Lavishing praise on Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf [Images] by the Bush administration has led to growing speculation that the "United States would blink at election-rigging" by the former general, says a well-known commentator on South Asia.

Maintaining that it was not the intention of President Bush to give any adverse impression in his praise of Musharraf, Robert Novak has said that lavishing such praise on the general, who had ruled Pakistan through military force, has led to assumptions that the "US would blink at election rigging" in Pakistan.

He said that intense US pressure has forced Musharraf to resign from the army to keep his presidency, and he is soon to lift martial law.

"Still at issue is how free the election will be and whether former premier Benazir Bhutto [Images] will take office with a large governing majority," Novak said in an opinion column in The Washington Post titled 'Rigging Pakistan's Election?".

"It remains an open question whether an election could still be rigged by Musharraf without martial law. He has appointed local electoral officials who will take orders.

Twenty million names have disappeared from the national voters list, whose preparation was financed with US aid," the columnist said.

"Plotters in Islamabad seeking to undermine Benazir Bhutto's effort to become prime minister a third time can claim that US diplomats demanding democracy do not reflect their president's true wishes," Novak wrote.

President Bush has bet heavily on Musharraf, sending an estimated US$150 million a month in aid," Novak said, adding "The US return on its massive investment in Pakistan has been disappointing, with hopes for more from Bhutto if vote-rigging does not stop her."