US diplomat says Pakistan should focus on safety, food, power shortages, not Musharraf

A senior U.S. envoy who spent three days in Pakistan said the South Asian ally should focus on problems of security, rising food costs and power shortages rather than the future of embattled President Pervez Musharraf.

"Frankly, President Musharraf is not the issue right now," Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher told reporters Wednesday who persisted in asking about the future of the longtime U.S. ally.

"This is not the problem that Pakistan faces right now," Boucher said. He said "there's dangers of bombings and suicide bombers. There's rising food prices. There's energy difficulties."

It was a message …