The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Washington

President George W. Bush called Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday an ally of the United States in fighting terrorism and said he should work with the winner of elections delayed to next month after the killing of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Bhutto's assassination last week as she left an election rally in Rawalpindi threw Pakistan into turmoil and left questions about who was behind the gun and suicide bomb attack. The general election, which Washington hopes will mark a democratic transition in the nuclear-armed country, was postponed to Feb. 18 from Jan. 8. "I think that whoever wins the election is somebody with whom President Musharraf should work, and of course we will be a strong ally of Pakistan," Bush said in a Reuters interview at the White House.

"I've always been a supporter of President Musharraf," he said. "I believe he is strong in the war on terror. He understands clearly the risks of dealing with extremists and terrorists. After all, they've tried to kill him."

Musharraf had kept his pledge to step down from his military post and to set a date for elections, Bush noted. "He's an ally."

The United States considers Pakistan important in fighting al Qaeda and Taliban militants along the border with Afghanistan.

"They (militants) want to, in this case, derail democracy, create confusion and chaos, kill a brave woman in order to advance their agenda," he said.