The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Aboard a military plane

The longer the political turmoil in Islamabad continues, the greater the risk that it will distract the Pakistani army from battling insurgents along the border of Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.

Speaking to reporters on his plane en route home from a weeklong visit to Asia, Gates voiced for the first time concerns that Gen. Pervez Musharraf's emergency declaration and the protests and arrests it spawned could impact operations in Afghanistan.

"The concern I have is that the longer the internal problems continue, the more distracted the Pakistani army and security services will be in terms of the internal situation rather than focusing on the terrorist threat in the frontier area," said Gates.

On Friday, Pakistani police detained opposition leader Benazir Bhutto at her Islamabad home and reportedly rounded up 5,000 of her supporters to block a mass protest against emergency rule.

To date, the Pentagon has said the unrest has had no effect on U.S. military operations. But Gates comments underscore the nervousness of the Bush administration, even as it continues to voice support for Musharraf as a critical ally in the war on terror.

Musharraf imposed emergency rule last weekend and suspended the constitution, triggering widespread protests in his own country, and setting off a flurry of diplomatic efforts in Washington to get him to restore democratic rule.

After nearly a week, Musharraf yielded somewhat to pressure from the United States on Thursday and said Pakistan would hold parliamentary election by mid-February - a month later than originally planned.

He still, however, has shown no sign of relinquishing his military post as chief of the army - another key demand of opposition leaders and the Bush administration.

Gates, in his meeting with reporters traveling with him, echoed White House views that Musharraf has been a staunch ally, and praised his move to set a new date for elections.

"We said from the very beginning it's important to move back to constitutional processes as quickly as possible," Gates said. "I think that there is building pressure for him to take off his uniform if he continues as president. But I think that setting the date for the elections was certainly an important first step."