A senior U.S. senator who will observe Monday's elections in Pakistan says Washington should consider cutting military aid to Pakistan if the elections are not conducted fairly.
Senator Joseph Biden told reporters Friday that reducing military aid is the only real leverage Washington has with the government of President Pervez Musharraf. Biden, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also warned that unfair elections could spark rioting across Pakistan.
He will be traveling to Pakistan with Senator John Kerry and Senator Chuck Hagel to help monitor Monday's parliamentary elections. Amnesty International said Friday that human rights violations and harassment of opposition candidates are widespread ahead of the vote. Amnesty's advocacy director for Asia, T. Kumar, called on U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to pressure Mr. Musharraf to stop such abuses.