As the United States Congress winds down for the winter this week, American lawmakers have tossed around resolutions that reflect the confusion and cynicism infecting foreign policy decision-making in Washington. In an inexplicable move, the Republican-majority Congress last week stifled a resolution condemning the military take-over in Pakistan. Two days later, the same Congress overwhelmingly voted to praise India's democratic credentials.

Between the innocuous sounding resolutions is the battle that New Delhi is fighting from Durban to Washington to underscore the essential difference between India and Pakistan--a mature, stable, lasting democracy as opposed to an maverick, unstable, collapsing state; a difference that Indian activists say often escapes the simplistic or cynical political calculation of the United States. Although Indian officials say they were not involved in thePakistan resolution moved last week, they monitored it carefully all the same. To their dismay--and Islamabad's delight--Republican-majority Congress decided not take up the resolution after Pakistani lobbyists fought a hard battle to have it dropped. Hill watchers said the GOP backdown was apparently at the instance of Congressman Dan Burton, a known India-baiter and Pakistan partisan, who convinced Republican leader Dick Armey to drop the item from the agenda.

The House Democratic leadership hit out against the Republican chicanery, as one staffer called it, saying what the GOP did was basically endorse the coup in Pakistan.

A senior aide to the Democratic leadership said the Republicans were sending the wrong message to Pakistan and its military leader and took a swipe at the GOP presidential candidate George Bush's remark that the coup would bring stability to the region.

India-supporters like New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone twitted the Republican Leadership's failure to bring up resolution,saying "It was important that this resolution come to the floor now to send a message to the Pakistani government that the House of Representatives collectively will not tolerate the overthrow of a democratic government."

Following the battle over the Pakistan resolution, the House on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a resolution praising India's democratic traditions and urging President Clinton to go to travel to India and broaden the ties with New Delhi into a strategic relationship.

As if to underline the positive sentiment in the House, some Congressmen forced a vote on the resolution to have it passed by a 396-4 margin in the 435-member legislature. 200 Republicans, 195 Democrats and 1 Independent voted in its favour, four were against, and 34 were absent.

The latest legislative skirmish is part of a larger diplomatic battle India and Pakistan are waging to influence the movers and shakers in Washington. While Indian mandarins are trumpeting the country's obvious strengths, the Pakistanis are waginga desperate rearguard action to salvage the situation following the coup.

The Pakistanis have now stepped up their lobbying efforts to such an extent that they have even begun to subvert news. Last week, in an astonishing development, the Pakistani newspaper The News (edited by Pakistan's ambassador designate to Washington Maleeha Lodhi) reported that a Congressional panel has rejected a resolution condemning the coup in Pakistan. The paper described this as a major diplomatic victory for Pakistan and attributed it to the lobbying efforts of former Congressman Charlie Wilson, a longtime Pakistani supporter. In truth though, what happened was the Congressional panel passed the condemnatory resolution by a 21-4 margin, leaving many Pakistanis red-faced.

A row has now erupted among Pakistani activists as to who was responsible for the false and pre-emptive story and what was the motivation behind it. Some of them are arguing that there is already a battle among various lobbyists--Pakistan employs anarray of them--to take credit and secure further business from Islamabad. Ms Lodhi, during her previous stint as ambassador had employed many lobbyists and is said to be the toast of K Street, Washington's lobbydom.

Meanwhile, the Clinton administration is yet to signal its consent to Ms Lodhi's appointment as ambassador. A State Department official said the change was still being processed. There has already been some speculation in Pakistan that Washington is not keen on having Ms Lodhi, but US officials are tightlipped about it, although sources said the fact that Ms Lodhi had been here before actually prolonged the process of securing a clearance.