Musharraf charm offensive belies Pakistan realities

WASHINGTON, Sep 28 (Reuters) With sales of his memoir surging, two White House meetings in a week and a witty performance on a hip American comedy show, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf appears to be on a public relations roll.

Experts warn, however, that any boost Musharraf gave Pakistan's troubled image could be short-lived if the key US ally in the war on terrorism cannot curb Islamic militancy and make his mantra of ''enlightened moderation'' take root at home.

Musharraf flew to London today after a US media blitz with his three-day-old memoir running fourth on the Amazon.com bestseller list, ahead of Irish rockers U2 and conservative TV host Bill O'Reilly.

The figure Musharraf cut is a far cry from a year ago, when he had a public shouting match in New York with Pakistani rights activists after he told media that some women in his country made rape claims to get money and immigration visas.

The public relations makeover was not lost on editorialists in Pakistan, even those critical of Musharraf's rule and his decision to publish his book, ''In The Line of Fire'', while in office.

''Though this may be through the eyes of a military man who overthrew an elected government, at least Pakistan is not in the news these days for honor killings or sectarian attacks,'' wrote The News today.

''It would be fair to say that General Musharraf has at least won the PR war during his US visit if nothing else,'' said the daily in an editorial.

CAN HE DELIVER? But it will take more than charm for Pakistan to allay lingering concerns about its democratic record and allegations that parts of its establishment give support to Islamic extremists at home and in neighboring Afghanistan.

Musharraf was chosen to head Pakistan's army in 1998, and took control of the government a year later after the army launched a bloodless coup. Critics say he has damaged the country's political institutions while shoring up his rule.

US scholar Robert Hathaway described Pakistan's image in the United States as ''terrible, for a variety of reasons''.

''Nuclear-armed, Muslim majority country run by a military dictator, many of whose people, indeed probably most of whose people, are sympathetic to our enemies,'' said Hathaway, director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center, referring to the image Americans hold of Pakistan.

Pakistan's image suffers, above all, from the perception it harbors Osama bin Laden, and from concerns such as Musharraf's failure to amend Islamic ''Hudood'' laws that are harsh on rape victims and a pact with tribal leaders in North Waziristan that critics say may give Taliban Islamic militants a free pass.

Musharraf vigorously disputed his critics, both with clever repartee on the satirical ''Daily Show'' and forceful and earnest speeches at thinktanks in New York and Washington.

''He's a pretty good performer and that obviously makes an impression,'' said Teresita Schaffer, a South Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

''But as far as his and Pakistan's image is concerned, what is going to speak most loudly is his actions,'' she added.

The small community of US experts who follow Pakistan say the actions from Musharraf that will matter most will be progress on his pledge to stop incursions into Afghanistan by Taliban militants who hide in mountainous border regions.

Experts who believe that the plain-spoken Musharraf mostly means what he says with counter-terrorism pledges still doubt whether he can follow through, dependent as he is on the support of Islamist parties who oppose his agenda.

''With the coalition that he has and the kind of support he has, he can't deliver on the frontier or domestically,'' said Marvin Weinbaum, a senior scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, who just returned from a tour of Pakistan.

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