STEPPING up pressure on Bangladesh's interim government to restore democracy, the US has said it does not want a repeat of Pakistan where President Pervez Musharraf 'fell out with the people and was forced out' and warned the situation will deteriorate if polls are not held by December, reports Press Trust of India. "We fear that if the elections are not held in time, things such as the political situation will deteriorate in Bangladesh," US Ambassador in Dhaka James F Moriarty said while addressing a lunch organised by the American Chamber of Commerce at a hotel in Dhaka. The caretaker govt should not prolong its stay because it does not have the popular mandate and the country must return to democracy to fulfil its economic potential, Moriarty was quoted as saying by the Daily Star newspaper. "The US would not want to see Bangladesh replicate Pakistan's time under President General Pervez Musharraf, who had initially accomplished a number of projects and enjoyed popularity but eventually fell out with the people and was forced out," the envoy said. "We do not want to see that sort of development in Bangladesh," he said, adding the next elected govt must respect the caretaker govt's reform initiatives. Bangladesh's military-backed government has promised to hold polls in Dece, nearly two years after emergency was imposed and general elections scrapped by President Iajuddin Ahmed. Demanding that the state of emergency be lifted, visiting US deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labour Erica Barks-Ruggles said that Washington wanted a strong democratic government in Bangladesh so it could play its role more effectively in the region.