Pakistanis Growing Frustrated With U.S.

"But we've lost our faith in the U.S. now," said Aqdos Aftab, 15, who said her classes have been filled with discussions on why the United States is still backing Musharraf. "I thought America stood for human rights."

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Pakistan receives much of its foreign aid from the United States -- more than $10 billion since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when Musharraf pledged to help the Bush administration in counterterrorism efforts. With that money has come leverage to influence Pakistani affairs.

"We are a banana republic, and nothing here happens without orders from the Americans," said Danish Yazdani, an artist who sends her children to the American School in Islamabad. "At the end of the day, we know the U.S. can make Musharraf change, not the people of Pakistan."

In testimony to Congress last week, Negroponte said Musharraf was an "indispensable" ally of the United States. Such remarks have led many Pakistanis critical of Musharraf to fear that Negroponte's visit will serve as little more than a photo opportunity.

"Frankly speaking, I'm not all that hopeful," said Omar R. Quraishi, op-ed editor of the News, an English-language paper in Pakistan. "I think the U.S. is not going to cut off aid anytime soon, although publicly it may make some noise."

In explaining the need for emergency measures, Musharraf has cited growing Islamic extremism, particularly in the North-West Frontier Province. In the province's Swat Valley, fighters loyal to a pro-Taliban cleric have taken control of several towns in recent weeks. They have also occupied some police stations and other government buildings in Swat's Shangla district, residents say.

On Thursday, the Pakistani military announced that its forces in northern Swat, backed by helicopter gunships, had killed at least 33 guerrillas, although residents described some of them as civilians.

Government critics, in a sign of their skepticism about Musharraf, said the timing of the operation was suspect.

"We don't know what the game is, but certainly it's no coincidence that each time a high-level U.S. official comes to Pakistan, there is a major military operation and claims of killing dozens of militants. And Pakistanis are raising eyebrows," said Fazal Rahim Marwat, who teaches at the University of Peshawar.

"Even a layman on the street says that the army is going to conduct operations in Swat because Negroponte is coming," he added. "The government just wants to show some kind of performance in the war on terror."