But there was no immediate sign that President Gen. Pervez Musharraf would heed that advice, with a presidential aide saying the Pakistani leader insisted that emergency rule would only be lifted once security improves.

"I urged the government to stop such actions, lift the state of emergency and release all political detainees," U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte told a news conference at the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy at the end of his visit early Sunday. "Emergency rule is not compatible with free, fair and credible elections."

Musharraf's aide, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, said the Pakistani ruler believes the state of emergency is needed to have a peaceful vote. Opposition figures say that is preposterous, and complain that any vote held while thousands of opponents are in jail cannot be considered credible.

They say most of those targeted under the emergency - which has seen opponents jailed, Supreme Court judges purged and independent TV stations muffled - are pro-Western moderates, not the Islamic extremists Musharraf said he needed to combat when he suspended the constitution on Nov. 3.

Despite Musharraf's apparent intransigence, Negroponte would not characterize his trip as a failure.

"In diplomacy, as you know, we don't get instant replies when we have these kinds of dialogue," he said. "I'm sure the president is seriously considering the exchange we had."

Just ahead of Negroponte's visit, Musharraf freed opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and a leading human rights activist and loosened his restrictions on several independent television news outlets.

Negroponte said he hoped to see more moves back toward democracy soon. "There remain some other issues that are yet to be considered, or yet to be undertaken," he said without going into detail.

Still, Negroponte praised Musharraf's efforts in the war on terror and said he was heartened by the announcement that elections would be held before Jan. 9.

"President Musharraf has been and continues to be a strong voice against extremism," he said. "We value our partnership with the government of Pakistan under the leadership of President Musharraf."

On Saturday, the U.S. diplomat met for more than two hours with Musharraf and Pakistan's deputy army commander, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani. Kayani is widely expected to take over the powerful role of military chief in the coming weeks when Musharraf steps down as the head of the military and starts his second term as president.

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