8216;Fair polls will put Pak back on course8217;

8220;It8217;s very important that they carry out free and fair elections. That would put Pakistan back on a course for democratic reform,8221; she said at a meeting of a Women8217;s Foreign Policy Annual Luncheon.

The top US diplomat also said Washington has been encouraging all the moderate forces in Pakistan to come together and oppose extremism, to participate in the elections so that Pakistan can move 8220;a step further away from extremism8221;.

8220;Because this was a country that was very much 8212; has had very deep extremist elements within it, it8217;s important that they be rooted out. And it8217;s important that moderate forces triumph,8221; she added.