party, Amin Fahim, to express her condolences, said State Department spokesman Tom Casey.Casey urged Pakistan to maintain the date for the elections."To have some kind of postponement or a delay directly related to it in the democratic process ... would be a victory for no one but the extremists responsible for this attack," he said.Rice said in a statement that "Bhutto's passing is a great loss for Pakistan. I knew her as a woman of great courage and had been impressed by her dedication and commitment to democracy and to the future of Pakistan itself."