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)

U.S. officials and lawmakers have raised the possibility of making unilateral military strikes inside Pakistan's tribal regions against al-Qaida bases _ angering Islamabad and fueling public antipathy about Musharraf's alliance with America.

Negroponte offered some reassurance Wednesday. "We intend to carry out whatever activities we do in the border in complete respect of the sovereignty of Pakistan," he said.

Asked about Sharif's expulsion, Negroponte offered no criticism. He said it was as "an internal Pakistani political and legal matter and it's for the government and people of Pakistan to decide."

"We look forward to democratic elections being held in Pakistan quite shortly. We think it's important there be a smooth and democratic political transition," Negroponte said.

Sharif was packed onto a flight to Saudi Arabia four hours after his return to Pakistan.

His lawyers have filed a petition with the Supreme Court accusing the government of contempt of court for sending Sharif away. The court ruled last month that Sharif had an "inalienable" right to return to his homeland.

The government, however, claims that when authorities offered Sharif a choice between being tried on corruption charges or leaving the country, he chose exile.

In another case of authorities taking a tough line against government opponents, Khan was halted by police at Karachi airport Wednesday. Khan has angered the city's pro-Musharraf administration by blaming it for violence at an opposition rally May 12 that killed about 40 people.

After Khan was sent back to the capital, riot police stopped him and about two dozen supporters from marching to the Foreign Office, where Negroponte spoke.

"Musharraf has never had any legal authority, but now he has lost all moral authority in Pakistan," Khan told reporters as about 100 police officers with helmets, shields and batons stood by, blocking the road. "He's hanging in there through the help of the United States."

Khan, a former cricket star and now the leader of a small but vocal opposition party, claimed Washington was trying to engineer a power-sharing deal between Musharraf and another former premier, Benazir Bhutto, to help the U.S.-allied general extend his rule.

Such an agreement could defuse legal challenges to Musharraf's attempt to receive a fresh five-year term from lawmakers and quash corruption cases pending against Bhutto, who left Pakistan in 1999.

___

Associated Press writers Sadaqat Jan and Stephen Graham contributed to this report.