Rice calls Musharraf over reports of emergency declaration in Pak

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke at length with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, as the key American ally in war on terror weighed the option of imposing a state of emergency in the country.

Washington, Aug 9 : US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke at length with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, as the key American ally in war on terror weighed the option of imposing a state of emergency in the country.

Rice spoke by phone to Musharraf in the early hours of Thursday, after Pakistani officials said that an emergency declaration was being considered, and President Musharraf would soon meet his Cabinet to discuss the option, a senior US State Department official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, refused to discuss the substance of the 17-minute conversation that began shortly after 2 a.m. Pakistan time.

Rice's call to Musharraf followed comments by State Department spokesman Sean McCormack who said that the US understood Musharraf's abrupt decision to skip the joint jirga being held in Kabul from today.

"President Musharraf certainly wouldn't stay back in Islamabad if he didn't believe he had good and compelling reasons to stay back,'' McCormack told reporters.

Earlier, the US State Department said that it is eyeing the situation in Pakistan very intently, The News reported.

Pakistan has not issued any statement regarding the promulgation of emergency; that is why we cannot express our reaction over only media reports, it said.

ANI