Gallegly

WASHINGTON —The rest of the world was still dissecting the results of Pakistan's parliamentary elections when Rep. Elton Gallegly arrived last week for a one-on-one meeting with President Pervez Musharraf.

It was the day after the election, and Musharraf's party had taken a drubbing at the polls. There was already speculation he might resign or be impeached.

But when Musharraf sat down with Gallegly at the presidential mansion in Islamabad, he did not seem like a man under siege.

"He was just as upbeat as anybody could be after they had taken a pretty hard hit politically," the Simi Valley Republican said. "He said he was committed to doing what's in the best interests of Pakistan. He believed he could sit down and make an effort to build a coalition (government)."

When Gallegly suggested Musharraf seemed optimistic, the president replied, "My life has been a life filled with optimism," Gallegly recalled. "He said something to the effect that if you're not optimistic, you shouldn't be doing this job."

Gallegly's meeting with Musharraf came about while the congressman was in the region for several days with a four-member congressional delegation. Gallegly was asked to go on the trip because he is a senior member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

The delegation, which included Rep. Jane Harman, D-Venice, also spent three days in Israel. When the other members went on to the United Arab Emirates, Gallegly broke away from the group and traveled to Pakistan for his meeting with Musharraf.

Gallegly said he clearly knows Musharraf faces an uphill battle. The big winners in the parliamentary elections were the parties of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and another former premier, Nawaz Sharif, which are expected to form a coalition government.

Musharraf has been an important ally to the United States in the war on terror, and the question now is how his political troubles will affect his relationship with this country, Gallegly said.

"At this point, there are more questions than answers because the dust hasn't settled," the congressman said.

Gallegly said he and others in Congress remain "extremely cautious" about the political climate in Pakistan.

"When you look at the leaders of the respective parties that gained ground in this election — guys that are not known as choir boys — it certainly gives us a great deal more concern for the future," Gallegly said, noting the country is a nuclear power.

The most important thing the United States can do right now "is stay engaged and try to protect our interests in fighting the war on terror and protecting the rest of the world from nuclear threat," Gallegly said.

"These are all very unsettling situations when you have folks that are not as friendly with us as we would like."