NEW YORK, Sept 12: President George W. Bush should strongly object to recent moves to limit democracy in Pakistan and should call for immediate reforms when he meets President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said here.

“Bush should make it clear that US support for Pakistan because of its role in the anti-terrorism effort does not give the military leader a blank check to abuse human rights and undermine democratic processes,” the HRW said.

Mr Bush should stress that the fight against terror must not take place at the expense of democracy, said Mike Jendrzejczyk, director of the Human Rights Watch’s Asia division. He called upon the United States not to provide any support for the parliamentary elections in October “unless Musharraf enacts genuine reforms”.

The HRW official urged Mr Bush to press President Musharraf, who seized power in a coup on Oct 12, 1999, to withdraw constitutional amendments he unilaterally imposed last month strengthening the role of the military in the government and extending his presidential term for five years.

He said the US president should also urge Gen Musharraf to immediately rescind all restrictions on political meetings and rallies imposed after the coup.

The elections are set for Oct 10, mandated by the Supreme Court. So far, the Bush administration has downplayed criticism of President Musharraf’s actions.

The HRW said the administration should also warn that future US aid could be jeopardized if President Musharraf continued to take actions that set back prospects for restoring civilian, constitutional rule.

Since 2001, the US Congress has voted for more than $640 million in emergency economic support for Pakistan, as well as military aid and law enforcement and anti-crime assistance. The foreign aid bill for the fiscal year 2003, still pending in Congress, would give another $200 million in economic support to the government, plus $50 million each for development assistance and military aid.

According to the HRW, during their meeting, President Musharraf is expected to ask President Bush for more aid.

“By undermining democratic institutions and restricting channels for political activity, Musharraf only helps the extremists in Pakistan,” Mr Jendrzejczyk, said, adding that “in the end, its counterproductive.”