October 25, 2007	Thursday	Shawwal 12, 1428

WASHINGTON, Oct 24: Three US senators have urged President Pervez Musharraf not to use security concerns as a rationale for imposing a ban on political rallies in Pakistan.

They also asked the president to accept US assistance in investigating last week’s blasts in Karachi which targeted former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

“We urge you to refrain form using security concerns as a rationale for imposing a ban on political rallies,” Senators Joseph Biden, Joseph Lieberman and Patrick Leahy said.

“We believe that your government, like the governments of other nations afflicted by the scourge of terrorism, can adequately protect political leaders and their supporters without stifling the democratic process.”

The Oct 18 suicide attacks on her rally forced Ms Bhutto to reduce her public appearances.In a joint letter to President Musharraf, delivered to the Pakistan Embassy in Washington on Tuesday, the senators urged the president to reconsider his decision not to accept outside assistance for investigating the Karachi blasts. “If the resources of the US government would be helpful in bringing the perpetrators of this terrible assault on innocent Pakistanis to justice, we stand ready to facilitate the provision of such resources in any way we are able to do so,” they said.

The US lawmakers also stressed the need for providing Ms Bhutto “full level of security” customarily afforded to any former prime minister in Pakistan.

Mr Lieberman is a former vice presidential candidate. Mr Biden chairs the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations while Mr Leahy chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee.

They urged Islamabad to provide bomb-proof vehicles and jamming equipment to Ms Bhutto and other political leaders to protect them from roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices, such as those used at the Karachi rally last week. They also expressed concerns at the allegation that some serving or retired government officials might have been involved in the attempt to assassinate Ms Bhutto.

“We are troubled by allegations — well-founded or not — of potential links between certain currently-serving or retired military or intelligence officials and extremist forces who might target secular politicians,” they wrote.

“In order to dispel any suspicion of complicity on the part of any past or present government officials, we urge you to ensure that any individual involved in (or alleged to have been involved in) past political action against Ms Bhutto and her supporters be excluded form any part of the prime minister’s security detail.”

The lawmakers urged the government of Pakistan to conduct a thorough and transparent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the Oct 18 attack and to accept “whatever forensic, intelligence and investigatory support from outside countries might be necessary to ensure a successful outcome to this inquiry.

“We share the pain that you, and all Pakistanis, suffered at the brutal murder of 140 of your fellow citizens. We continue to believe in the critical importance of a strong friendship between the people of the United States and Pakistan,” they concluded.