WASHINGTON, June 5: The US hopes that the current judicial crisis in Pakistan will be decided without further violence and it will be a decision “everyone respects”, says US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher.

In an interview to DawnNews TV channel, to be broadcast on Wednesday (5.30pst & 10.30pst), Mr Boucher defended Washington’s decision to support President Pervez Musharraf because he had taken the country to the right direction.

The senior US diplomat, who looks after South Asian affairs for his government, noted that the current judicial crisis “has been a difficult situation for all”, for the government as well as the country.

But he felt that part of the reason this became such a major issue was because it happened during ‘a political year’ when elections are scheduled to happen.

Asked how the US wants this to be resolved, he said: “For us, it needs to be handled, smoothly and cleanly as a judicial matter to be decided by judges hearing the case and the justice ... need to make a decision that everyone respects.”

“We are looking for that to happen, we are watching things closely,” he added. “We certainly do not want violence to get out of hand, or this to become a big trouble for everybody. It does need to be resolved in that judicial context and we hope that can happen quickly.”

Mr Boucher rejected the charge that the US is comfortable working with military rulers. “We want to see a democratic Pakistan, heading in the right direction, towards economic growth and towards elections.”

“A democratic Pakistan headed by a military ruler,” he was asked. “Headed by whosoever the people of Pakistan want it to be headed by,” he said.

“We work well with President Gen Musharraf, I am not apologising for that,” he added. “He has taken the country in this more moderate direction; he has also taken the country towards an election later this year.”