US President George W Bush has called on his Pakistani counterpart Pervez Musharraf to hold elections as soon as possible and asked him to shed military uniform.

In his first public comments since the imposition of emergency rule in Pakistan, Bush expressed hope that Musharraf would restore democracy as “quickly as possible” but declined to say what the United States will do by way of assistance if the General defied American advice.

“...I asked Secretary (of State Condoleezza) Rice to call him and convey that we expect there to be elections as soon as possible and that the president should remove his military uniform,” he said at the White House after a session with Turkey’s visiting Prime Minister.

“I certainly hope he does take my advice. And all we can do is continue to work with the president as well as others in the Pakistan government to make it abundantly clear the position of the United States. And then, obviously, we’ll deal with it if something other than that happens,” Bush said.

Bush praised the role of Musharraf in the war on terror and said the US want to continue working with him in this regard.