US calls for Pakistan to move ahead with free election

US, The United States reiterated on Sunday its call for Pakistan to move ahead with free elections but declined to force the Southern Asian country to hold the scheduled election day.

"We believe it is important for Pakistan to confront extremists and continue on the path to democracy by holding free and fair elections," White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said in a statement. "The timing of those elections will be up to the Pakistanis," Stanzel said in Crawford, Texas, where U.S. President George W. Bush was spending a weeklong holiday at his ranch.

The White House statement came after former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was killed on Thursday in a suicide attack.

The United States has been urging Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, a key U.S. ally in war on terrorism, to hold parliamentary elections scheduled for Jan. 8, hoping that will bring stability to the country which is facing mounting violence from Islamist militants allied to al Qaeda.

However, Bhutto's death has thrown the election in doubt. It was reported that Pakistan's scheduled elections could be delayed for up to eight weeks.

Washington, Monday, Xinhua