Edwards Statement On Recent Developments In Pakistan

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Today, Senator John Edwards released the following statement on the current situation in Pakistan:

"The recent developments in Pakistan are extremely worrisome. Pakistan is a state with nuclear weapons and terrorist safe havens in its northwest tribal regions. Stability in Pakistan is of utmost importance to the United States and the world. General Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule and his arrest of hundreds of political opponents will destabilize the situation, and I strongly oppose these acts. These developments also provide another reason the U.S. should not launch a 'preventive war' in Iran. At this critical moment, we cannot afford to be bogged down in Iran, especially when Pakistan, as opposed to Iran, already has nuclear weapons.

"America should be using our direct aid as well as our diplomatic arsenal as diplomatic sticks to defuse the situation in Pakistan and to restore stability and constitutionalism to Pakistan. Musharraf needs to be bringing democratic reformers into the government, not shutting them down. He needs to be extending the reach of the legitimate government to the tribal regions, not backing down to al Qaeda and the Taliban. He needs to support judicial review and the separation of powers, not fight these important constitutional institutions. And he needs to be doing everything in his power to shut down terrorist acts like the recent assassination attempt on Benazir Bhutto -- not retreating from them."