Husain Haqqani, a professor at Boston University and a senior adviser to Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party, said he believed the US officials wanted to show support for the democratic process and discuss the US-led campaign against terrorism.

Members of the new coalition have spoken of the need to open talks with the militants responsible for a wave of suicide attacks, raising questions about Pakistan’s strategy in the US-led campaign against terrorism.

Musharraf’s support for the US campaign has been deeply unpopular with many Pakistanis who have criticised the president for, as they see it, doing the bidding of the United States and provoking militant violence. “Things will have to change, they’ll have to be done with greater transparency because of the new democratic dispensation,” Haqqani said.