General Raheel Sharif, Pakistan's army chief   © Getty Images

When Pakistan’s army chief General Raheel Sharif visits Washington for talks in a few days’ time, top US officials are likely to be listening more attentively than they did to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his visit there last month.

The Americans know the military is once more in the driving seat in Pakistan and the civilians have yet again proved hopeless at governance, and given little leadership on Washington’s main concern: counter terrorism.

Gen Sharif ‘s picture is almost daily splashed across every newspaper in the country, as he bounds from visiting troops on the front line to handing out sympathy and cheques to widows and orphans after a particularly deadly Taliban assault. By contrast, Mr Sharif appears rarely, and when he does he is slow and overweight and never deviates from his written text. He does not act like a third-time prime minister, or an inspiring leader for a country in a deep political and economic morass facing the challenge of Islamic militancy. Read more