President George W. Bush on Wednesday waived U.S. restrictions on exports to Pakistan, saying it would ease the democratic transition there and help fight terrorism. In a statement to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Bush said he was easing prohibitions under a U.S. law that targets countries where a democratically-elected government has been overturned by a coup. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf took power in a bloodless coup in 1999, named himself president in 2001, and was elected to a five-year term in the controversial 2002 election. Bush said the waiver would "facilitate the transition to democratic rule in Pakistan" and is "important to United States efforts to respond to, deter, or prevent acts of international terrorism." Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Washington passed broad legislation waiving restrictions on U.S. arms exports and military assistance to Pakistan and India, which had been sanctioned after nuclear tests in 1998.
