Clinton administration officials reiterated Wednesday that they believed Sharif is committed to an early resolution of the crisis and ``that means restoration of the Line of Control''.

``Our understanding is that he plans to meet Parliament and opposition leaders to discuss the way forward,'' State Department spokesman James Foley said.

Reports from Islamabad, to where Sharif has now returned after a stopover in London, say the Pakistan Prime Minister will take his colleagues into confidence on the Washington agreement on Saturday, July 10, when a federal Cabinet meeting has been called. It will be preceded by a meeting of Sharif's Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC).

Pakistani leaders, meanwhile, have been making frenzied claims of diplomatic successes after theWashington mission.

Sharif himself said on his arrival in Pakistan that the Kashmir dispute had been internationalised ``whether India liked it or not'' and that ``American involvement was essential''.

Sharif also maintained that President Bill Clinton ``had assured him that he would take personal interest in helping to resolve the Kashmir dispute'', a claim he is expected to make in a televised address to the nation over the weekend.

Both statements were evidently aimed at domestic consumption in the face of continued hostility from his political opponents.

The wording of the Clinton-Sharif joint statement on this matter is fairly unambiguous: ``The President said he would take a personal interest in encouraging an expeditious resumption and intensification of those bilateral efforts, once the sanctity of the Line of Control has been fully restored.''

Indian observers say even a dimwit can read that Clinton has promised to take personal interest in resumption of ``bilateral efforts' -- and that tooafter the LOC is restored, a conditionality the Pakistanis are studiously ignoring.

Meanwhile, facts are emerging now throwing further light on Sharif's lightning July 4 sortie to Washington. According to one account, corroborating the reporting in this newspaper on July 6, Sharif was forced to go to Washington by the ``developments that took place on the diplomatic, economic and strategic fronts'' which left Pakistan with no option but to seek some urgent measures that also included seeking US President Bill Clinton's intervention in the Kashmir issue.

According to the Pakistani newspaper, The News, Pakistan's Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) concluded soon after Sharif's visit to Beijing late last month that ``only an intelligent restructuring of the Kargil operation could save Pakistan from imminent diplomatic, economic, and strategic disaster''.

The paper quoted sources as saying Sharif's discussion with the Chinese leaders was the turning point in Pakistan's decision to use itsinfluence on the Mujaheddin to suspend their operation in Kargil.

Although nothing was publicly stated on this subject, officials said that in his meetings in Beijing, Sharif was advised by both Prime Minister Zhu Rongji and Chairman Li Peng that Pakistan must play its role in reducing tension in Kargil, as any escalation of tension could leader to a larger conflict that may not suit the long-term interests of Pakistan, the paper said. Pakistani officials were also surprised by the unanimity of views in the messages delivered separately by the United States and China, the paper added.

According to other independent accounts, Sharif was also unnerved by an amendment in the US Congress that encouraged the Clinton administration to consider opposing loans from international financial institution. Around the same time, France also suggested that it may not be able to deliver the 40 upgraded Mirage III jets it was contracted for.

These developments, coming on top of the reverses on the ground in Kargil, wascertain to leave Pakistan in a diplomatic, economic, and military limbo, according to diplomatic sources here.

The sources also said China's gradual distancing from Pakistan must be seen in the context of Beijing's own perception of the increasing Islamic fundamentalism in China. In a little-noticed development, the sources said, Chinese authorities last week executed an Islamic extremist in Tibet, the first event of its kind reported out of that country.