Musharraf's exit: Gilani's US trip played vital role

Pak's Yousuf Raza Gilani's July visit for convincing Prez Bush, the "last holdout" of Pervez Musharraf in the US, to stop backing the ex-army chief.

Pakistan's ruling coalition used Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani's July visit to Washington for convincing President George W Bush, the "last holdout" of Pervez Musharraf in the US, to stop backing the ex-army chief.

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This was the culmination of a sustained campaign to neutralise the pro-Musharraf lobby in Washington, in which American Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson and her counterpart in the US Husain Haqqani played a key role, the Dawn daily reported on Tuesday.

Diplomatic sources in Washington described President Bush as Musharraf's "last holdout" in the US capital. Others in the Bush administration - including Vice-President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - had long given up on Musharraf but Bush remained faithful to the person he considered a close ally and a personal friend, the daily said.

Patterson told the Musharraf backers in the Bush administration that if US continued supporting him it would end up stoking massive anti-American feelings in Pakistan.

By the time Gilani met Bush on July 28, Pakistani lobbyists were satisfied that they had neutralised the pro-Musharraf lobby. "After a good luncheon at the White House with people who had their hearts in the right place, Bush also realised that he can no longer save Musharraf," said an expert in a US think tank who worked with Haqqani.

Bush still wanted to make sure that Musharraf was not penalised and he used allies Britain and Saudi Arabia to negotiate terms for a graceful exit for him.