Some nations go to war to get what they want. Others use diplomacy, to varying degrees of persuasiveness and success. Then, there is Pakistan. No other country has friends in such high places. In recent months, President Pervez Musharraf has met the world's most powerful people - America's George W. Bush, Britain's Tony Blair, Russia's Vladimir Putin, France's Jacques Chirac and Germany's Gerhard Schroeder among them. Extolling China's virtues after meeting his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, in Beijing on Wednesday, he said ties between the countries were 'deeper than the oceans, higher than the mountains'. He was similarly effusive about Saudi Arabia last month when he hosted the oil-rich nation's de facto leader, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, and a 200-strong business delegation. From the inner sanctums of presidential palaces and prime ministerial residences, General Musharraf has emerged with cosier relations, trade deals, financial pledges and orders for military hardware. In Beijing, deals on technical and financial support were sealed. At the White House in September, Mr Bush promised a package worth up to US$1 billion. Not bad for a humble military dictator whose country ranks near the top of global surveys on corruption and poverty. Prime among its natural resources are extensive natural gas reserves, although petroleum is limited and coal of poor quality. Pakistan's exports do not feature the hi-tech capabilities of neighbouring rival India and are grounded in down-to-earth textiles, sporting goods, leather, carpets and rice. Keep in mind that Pakistan developed nuclear weapons and missiles to deliver them without international blessing and is rumoured to have shared parts of the technology with North Korea and Iran. Then there is the talk about Pakistan-based militants causing bloody mayhem in Indian-ruled Kashmir and of protection being provided to Afghanistan's ousted Taleban regime and its terrorist backers, al-Qaeda. Of course, there is also that lingering accusation that many Muslim extremists attended Pakistani religious schools. General Musharraf has denied it all. Given the company he has been keeping, most countries seem to believe him - for now, at least. Therein lies the problem. The general has made a lot of promises to important people, and sooner, rather than later, they will want to see results. Heading the list is a return to democracy, but nations like the US also want to see firm action taken against the remnants of the Taleban and al-Qaeda in North West Frontier Province. To the Bush administration, North Korea and Iran are part of an axis of evil, but to Pakistan they are friends and trading partners. China is helping build a nuclear reactor in Punjab province, which the US has objected to - yet the work continues. Pakistan's ties with the Muslim world are impeccable - unlike those of the US. China and Pakistan have four decades of friendship behind them and as China slowly builds relations with its rival India, it is strengthening ties with Islamabad as insurance. But while China remains close, General Musharraf is performing a delicate balancing act with his other friends. A report released last month by an independent taskforce on South Asia, co-sponsored by the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations and Asia Society, recommended that the Bush administration adjust its policy in the region. Emphasis should be given to increasingly important ties with India, while the US should become more actively involved in finding a solution to the Kashmir problem. In the short term, given the importance of Pakistan to the continuing war on terrorism, adoption of such suggestions would seem unlikely. The longer term is less clear, though. Pakistan's friendship with the US has caused friction among Muslim extremists, who have called for an uprising. Saudi Arabian reformers want Pakistani contract workers sent home to relieve unprecedented levels of unemployment. Such voices are in the minority, for now. Pakistan's strategic location between India, China and Afghanistan make it appealing to western nations fighting terrorism, those seeking to benefit from its ties with China, or nations with nuclear ambitions. Regrettably, all are willing to ignore the abuses of General Musharraf's regime for the sake of self-interest. Pakistanis and countless others around the world will suffer for their gain. Peter Kammerer is the Post's foreign editor
