When General Pervez Musharraf landed in Washington for his official visit to the White House, there was one glaring omission in his entourage. Abdul Sattar, the hawkish foreign minister, was left out. Instead, the team included the ministers for finance and commerce. While there is considerable speculation within the beltway as to why Sattar was not in the delegation, many see this as a tacit acceptance of the unwillingness on the part of the US to put anything more than economic aid - in the form of more funds and some kind of debt write-off - on the table. If anything, the US seems now to have gone a step further and linked step-up in economic aid to a continued crackdown on extremist elements within Pakistan.
Senior administration officials, in private, make it clear that the time has come for Pakistani President Musharraf to walk the talk. They are also concerned that the crackdown ordered by the General does not extend to Kashmir militants and are hence looking for a follow through.
The General did not help his cause, by first accusing the Indian intelligence of masterminding the kidnapping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and then suggesting that India had carried out a fresh nuclear test - both of which were summarily rejected by administration officials.

The media itself has been considerably lukewarm to the General's visit, unlike the play he was given last November during the United Nations deliberations in New York. Pearl's kidnapping no doubt cast its shadow on the visit. To the US administration, it has exposed the limitations of the General's recent crackdown on terrorists. Not surprisingly therefore, the White House meetings dwelt on the investigations pertaining to the Pearl case and the economic rebuilding of Pakistan. The US steered away from getting drawn into any intervention on Kashmir and suffic two countries to resolve their differences bilaterally.
Instead, President George Bush used the moment to further pre-empt the General and bind him down to the promises. "I also applaud President Musharraf's clearly stated intention to work for peace in Kashmir, and lower tensions with India. I'm particularly pleased to note that he is going to be holding elections later this fall. The President has articulated a vision of a Pakistan as a progressive, modern, and democratic Islamic society, determined and serious about seeking greater learning and greater prosperity for its citizens."

The reiteration of return to democracy by this September was obviously an uncomfortable moment for the General. But the US administration believes that it is an integral element in the long term strategy of weaning the country away from the clutches of Islamic extremists. They fear that the political vacuum that has been created with military rule would be filled by religious extremists.

In actual numbers, the US administration while ignoring the General's requests for step-up in arms supplies - including release of the long suspended sale of 28 F-16s - is providing $192 million emergency assistance to meet costs incurred in aiding US military forces in Operation Enduring Freedom. Washington Post, quoting administration officials, said the White House is also preparing another special funding request to be submitted to Congress early this year for more aid to "frontline states" in the war against terrorism, including Pakistan. The overall amount of that package, likely to be part of a general request for additional defence and homeland security needs, has not yet been determined.
The confession of prime accused, Omar Saeed Sheikh, that Pearl had been killed is yet to be accepted by the US administration. At the moment, they are going along with the Pakistan Government's claim that Sheikh has not been consistent and hence can't be relied upon. The General may have not aided his case by doing a flip-flop. While in the White House he later in the evening, he said Pakistan had no evidence that Pearl was still alive.
The meetings at the Pentagon with Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfield were no different. Unlike the host of pronouncements made during the visit of Defence Minister George Fernandes, the only refrain was platitudes to the General for the turnaround he effected post 9/11 and the decision to revive the Defence Consultation Group to renew military-to-military ties.

"I see the visit as an attempt to build on the re-engagement that started last September. The price of re-engagement was a dramatic change in policy towards Afghanistan, just as it was dramatic in the attitude towards Kashmir militancy after the attacks on the Indian Parliament. He is trying very hard to moderate global perception that Pakistan is a country attempting serious reform," says Teresita C. Schaffer, director of the South Asia Programme of the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
In keeping with this strategy, the General used the White House press meet to reassure the US Government and public that he was doing all he could to find the missing journalist and suggested his disappearance might be linked to his government's crackdown on Islamic extremists. The attempt was once again to demonstrate his sincerity and at the same time emphasise the pitfalls -- the secret of his teflon image. However, unlike a few months ago (and especially after the Pearl case), the world is less tolerant. At the end of his state visit, the otherwise street-smart general would have realised that purging Pakistan's conscience was one thing, but to actually to get things off the ground is another matter altogether. Not only would he return to Pakistan with few gains to show, but also bear in mind the none too gentle reminder that he has many promises to keep.