| Pakistan dismissed a call by the US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte for President General Pervez Musharraf to restore the constitution and free thousands of political opponents, saying on Sunday that the US envoy brought no new proposals and received no assurances in return. “This is nothing new,” Foreign Office (FO) spokesman Muhammad Sadiq said, referring to Negroponte’s blunt warning that Musharraf must end emergency rule as soon as possible. “The US has been saying this for many days. He has said that same thing. He has reiterated it,” he added. Musharraf has insisted he will only lift emergency rule if the security situation improves, and strongly hinted that such a move is unlikely before parliamentary elections scheduled to be held by January 9. |