World leader worry Pak stance

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he was planning to see Musharraf in the next 48 hours.

Kouchner said he hoped to "try ... to apply pressure for the election to take place -- on what date, I don't know, it's not up to us to say." But, voicing several diplomats' fears, he added: "But elections must take place in calm conditions."

Dec 31 (PTI) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has asked Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to go-ahead with planned elections saying the legacy of Benazir Bhutto's death should be the country's commitment to democracy.


"The legacy of Ms Bhutto's death should be Pakistan's commitment to democracy," Brown said while speaking to television media.


The Prime Minister pledged to "step up" efforts to defeat terrorism in Pakistan and ensure that the democratic process continues.


Brown said: "The international community is united in its outrage and determination that those who stoop to such tactics shall not prevail.


"I therefore encouraged President Musharraf to stick to the course he has outlined to build democracy and stability in Pakistan." In an earlier Downing Street statement, he said he had passed the nation's condolences to the people of Pakistan in a telephone call with President Musharraf.


Brown said "I have just spoken again to President Musharraf. I passed on my condolences, and those of the British people, following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and many of her supporters on Thursday.


Terming Bhutto's assassination as a potent reminder of the threat from terror, he said "this was a cowardly terrorist act designed to destabilize democratic elections.


"Pakistan is a major ally in the global effort to combat this (terrorism) menace. I told President Musharraf that the UK is prepared to sustain and build the already significant counter-terrorism support we offer his country, not least in the efforts to destroy Al Qaeda." PTI