ISLAMABAD, May 22: The US is looking forward to the forthcoming October elections in Pakistan with a lot of positive interest and it hopes that outdoor political activities would start soon in the country, the outgoing American ambassador to Pakistan Wendy Chamberlin told a group of senior journalists here on Wednesday.

The US ambassador who arrived in Pakistan only days before Sept 11 is making history of sorts by leaving her post even before completing one year of her tour of duty because of family reasons. But the nine months that she spent in Pakistan would perhaps be categorized in US-Pakistan relations as the most tumultuous and also perhaps positively the most dramatic.

She said during this period all the sanctions against Pakistan were lifted, the World Bank and the IMF came out with generous assistance, the US itself offered assistance of one billion dollars, the USAID offices were set up with focus on health and education, military-to-military ties were re- established, cooperation was extended in enhancing the capacities of law-enforcement agencies, any number of high-level visits from both sides were undertaken, joint commissions in various fields have been set up, the rate of economic growth in Pakistan has improved, half a million Afghan refugees have returned home and Pakistan-Afghan trade has improved.

“To summarize, the relationship between the two countries is now a partnership and we are no more working at cross purposes,” the ambassador added.

When asked where does democracy fit in the whole scheme of things in this partnership and why the results of the referendum were ignored, the ambassador said the results of referendum were “not ignored”.

Elaborating, she said there was no country in the world which supported the idea of democracy as much as the US did, “We are for free press, we call for understanding of the workings of the civil society, the NGOs, we promote pluralism, we believe in democracy through education, through law enforcement, by promoting human rights, end of corruption, independence of judiciary.”

When asked for her comments on President Pervez Musharraf’s insistence to keep former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif out of the forthcoming elections, Ms Chamberlin said she would not like to express her opinion on the internal issues of Pakistan, “you are the best people to talk about it.”

She also did not want to say anything about the on going behind the scene efforts of the international community to avert a war in South Asia and maintained that it was up to the two countries to settle their dispute through peaceful means by entering into a dialogue.

She said the US was seriously concerned about the heightening tensions between India and Pakistan and has been working with both the countries to reduce this tension.

She said she would not like to add anything more to what she had already said when asked if the US subscribed to India’s allegation that Pakistan continued to instigate ‘cross-border terrorism’.

Adding she said both the countries know what they have to do and both know that war is not the solution. “We do not have a prescription.”

She said no US combat troops or FBI personnel were involved in operations within Pakistani territory, “they are all non- combatants, either advisers or communications experts and no more than a handful in number.”

She had all praises for the way Pakistan has been cooperating with the US in its war against international terrorism and said she would give very high marks to the government on this score.

She said it was her personal decision to give up with heavy heart her post in Pakistan for the sake of her daughters who could not have lived with her in Pakistan after the ‘second advisory’ following the terrorist attack on the Church in the diplomatic enclave.

She did not rule out the possibility of Nancy Powell coming to Pakistan as her replacement but said one would not know about the final choice until after the Senate hearing which she said was a lengthy process normally but which could be expedited in times of need.

“But the person who would come to Pakistan as US ambassador would be one who would know the country well and the region and understood it problems,” she added.