ISLAMABAD, Jan 13 (AFP) - Four senior U.S. senators and a British general were due to arrive in Pakistan Thursday to pressure the country's military rulers for a return to democracy.
The two teams represent the most senior visits by Britain and the United States since army chief General Pervez Musharraf seized power in a coup in October.
The U.S. senators, led by Tom Daschle, Senate minority leader, will have democracy at the top of their agenda when they meet with Musharraf. "They will certainly be discussing the restoration of democracy to Pakistan," said U.S. embassy spokesman Mark Wentworth. "Also they will talk about other issues of bilateral concern."
Their arrival comes ahead of a visit by Karl Inderfurth, U.S. assistant secretary of state for South Asia, due later this year, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Tariq Altaf told reporters.
He said Islamabad expected Washington to treat Pakistan and its archrival India with an even hand. "A basic fairness is expected from the United States in its approach to both Pakistan and India," he said.
"The United States, in our view, has the capacity to play a moderating and a constructive role, particularly in the promotion of peace and security in the region." Solving the row over the disputed Himalayan state of Kashmir was central to that security, he said.
The visits were intended to help Washington prepare for the visit of U.S. President Bill Clinton to the region later this year, Altaf said.
He declined to say how Islamabad would react if Clinton went to India but not Pakistan on his trip. In a separate visit Britain's chief of defense staff General Charles Guthrie arrived in Islamabad Thursday and met with Musharraf. He was also due to hold talks with the head of the navy and air force.
A report in The Guardian newspaper in London said Wednesday the British government was deeply split over whether to end a freeze on arms sales to Pakistan imposed after the October coup.
Britain led condemnation of the coup at the time. But the Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman said there were no problems in defense cooperation between the two countries. "I am not aware of any British embargo on defense cooperation with Pakistan," Altaf said.
The visits come at a difficult time for Pakistan, which has troubled relations with India, a struggling economy and little international support since the coup. But Pakistan's top military spokesman said Musharraf was unlikely to change his policies and bow to demands for an immediate return to democracy.
"It is very, very difficult to give a time limit," said Brigadier Rashid Qureshi. "He has laid down landmarks which have to be achieved before true democracy can actually function in Pakistan," he said.
After three months of military rule, Pakistan's relations with its larger neighbor India have plunged to a new low. Islamabad and New Delhi have traded accusations of involvement in the hijacking of an Indian Airlines passenger jet last month.
At the same time the military rulers are finding it hard to revive Pakistan's sickly economy. With nearly 80 percent of its budget swallowed up by debt servicing and defense payments, Pakistan is one of the world's poorest nations.
The International Monetary Fund has still not released the next installment of a $1.6 billion credit line and a team of IMF officials is due in Pakistan for more talks next week.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has been in detention since the coup, faces trial for treason and hijacking but after lengthy delays in court he has still not been charged with any crime.
