WASHINGTON, March 12: The US State Department has said that conflicts between various institutions of the state – such as parliament and the office of the president – are an integral part of a democratic system and are aimed to create balance within the system.

“In any democratic political system, there are going to be tensions. That’s the way political systems are set up,” said the department’s spokesman Sean McCormack. “Usually, there is a balance of power.”

He was commenting on President Pervez Musharraf’s interview to a US newspaper, published on Tuesday, in which he warned that a confrontation between parliament and office of the president would be catastrophic.

“Now how those questions are decided, in terms of what the outcomes to the questions are, those are going to be entirely up to the Pakistani people and Pakistan’s political leaders,” he said.

The official also indicated that while the United States would like to retain its traditional ties with Pakistani army, it would also like to help Pakistan develop a democratic culture.

“We think stability and democracy go hand in hand,” said the spokesman when asked to comment on a recent article by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

“We believe that it is vitally important that the Pakistani people have faith in their governing institutions as well as their government and their political processes,” said Mr McCormack. “That is going to be something that is a bulwark against violent extremists and terrorists.”

He acknowledged that the US Embassy in Islamabad had maintained regular contacts with Pakistani politicians since the elections.

Mr McCormack said: “There are a number of issues of common interest here. And certainly, one of the areas that we will focus on is the continuing fight against terrorism, our counter-terrorism efforts.”

The Pakistani government and the people, he said, also viewed terrorism as a major issue and they had come a long way in fighting this scourge.

Commenting on the Lahore bombings on Wednesday, he said that the strategy for dealing with the terrorists would have to include military operations and economic and political reforms.

“There’s a certain core element that you’re going to have to deal with -- with security services and security means,” he said.

“But … some of the most important efforts are going to be made in broadening and deepening political and economic reforms so that you have more of the Pakistani population bought into the political process, more of the Pakistani people that have a stake in the Pakistani economy.”

“That ultimately is going to provide your best guarantee against the spread of terrorism and violent extremism.”

The US, he said, would work with the new Pakistani government once it was formed on issues of mutual concern, including the fight against terrorism.