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American support for President Musharraf appeared to be ebbing away last night, as the Pakistan president battled to retain his grip on power amid mounting political turmoil.

A top American official was due to arrive in Islamabad today to deliver the military leader a tough message from the Bush administration to lift emergency rule immediately and quit his post as army chief.

Western diplomats and senior Pakistani officials said John Negroponte, the deputy US Secretary of State, was expected to demand restoration of the constitution and the release of thousands of political opponents from jail. Mr Negroponte will also meet senior military leaders.

Bhutto was killed by bomb blast

The team from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command have backed the claim that Benazir Bhutto was not shot

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• Pictures: death of Benazir Bhutto

• Pictures: Pakistan

BACKGROUND

• Pakistan in turmoil as ‘martial law’ imposed

• Bhutto escapes as bombers kill 126

• Timeline: Pakistan's period of turmoil

• The man out to oust a President

• Internal crisis gives Pakistan reason for hope

Related Links

• Musharraf 'to resign from Army by December'

• British tutor striving for harmony on campus

• Imran Khan arrested and facing terror charges

Multimedia

• In depth coverage of Pakistan's crisis

General Musharraf has promised to step down as army chief by the end of this month, but rejected Western pressure to quickly end the emergency.

Western diplomats said there is growing scepticism in Washington about General Musharraf’s hopes of ending the political crisis engulfing Pakistan for last several months. “He seems to be losing the battle for survival,” said a diplomat.

A major concern in Washington is that political instability in Pakistan could have serious consequences for the war on terror and regional security. “The worst scenario is a country with nuclear arsenal falling apart,” said the diplomat.

General Musharraf, who seized power in a military coup in 1999, has been a key Western ally in the region and has enjoyed Washington’s support until now.

“But the situation is fast changing,” concedes a senior Pakistani official.

General Musharraf’s problems have increased with the collapse of his Washington-backed power sharing deal with Benazir Bhutto. The former prime minister has been placed under house arrest in eastern city of Lahore for defying the government’s ban on her protest march, dashing hopes of a reconciliation.

Diplomatic and Pakistani officials said Washington was still trying to salvage the fractured deal between the two pro-western leaders. But there seems to be little hope of an agreement, with Ms Bhutto demanding General Musharraf’s resignation. Mr Negroponte is also expected to meet Ms Bhutto, who was freed from house arrest last night.

A US diplomat, Thursday, was allowed to meet the detained leader. General Bryan Hunt, the US Consul General in Lahore said he had told Bhutto of Washington’s wish for Musharraf to lift the emergency, quit as army chief and free opposition politicians and the media.

“We need to move as rapidly as possible to have free and fair elections held on time,” Mr. Hunt said. A White House spokeswoman said Wednesday that Musharraf should relent immediately.

Yesterday Ms Bhutto called for a national unity government to replace General Musharraf before elections in January. “I am consulting with other opposition parties to form an alliance against General Musharraf,” Ms Bhutto said, speaking to The Times on from Lahore.

Ms Bhutto said she had also spoken to Nawaz Sharif, a former prime minister who was forcibly sent back into exile in Saudi Arabia in September, and Imran Khan, who was arrested from university campus in Lahore on Wednesday.

Ms Bhutto’s supporters, Thursday, clashed with police in Lahore and other part of the country. Police fired at angry protesters in Karachi, killing two boys aged 11 and 12. They were the first reported deaths in unrest during the emergency. Eight protesters and one policeman suffered gunshot wounds and that firing was continued late in the evening.

There are signs of growing concern among senior army officers, who have been severely criticised for their role in the worsening political crisis. Commanders privately admit the situation is spinning Some officers say the army is becoming more concerned about protecting the interest of the institution rather than defending General Musharraf.

Political observers said If General Musharraf is forced from power, it would most likely be from within the army. The army is not likely to take over power , but would back a civilian interim government to hold parliamentary elections. Many Western diplomats in Islamabad said they believed that that could be the only way to pull Pakistan out of the current political crisis.

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