President Pervez Musharraf gave a firm commitment to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and US Secretary of State Condolezza Rice that he would hold elections on schedule by January just before imposing a state of emergency, The Guardian reported on Monday.| Should have known better. His lips were moving. |
The breakdown in communications was partly a result of chaos in Pakistan but it also reflects the limits to US and British influence in the region. London, in particular, relies on the Pakistani government for help in the battle against the Taliban, including lines of supply to British troops in Afghanistan through northern Pakistan, and surveillance of the flow of would-be suicide bombers between the two countries.