(For more on Pakistan and Afghanistan, click on [ID:nAFPAK]) * Pakistani foreign minister in Washington * U.S. aid on the agenda, fighting extremism * Experts say progress in Pakistan is tenuous By Sue Pleming WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - While much of the focus in Washington is a review of strategy in Afghanistan, the Obama administration also is assessing what Pakistan's fragile civilian government has achieved so far and what must change. Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is set to meet U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday on a visit to Washington where he will also see key lawmakers who control the purse strings for billions of dollars in future U.S. aid. Much of future U.S. strategy for the war in Afghanistan hinges on neighboring Pakistan, where experts said on Monday there are limited signs of progress in fighting extremism but these gains easily could be reversed. "We are seeing evidence of some significant progress compared to a year or two years ago," said Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution think tank. "But it is very dangerous in this environment to claim victory or to say we have turned some significant corner (in Pakistan). Much of the progress we have seen is tenuous at best," added Riedel, who oversaw an Obama administration review in March of Afghan and Pakistan policy. A key focus of Qureshi's meetings will be passage of an aid bill in the U.S. Congress last week that triples non-military assistance to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year over the next five years. The bill still has to be signed into law by President Barack Obama. There are questions over how that aid will be distributed, by whom and what safeguards will be in place to ensure it is not siphoned off by corrupt officials. "The most significant thing in their talks will be the mechanics of how the aid program will work," said a senior U.S. official of Clinton's talks with the Pakistani minister. He said Clinton will also discuss plans to visit Pakistan soon, possibly in the coming weeks, although a firm date has not yet been set for her trip. NEW DETERMINATION The Pakistani army's offensive against the former Taliban bastion in Swat, northwest of Islamabad, is seen by many in the Obama administration as a sign of a new determination to take on extremists. Pakistan is also planning a long-awaited ground offensive against Taliban militants in their South Waziristan stronghold near the Afghan border. But Riedel said at the end of the day, Pakistan's government had acted because of its own interests and not because of threats to U.S. or NATO forces in the region. Brookings announced a new index on Monday to track security, economic and political trends in Pakistan, statistics that showed a mixed bag in terms of results. "I am short-term optimistic but long-term pessimistic about Pakistan," said Brookings' Stephen Cohen, who pointed to a "decayed" education system and "dysfunctional" economy as well as growing sectarian violence with Islamist roots. Also included in the index were recent opinion polls which showed increased discontent over the United States. A May 2009 poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org showed that 58 percent of Pakistanis had a "very unfavorable" view of the U.S. government versus 39 percent in September of last year. Wendy Chamberlin, former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, said there was a "trust deficit" on both sides in the relationship between Washington and Islamabad and the promise of a five-year funding plan would help assuage some of those fears. "This sends a message that we will not abandon you," said Chamberlin, head of the Middle East Institute in Washington. (Editing by Will Dunham)
Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud (C) sits with other millitants in South Waziristan October 4, 2009 in this video grab taken from footage released October 5, 2009. Hakimullah, the new chief ...
