The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Washington

US policymakers must keep pressure on President Pervez Musharraf to hold fair elections in Pakistan next month or risk deeper chaos in the nuclear-armed country, an important ally in Washington's anti-terror campaign, experts told Congress on Wednesday.

A House of Representatives panel heard from leading South Asia experts that prospects for free and fair elections in Pakistan on Feb. 18 were doubtful under restrictions imposed late last year by Musharraf.

"Maximally free and fair elections are required for near-term stability," RAND Corporation analyst Christine Fair told the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia.