President Bush's top national security aides say U.S. financial backing for Pakistan's counterterrorism efforts likely will go uninterrupted despite the administration's unhappiness with President Pervev Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency, according to AP. The White House said Bush would comment Monday on the crisis. «The best option is for Pakistan to get back on its path to democracy,» press secretary Dana Perino told reporters, echoing statements that administration officials had made throughout the weekend. Discussing the problem Monday while in Ramallah, West Bank, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice exhorted Musharraf to sever his affiliation with the army and restore civilian rule. «I want to be very clear. We believe that the best path for Pakistan is to quickly return to a constitutional path and then to hold elections,» she said, adding that Musharraf must follow through on past promises to «take off his uniform.» And the Pentagon said that it was postponing a meeting scheduled for this week in Islamabad between senior U.S. and Pakistani defense officials. Eric Edelman, defense undersecretary for policy issues, was planning to travel to Pakistan for the meeting, but «it was thought wise to postpone this meeting until such time that all the parties can focus on the very important issues at hand,» Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, visiting China, said Monday that the U.S. may take other steps but both he and Rice suggested the administration doesn't want to disrupt its partnership with Pakistan in fighting al-Qaida and other militants _ a relationship that dates back to the Sept. 11 attacks.
