ISLAMABAD, Jan 9: A senior member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has warned of ‘serious consequences’, including a shift in the American policy towards Pakistan, if fair and free elections are not held on Feb 18.

“While there will be further division in Pakistan, there will be certain action against Pakistan by Congress if polls are not held in a transparent and fair manner,” Senator Joseph Lieberman said at a news conference here on Wednesday.

“In fact there will be serious consequences for both countries if elections are rigged as is being alleged by some political parties.”

He said he had met President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Parvez Kayani, Chairman of Strategic Planning Division Lt-Gen Khalid Kidwai and many politicians, including PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim and PML-N Vice chairman Raja Zafarul Haq, with a view to improving Pakistan-US relations.

Pakistan, he said, could not afford to have more division and desperately needed unity by holding genuine elections as a result of which a consensus government could be formed in the country.

“There is a profound expression of distrust about elections and the people needed to be proven wrong about it,” he said. “These days quite lively discussion is taking place in the United States about freedom of press, emergency and judiciary of Pakistan.”

The US, he said, had told President Musharraf that elections in Pakistan must be held next month and that concerns of all political parties about rigging must be allayed.

Senator Lieberman said there were ‘difficult and controversial’ months ahead in terms of the forthcoming elections, terrorism and extremism.

He termed his meeting with Lt-Gen Kidwai very “important and successful” and said it was very encouraging for him to know that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons were in safe hands.

He said he found Gen Kidwai a highly professional person who was doing his job quite satisfactorily.

“There is a multi-layer security about Pakistan’s nuclear arsenals and I will take a good message about it for the US Senate,” he added.

Similarly, the US senator said, the new army chief was very clear about his responsibilities to fight terrorists and extremists by containing activities of Al Qaeda and Taliban in borders areas of Pakistan.

Answering a question, he said it was up to the people of Pakistan and political parties to decide whether they would like to have national government after elections as had been hinted by some caretaker ministers in the last cabinet meeting.

Asked how did he view the curb on freedom of press in Pakistan, Senator Lieberman said it was a very serious issue which he had raised during his meeting with President Musharraf.

“To limit the press freedom is unacceptable in the United States and this is what I had also told Mr Mazhar Abbas of the PFUJ when I met him in Islamabad”.

Answering a question, he said he had heard complaints of alleged rigging from Amin Fahim, Raja Zafar ul Haq and other politicians and told them that Pakistan was an important ally where elections must be held in a free and fair manner and that he had already talked about it with the president and the caretaker prime minister.

He said since there was a long history of complaints of rigging in elections, this time everybody was taking the issue very seriously and wanted the US not to support President Musharraf if his government indulged in that.

He told a reporter that it was “really reassuring” to know that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons were in safe hands and there was no danger that they could fall into the hands of extremists.

”I am confident that Pakistan’s strategic assets will continue to be well protected.

“When the 9/11 happened, America suffered because of the failure of imagination and that is why people in our part of the world are more concerned about the danger of nuclear weapons going into the hands of extremists,” he told a reporter who wanted to know why the US government was unnecessary concerned about the issue.

PPP Vice-Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim and chairman of the party’s Foreign Liaison Committee Senator Enver Baig told the senator that the government had prepared a plan to arrest those party workers who were to perform election duties as polling agents.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Baig said the US senator was informed that the government had already arrested its 4,000 workers and activists on “fabricated” charges of looting banks and damaging state property during riots after the death of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto. They further told the US senator that the postponement of elections from Jan 8 to Feb 18 was “unconstitutional and illegal” as there was no such provision in the Constitution.

Moreover, PML-N chairman Raja Zafarul Haq and coordinator of the party’s Foreign Relations Committee Mohammad Mehdi informed the US delegation that their party had no hope that Feb 18 elections would be free, fair and transparent.

Talking to newsmen after the meeting, Raja Zafar said they had told the US senator that Washington should support the people of Pakistan, instead of an individual. He said they had informed the US senator that transfers and postings were still being made despite the announcement of the election schedule and the government had prepared a plan to rig the election through postal ballots.