Islamabad: The US has communicated its difficulties to the Musharraf government in establishing a smooth working relationship with Pakistan if the umbrella alliance of religious parties dominated the new elected government.

The Bush administration has conveyed this message to the Musharraf government in "unambiguous terms" through its special emissary, Richard Haass, the Director Policy Planning US State Department, who visited Islamabad early in November.

A similar message was also conveyed to self-exiled former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto whose Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPP-P), negotiated with Muttahida Majlis Amal (MMA) to form the government.

This led Bhutto to immediately airdash to Washington from London to further negotiate with senior US officials. Around the same time, Bhutto, instructed her political aides in Islamabad to slow down their negotiations with the MMA, which prompted the MMA leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed last week to say that the PPPP was playing a double game, a media report said.

Reports said a crucial meeting between MMA leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed and President Musharraf did not bear any fruit as the MMA, which won the polls riding on an anti-US rhetoric was unable to give up its anti-American stand.

The MMA has nominated the pro-Taliban hardline religious cleric, Maulana Fazlur Rehman as its Prime Ministerial candidate and continues to insist that it would join the coalition with any party, only if he was accepted as PM.

"Instead, the US wants a coalition of PPP-P, Pakistan Muslim League-Q, (PML-Q) government in Pakistan," 'The Nation' said on November 11.

In case a deal is worked out between the military government and the PPP-P, Washington would give its "nod" for PPP-P leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim as the Prime Minister, provided Musharraf continued to be in the saddle both as President and the Chief of Army Staff, it said.

Another most important aide of President Bush, Paul O' Neil, the US Treasury Secretary, was scheduled to visit Pakistan next week to discuss "financial and economic issues." The visit is significant as it would signal Bush administration's political and financial support for Musharraf government.

However, a US embassy spokesman was quoted by the newspaper as saying that "We will work with whatever government emerges from the consultations amongst the political parties."

It said the US does not want to offload Musharraf at this critical moment of its war against terrorism which would take a crucial turn in case Iraq is attacked. "Washington does not want to lose Islamabad's support at this moment and will prefer a trusted friend like Musharraf to continue to lead the Army that calls the shots in Pakistan," it quoted sources as saying.

An MMA-dominated government in Pakistan would send a wrong signal to the US allies, coming so soon after the US action in Afghanistan, 'The Nation' said, adding the US administration is particularly uncomfortable dealing with the MMA leadership that has been responsible for the anti-US rhetoric before and after the war in Afghanistan.

PTI