According to a Pakistani presidential official, US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte failed to convince President Pervez Musharraf to lift the emergency rule introduced on November 3.

Negroponte and Musharraf have met on Saturday to discuss the tense political situation in Pakistan. According to the media reports among the proposed measures were the immediate lifting of the state of emergency, Musharraf's resignation of his post as chief of the army and the holding of free and fair elections on schedule.

According to the anonymous Pakistani official, quoted by news agencies, Musharraf said he was trying his best to revoke the emergency as soon as it was possible but could not give any date.

"The US diplomats expressed concern over the existing political instability in Pakistan and asked President Musharraf to take certain measures to calm down the opposition forces," a Pakistani presidential official said.

Musharraf said last week in his first news conference since the emergency rule was imposed that the emergency rule was helping government to fight against the "menace of terrorism and extremism"

The official said Negroponte also urged Musharraf to avoid "confrontation" with the country's moderate forces such as the liberal opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, saying such confrontation "would only strengthen extremist forces."

"But the president made no promise in this regard," the official said, without explaining further.

Amid growing international pressure, Musharraf pledged to hold a general vote on schedule in early January. He also appointed a caretaker government yesterday to oversee the process.

Before the meeting with Negroponte Musharraf said in an interview with the BBC, his country's nuclear weapons could fall into the wrong hands if elections are held too soon.

"The military is there - as long as the military is there, nothing happens to the strategic assets, we are in charge and nobody does anything with them," Musharraf said.

After his two-hours meeting with Musharraf, Negroponte drove to Islamabad where he met Foreign Minister Inamul Haq. He also met vice chief of the army staff, General Ashfaq Kiani, and discussed the ongoing war on terrorism.

Negroponte is expected to hold a news conference on early Sunday, before leaving Pakistan.