WASHINGTON, Feb 23: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has backed President Pervez Musharraf in the strongest possible term, calling him the man the United States has been dealing with as the president and wants to continue to do so.

“The president of Pakistan is Pervez Musharraf ... and so, of course, we will deal with him,” said Ms Rice when asked if the US still regards him as its primary pointsman in Islamabad.

Her endorsement comes three days after President Bush telephoned his Pakistani counterpart, apparently to assure him that his administration still recognises Mr Musharraf as the president of Pakistan despite the changes that followed the elections.

A statement by White House Press Secretary Dana Perino earlier this week that it’s up to the people of Pakistan to decide who would be their president, however, had created the impression that the Bush administration is distancing itself from Mr Musharraf.

But later, the White House issued a complete transcript of her comments, which also quotes her as saying that losing seats in the parliament does not necessarily weaken a president.

“In democracies you have situations sometimes where your party loses in the parliament or in the Congress, as President Bush knows very well,” she said. “In 2006 the Republicans lost a majority in the House and the Senate. And we’ve continued to work as a strong, functioning government.”

At her briefing in Washington on Friday, Ms Rice further emphasised this point, saying that Washington had sent a message to the Pakistani leader late last year, asking him to: Lift the state of emergency, take off his uniform and guide his country towards free and fair elections. “I believe he has done exactly that.”