The Pentagon on Wednesday said it was not worried about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons amid the political crisis there, rolling back from comments made by a senior U.S. general who called the issue a “primary concern.”

Pakistani opposition parties tried to forge a united front on Wednesday against military president Pervez Musharraf, who insisted his state of emergency was vital for fair elections.

Baghdad, the epicenter of Iraq’s sectarian bloodshed, is starting to rebuild its shattered infrastructure, but political feuds and the threat of renewed attacks could reverse progress, officials said on Wednesday.