US President George Bush traveled to Pakistan from India and delivered harsh messages to the military junta. Analysts say that 3 'As' rule Pakistan-- Allah, America, and the Army and the US lived up to this belief by asking Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to hold elections within a year; a demand to which he quickly acquiesced. Bush rejected Pakistan's demand for nuclear parity with India saying, "India and Pakistan are two different countries with different needs and different histories." The last comment was an obvious reference to the disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan who sold nuclear weapons design, materials, and accessories to so-called "rogue nations." Many westerns analysts believe that the Khan operated with complete knowledge and approval of the Government; this is a charge Pakistan vehemently denies but also refuses to allow international interrogation of Khan who is now under house arrest. Bush also strongly refused to mediate on Kashmir saying this is an issue that needs peaceful settlement through bilateral negotiations. The only two things that were positive is the US acknowledging Pakistan's energy needs and not opposing the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline and the promise of a US-Pakistan strategic dialogue. The whole tenor of the Pakistan visit was in sharp contrast with India. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh received Bush and both exchange lengthy and friendly words on the tarmac, which now turns out to be active affirmation to get the nuclear deal done. In contrast, neither the Pakistan President or Prime Minister received Bush and instead stuck to protocol; speculation on this range from security concerns to a "message" from Pakistan that it is not happy with the attention India is getting. Only petulant allies of the Government and some disgruntled groups protested Bush's visit and boycotted the State dinner in India. In contrast, Musharraf, security incidents and threats kept most people home and the intelligentsia away from the State dinner deserted Pakistan as a strike protesting the Danish cartoons, political arrest. US newspapers have severely criticized Musharraf and had demanded that Bush not trust him.

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