Exclusive: U.S. urges Pakistanis to keep Musharraf, despite election defeat

Jonathan S. Landay and Warren P. Strobel | McClatchy Newspapers
last updated: February 21, 2008 03:02:37 PM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan _The Bush administration is pressing the opposition leaders who defeated Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to allow the former general to retain his position, a move that Western diplomats and U.S. officials say could trigger the very turmoil the United States seeks to avoid.

U.S. officials, from President Bush on down, said this week that they think Musharraf, a longtime U.S. ally, should continue to play a role, despite his party's rout in parliamentary elections Monday and his unpopularity in the volatile, nuclear-armed nation.