August 15, 2008	Friday	Sha'aban 12, 1429

WASHINGTON, Aug 14: The uncertainty that grips the country was also obvious at the Pakistan Day function at the embassy in Washington on Thursday, with both hosts and guests offering various possible options for ending the current political crisis.

Ambassador Husain Haqqani set the tone for the discussion when he said at the flag-hoisting ceremony that “a strong army alone does not make a country strong, the country also needs a strong political leadership”.

While many said that President Pervez Musharraf might not survive the impeachment move, nobody could say how and when he would go.

Senior US officials, while talking to Pakistani diplomats and journalists, insist that Washington is not taking sides on this issue. It is not trying to either protect or to push President Musharraf out of power and will accept whatever the Pakistanis decide. Washington, however, worries that a long period of political instability will benefit terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and will also vitiate an already tense relationship between the political and military leadership.

Earlier this week, Ted Gistaro, the US national intelligence officer for trans-national threats, made a rare, on-the-record speech at a Washington think-tank to warn that Al Qaeda is exploiting recent political turmoil in Pakistan to strengthen its foothold along the country’s border with Afghanistan.

Senior Pakistani diplomats who have stayed engaged with US officials on this issue point out that Washington believes a cordial relationship between the army and politicians is necessary to win the war on terror.

They point out that initially Washington relied only on the military option to subdue the militants hiding in Fata. But the US administration was forced to seek political support for the war on terror when this approach failed.

Senior US diplomats approached former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and offered to help negotiate an arrangement between her and President Musharraf.

Ms Bhutto’s untimely death led to the exit of a key partner from this arrangement but the Americans continued to back the arrangement because they believed that only a combination of civil and military forces could defeat terrorism.

Now US officials, who do not want to be identified, fear that a prolonged conflict between President Musharraf and the country’s political leadership could weaken this civil-military alliance that they worked so hard to forge.

They point out that while politicians are needed to win over hearts and minds, ultimately it is the army that has to go to the battlefield and fight terrorists.

“If the army sees one of its former chiefs being dragged through the mud, it is not going to be very happy,” said one such official.