Obama's party calls Musharraf an undemocratic President

WASHINGTON: In yet another sign that US support for beleaguered Pervez Musharraf was waning, the Democratic Party called him an "undemocratic President" and said Washington cannot offer a "blank cheque" to the former general in a country wrought by "autocracy."

The party of Presidential candidate Barack Obama also said that the US must move beyond an alliance built on individual leaders or face mounting opposition in a nuclear-armed Pakistan at the nexus of terror, extremism and instability wrought by autocracy.

"We cannot tolerate a sanctuary for al Qaeda. We will ask more of the Pakistani government, rather than offer a blank cheque to an undemocratic President," the party said in its Draft Platform adopted by the national Convention for the upcoming elections in 2008.

"The greatest threat to security in Afghanistan and America lies in the tribal regions of Pakistan, where terrorists train and plot attacks and then strike and move back across the border.

"We need a stronger and sustained partnership between Afghanistan, Pakistan and the NATO, including necessary assets like satellites and predator drones, to secure the border by wiping out terrorist camps and cracking down on cross-border insurgents," the draft said.

Asserting that the US should help Pakistan develop its own counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency capacity, the party said it will invest in the long-term development of the Pashtun border region so that the "hate crime by extremists is met with an agenda of hope".

The draft stated that the party would significantly increase non-military aid to the Pakistani people and sustain it for a decade, while ensuring that the military assistance provided is annually used to fight extremists.