September 10, 2007	Monday	Sha'aban 27, 1428

WASHINGTON, Sept 9: A high-powered US team, scheduled to arrive in Islamabad this week, will find itself right in the middle of a political storm that has the potential to undo the current administrative setup in Pakistan.

Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte is expected to arrive in Islamabad on Sept 12, two days after former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s attempt to return home and revive his political career in Pakistan.

Mr Negroponte will have with him America’s pointman for South Asia, Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher who has already made 10 visits to Pakistan in less than a year and was in Islamabad earlier this week for consulting Pakistani officials before the formal talks.

Officials in Washington insist that the talks have no links to the current political situation.While US officials are reluctant to comment on Mr Sharif’s attempt to return home, they do not shy away from endorsing the Musharraf government. “Democracy is a lot more established in Pakistan” than in some other nations, says President George W. Bush. The latest endorsement came from US Defence Secretary Robert Gates who has otherwise been very critical of Pakistan’s role in the war against terror, particularly its alleged reluctance to confront extremists in Waziristan.

But in a message on Pakistan’s Defence Day, Mr Gates told the official Voice of America radio: “Pakistan has been a steadfast ally in the war on terror, and we deeply appreciate this support.”

Diplomatic observers in Washington say that the US administration feels that any critical statement at this stage would hurt President Musharraf and they do not want to do so.

In an opinion piece published on Sunday, former commander in chief of US Central Command urged the Bush administration to “stand by our man in Pakistan”.

He said: “Allies are supposed to be partners, not paragons. We will find ourselves in trouble if we insist that our allies do everything we ask, measure up totally to our concepts of how their societies should function and make no demands of us.”