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Lahore: Pakistan freed opposition leader Benazir Bhutto from house arrest shortly before a top US diplomat began a visit on Friday aimed at persuading President Pervez Musharraf to end emergency rule.
US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte was due to meet Musharraf today, and was expected to push him to roll back the emergency invoked two weeks ago, release thousands of detainees and hold “free and fair” elections.
Negroponte spoke by phone with Bhutto last night after arriving in Islamabad. “He wanted to hear from her how she viewed the political situation,” a State Department spokesman said.
In a separate interview, Bhutto said the US envoy should take a firm line with Musharraf. In Islamabad, Musharraf swore in Senate Chairman Mohammad Mian Soomro as Prime Minister and a 24-member Cabinet.
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