Washington ? The Bush administration is counting on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf going ahead with upcoming parliamentary elections despite Benazir Bhutto’s assassination in the hope they will cement steps toward restoring democracy.

Proceeding on or about on schedule with the Jan. 8 election through which Bhutto hoped to return to power is the biggest immediate concern in sustaining an American policy of promoting stability, moderation and democracy in the volatile nuclear-armed nation, U.S. officials said Friday.

Although Bhutto’s death complicates American efforts to broker reconciliation between the opposition and an increasingly unpopular Musharraf, an essential ally in the war on terrorism, her passing is unlikely to prompt any major strategy shift or cuts in billions of dollars in U.S. aid, the officials said.

President Bush made the points on Pakistan in a meeting with his national security team on Pakistan held via video link, the White House said.

“The president told his senior national security team that the United States needs to support democracy in Pakistan and help Pakistan in its struggle against extremism and terrorism,” spokesman Scott Stanzel said.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice underlined the importance of keeping the democratic reform alive. “The way to honor her memory is to continue the democratic process in Pakistan, so that the democracy that she so hoped for will be completed,” she said.