Like Asif Ali Zardari

US blank cheque to Pakistan can always be cancelled

On the surface it may seem like relations between Pakistan and the US could never have been better, but dig deep and you can see the fissures.

Pakistan's civilian leaders may think they are the epitomes of democracy, but there are suspicions about their own credentials and the tailor-made democracy may not be a good fit for the present lot of self-appointed leaders.

If you ask the critics, and cynics, they will tell you the Obama administration is talking to people they hand picked.

Like Asif Ali Zardari, the president of Pakistan, and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led government!

After General Pervez Musharraf decided to doff off his military uniform and hand over the presidency  to Zardari, (as agreed under a UK- and US-sponsored deal), Musharraf was given a ceremonial guard of honour.

As a soldier, he wanted an honourable way out, and the deal guaranteed that, even though, according to some critics, "his deeds in serving his nation