Military ruler Pervez Musharraf didn't merely do something unconstitutional. The general suspended Pakistan's constitution entirely. And that's what Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte went to Islamabad this weekend to talk about.

Negroponte told Musharraf to lift the state of emergency and release all political detainees. But Musharraf apparently stood his ground: He refused to end emergency rule because, he said, it's needed to guarantee secure elections.

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