WASHINGTON, Nov 13: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday that there’s still room for both President Gen Pervez Musharraf and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto to work together.

“We still think that there is room for moderate forces to work together,” said Ms Rice when asked to comment on Ms Bhutto’s call for Gen Musharraf to step down both as president and the army chief.

“They all have a common enemy in the extremists who tried to kill President Musharraf, also who tried to kill Ms Bhutto,” Secretary Rice said.

In an interview, released by the State Department on Tuesday, Ms Rice warned that Gen Musharraf will have to lift the emergency rule if he wants any political arrangement to work.

“The most important thing is to get out of this state of emergency so that something like normal life can return to Pakistan,” she said.

“Well, we are concerned that when the elections take place they have to take place in a different atmosphere than now.”