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Secretary of State of Colin Powell dodged the question on Sunday of whether former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto should be allowed to return to take part in elections in military-ruled Pakistan.
President Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, has vowed to prevent Benazir taking part in the polls and has barred her from ever becoming prime minister again, saying she looted the country when she was in office.
Powell, on a visit to South Asia designed mainly to defuse tension between Pakistan and India, refused to be drawn into the debate, at least in public.
''With respect to who might or might not participate in the upcoming elections, I do not have a point of view,'' he told a news conference, in response to a question about Benazir.
Musharraf has also proposed a controversial set of constitutional amendments which give him the power to sack the prime minister, dismiss the cabinet and dissolve parliament after elections set for October 10.
The proposals have been widely criticized within Pakistan by the main political parties, lawyers' groups, newspaper columnists and ordinary people, who argue they make a mockery of Musharraf's promise to hand over power to a civilian government.
But the United States, which sees Musharraf as a key ally in its war on terrorism, has so far refrained from public criticism.
''We had a very long discussion about the amendments with President Musharraf at lunch and he presented the rationale for these amendments,'' Powell said.
''He (Musharraf) also noted the amendments are controversial and are being debated now by the various political factions in Pakistan and among the Pakistani people, and judgements will be made in the course of this debate.''
Musharraf insists the silent majority of Pakistanis support his amendments, and has made it clear the essence of the proposals will not be altered.
In a statement, Powell said he welcomed Musharraf's commitment to hold the polls and said he expected they would be free and fair. He said he hoped all the country's political parties would participate.
''America can have no closer partnerships
in the world than those we forge with fellow democracies,'' he said.
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