LONDON, Feb 11: The arrival in Islamabad of Richard Holbrooke and Britain’s appointment of its own diplomat as a special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan indicates a loss of patience with the democratic government both countries had invested so much hope and diplomacy in, says Dean Nelson, the South Asia editor of Daily Telegraph, in a write-up (Pakistan will be a stern test of Washington’s ‘smart power’) published on Wednesday.

Recalling that before his arrival Mr Holbrooke had described the situation in Pakistan as “dire”, Mr Nelson said it would be difficult to disagree with his appraisal.

“Mr Holbrooke’s arrival, with unprecedented powers delegated by President Obama, and the appointment of Sir Sherard mark a new approach to Pakistan in which irritation and anger are not far below the surface. For this first trip, Holbrooke really will listen and learn, then he’ll come back and tell them,” Mr Nelson said, quoting one diplomat in Islamabad.

According to him, the Pakistan government has not yet sensed the plunge in temperature and was last week optimistically briefing on its strategy to bring the Americans to heel.

In his opinion, Pakistan will demand an end to bombing by US Predator drones on Al Qaeda and Taliban targets, which it says is a blatant violation of its sovereignty and also “it will propose that the drones be handed over to Pakistan’s military so that they can launch the raids themselves”.

But Mr Nelson notes that the sovereignty that Islamabad publicly asserts against American air strikes is one which it is unable to enforce against the Al Qaeda leaders and Taliban fighters whose writ runs stronger: it is their “emirate” now, and the United States appears ready to treat it as such.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are to be regarded as conjoined twins who cannot survive without each other, he asserts.

Mr Holbrooke is expected to support a new approach which will involve more Pakistani aerial bombardment of militant havens, the creation of a new elite police force to move in and control the regained territory, more aid for education, and secret talks with “persuadable” Taliban leaders and allies in Afghanistan, such as former prime minister Gulbadin Hekmatyar, to help them switch sides.