U.S. lawmakers raise alarm over Pakistan politics

"Over the past two months, we have witnessed the spiral of civil unrest and harshly suppressed protest in Pakistan with increasing concern," the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Rice obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.
"The national interests of the United States and Pakistan are both served by a speedy restoration of full democracy to Pakistan and the end to state-sponsored intimidation -- often violent -- of Pakistani citizens protesting government actions in a legal and peaceful manner."
They said Rice should make a public appeal to this end.
At a news briefing, spokesman Sean McCormack said the State Department was watching events in Pakistan closely but that Washington did not want to tell its ally what to do.
"The Pakistani people are going to have to resolve this issue for themselves," McCormack said.
"They are going to have to decide for themselves whether or not rule of law has been followed and whether or not proper procedures have been followed. It is not something that we can dictate nor want to dictate to the Pakistani people."
Biden is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a Democratic candidate for president. Lantos is chairman of the House of Representatives International Relations Committee and Ros-Lehtinen is the panel's senior Republican.
The unrest in Pakistan has snowballed into a broad pro-democracy campaign. It poses the most serious challenge yet to the authority of Musharraf and comes in the run-up to Pakistani presidential and parliamentary elections.
The U.S. lawmakers warned that a "flawed election would marginalize moderate parties and voices, empowering extremist groups to exert far greater influence over Pakistani society."
They complained that the government's response to the protests has been to "arrest, detain and beat citizens, many of them lawyers demonstrating peacefully."
They said a violent confrontation in Karachi on May 9 that left at least 39 people dead and 150 wounded showed "disturbing signs of collusion between MQM and government forces."
MQM, or Muttahida Quami Movement, is a coalition partner of Musharraf's party in the government.
"The paramilitary Rangers and police, whether by inaction or acting on specific orders, clearly failed to protect the lives of citizens under attack by armed gangs," the lawmakers wrote. Continued...