NEW YORK, April 6: As Pakistan People’s Party leader Benazir Bhutto lobbies in Washington to prod the Bush administration to support her quest to return to Pakistan, most experts and Bush administration officials remain sceptical about her role in country’s future.

According to the New York Times, “analysts point out that the White House remains sceptical of Ms Bhutto's capacity, questioning her authority over Pakistan’s military and intelligence services and troubled by charges that she and her husband illegally gained millions of dollars in deals with people who did business with the government when she was in power.”

In an analysis in its Friday issue, the paper said: "For now at least, it seems unlikely that the Bush administration will heed Ms Bhutto’s argument. The White House remains committed to General Musharraf, even though the latest protests against his administration — protests that began ostensibly against his suspension of the chief justice, but have since come to represent growing frustration against military rule.”

“I’m not sure if there’s any amount of charm or orchestration on Benazir’s part that will change this," Craig Cohen, deputy chief of staff at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, was quoted as saying.

“Something major would have to happen in Pakistan for the Bush administration to give up on Musharraf,” Mr Cohen said.

More to the point, Mr Cohen said there was little reason to believe that having Ms Bhutto at the helm would fundamentally alter the hold of the military and intelligence services on the state machinery.

“Even after free elections, the military will still call the shots on national security issues," he said. “Firing the manager only gets you so far.”