The United States will have to review its financial aid to Pakistan after President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today.
Washington has provided Islamabad, a major ally in its battle against al-Qaeda in Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan, with around $10 billion over the last five years.
It has condemned the imposition of emergency rule yesterday.
The emergency effectively thwarted US hopes of a transition to a civilian-led democracy in Pakistan, led by General Musharraf since he seized power in a coup in 1999.
"Obviously we are going to have to review the situation with aid, in part because we have to see what may be triggered by certain statutes," Ms Rice told reporters travelling with her in Jerusalem, adding that the United States still wanted to cooperate with Pakistan on counter-terrorism issues.
General Musharraf said he acted in response to rising Islamist militancy in nuclear-armed Pakistan and what he called a paralysis of government by judicial interference.
Most Pakistanis and foreign diplomats believe his main motive was to prevent the Supreme Court invalidating his October 6th re-election by parliament while still army chief. Musharraf, in a midnight televised address, said the country was in grave danger of becoming destabilised.