PAKISTAN:THE BUSH administration is manoeuvring to engage with Pakistan's new ruling elite as power flows from its ally, President Pervez Musharraf, to a powerful civilian government buoyed by anti-American sentiment.
Senior diplomats John Negroponte and Richard Boucher travelled to a mountain fortress near the Afghan border yesterday as part of a hastily announced visit that has received a tepid reception.
On Tuesday, senior coalition partner Nawaz Sharif gave the visiting Americans a public scolding for using Pakistan as a "killing field" and relying too much on Musharraf.
The new prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, said he warned President George Bush in a phone conversation that he would prioritise talking as well as shooting in the battle against Islamic extremism. "He said that a comprehensive approach is required in this regard, specially combining a political approach with development," a statement noted.
But Mr Gilani also reassured Bush that Pakistan would "continue to fight against terrorism", it said.
Since 2001 American officials have treasured their close relationship with Musharraf because he offered a "one-stop shop" for co-operation in hunting al-Qaeda fugitives hiding in Pakistan.
But since the crushing electoral defeat of Musharraf's party last month and talk that the new parliament may hobble the president's powers, that equation has changed. Now the US finds itself dealing with politicians it previously spurned.
The body language between Mr Negroponte and Mr Sharif during their meeting on Tuesday spoke volumes: the Pakistani greeted the American with a starched handshake, and sat at a distance .
In blunt remarks afterwards, Mr Sharif said he told Mr Negroponte that Pakistan was no longer a one-man show. "Since 9/11, all decisions were taken by one man," he said. "Now we have a sovereign parliament and everything will be debated in the parliament." It was "unacceptable that while giving peace to the world we make our own country a killing field," Mr Sharif said, echoing widespread public anger at US-funded military operations in the tribal belt.
The US has long been suspicious of Mr Sharif, whom it views as sympathetic to religious parties. Unlike Benazir Bhutto, whose return from exile was negotiated through the US, Mr Sharif came under the protection of Saudi Arabia. But now his party, which performed well in the poll, is an integral part of government.
Yesterday The two US diplomats travelled to the Khyber Pass in North-West Frontier Province, the centre of a growing insurgency. They met with the commander of the Frontier Corps, a poorly equipped paramilitary force that the US has offered to upgrade. The US has earmarked $750 million (€473 million) in military aid for the corps.
The timing of the American visit, before the new cabinet is announced, has offended many Pakistanis. "It flies in the face of normal protocol at a time when public opinion is rife that they are making a last ditch effort to save Musharraf," said Talat Hussain, a prominent journalist.