U.S. Lauds Musharraf, Silent on Sharif

A Pakistani man chants slogans as he attends a rally in support of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, seen on posters behind, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf sent the premier he ousted in a 1999 coup, Sharif, back into exile Monday after the opposition leader landed on a flight from London. Sharif, who had vowed to return home to campaign against Musharraf, was also charged with corruption during his four-hour stay in the country. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) (Lefteris Pitarakis - AP)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A top U.S. envoy praised President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's government Wednesday and skirted the issue of his expulsion of a top political rival, taking some heat off the military leader as he struggles for election to a new term.

Soon after Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte's tribute to Pakistan's anti-terrorism efforts, the army reported killing up to 40 Islamic militants near the Afghan border.

Musharraf is facing hostility at home for sending Nawaz Sharif, the premier he ousted in a 1999 coup, back into exile hours after he returned Monday. The move, in defiance of a Supreme Court ruling, removed a rival opposed to the president's plan to seek re-election by mid-October.

Late Wednesday, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported that Musharraf had directed officials to release hundreds of Sharif supporters in time for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Javed Iqbal Cheema said Thursday provincial authorities have started releasing about 1,000 Sharif supporters rounded up in the days before his attempt to return after seven years in exile _ although Sharif's party claims about 5,000 were detained.

Also Wednesday, authorities barred another opposition leader, Imran Khan, from entering the country's biggest city, Karachi, which is dominated by a pro-Musharraf party. Khan said 300 of his supporters were arrested.

Musharraf, who counts the U.S. as his key foreign backer, also has faced growing international pressure in recent months over his failure to curb Taliban and al-Qaida militants along Pakistan's frontier with Afghanistan.

After wide-ranging talks in Islamabad, Negroponte praised Pakistan's efforts in combating militancy in its tribal areas, where he said more than 1,000 Pakistani soldiers have died since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, and more troops had been deployed over the past year.

"There is no doubt whatsoever of Pakistan's commitment to restoring and establishing security in that part of the country and more than doing its share in the war against terror," Negroponte said at a news conference.

Pakistani officials said later that army helicopters had killed an estimated 40 insurgents in an assault Wednesday in North Waziristan.

A recent U.S. intelligence estimate concluded a failed peace deal between Pakistan and pro-Taliban militants last year gave space for al-Qaida to regroup in that lawless region.

"There is presence of al-Qaida, there is no doubt about it. But there are no safe havens," said Riaz Mohammed Khan, Pakistan's foreign secretary.