US President George W. Bush's three-day visit to India followed by a 24-hour stopover in Pakistan this month fuelled expectations and apprehensions on both sides of the border.

It worried Islamabad when the world's most powerful and largest democracies came together and hammered out a civilian nuclear agreement.

Despite national protests with people shouting "death to Bush", the visit made positive headlines when a triumphant Bush stood next to a beaming Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and spoke passionately on democracy.

Photographs of Bush struggling to hold a giant Indian pumpkin, coming face-to-face with a water buffalo and delivering his keynote speech at the Purana Qila (old fort) in New Delhi were splashed across the media.

The trip was hailed as the beginning of a new era of friendship between India and the United States. It made political pundits and academicians wonder if this was the end of America's courtship with its old ally Pakistan.

They argued that Pakistan will continue to be a important ally of the United States in its war on terror and will enjoy a strategic partnership on fighting terrorism.

"Pakistan and India are different countries with different needs and different histories. As we proceed forward, our strategy will take in those well-known differences" summed up Bush while in Islamabad.

Gulf News spoke to prominent Pakistanis and Indians in the UAE to know what they have to say and according to them America's newfound love for India should not be compared to its relationship with Pakistan.

Indian and Pakistani academicians, businessmen, media professionals and community leaders in UAE were of the opinion that Pakistan has served as a longstanding ally to the United States and plays a key role in the latter's war on terror whereas the US relationship with India is based on the emerging world scenario.

According to them India is a growing economy with a reputation of being the world's largest democracy.

Ashraf Shad, Academic Editor of Research Affairs at UAE University and an Australian journalist of Pakistani origin, said the US never made efforts to restore democracy in Pakistan because they always dealt with dictators.

"The relations between the two countries are more strategic under certain circumstances such as they were good partners during the Cold War era and fighting a proxy war in Afghanistan and now the war against terrorism," he added. Shad said after the Cold War and the retreat of the former Soviet Union from Afghanistan relations between the two countries had been cool until the 9/11 attacks.

According to him, US relations with India are different and cannot be compared with Pakistan. He said America has decided to use India as an important ally because of its economic interests.

India is a big country with a population of more than a billion people, including more than 300 million middle class inhabitants, making the country one of the world's largest markets. "Pakistan and its people should not have concerns over the strengthening US-Indian relations. Pakistan and US have nothing in common when it comes to mutual interests except the security issue," Shad said.

Dr N. Janardhan, political analyst, Gulf Research Centre, Dubai said Bush has done a balancing act by making a trip to Pakistan after his historic visit to India.

"If Bush had gone back without visiting Pakistan it would have looked as if the United States does not recognise its old ally any more. Pakistan is a long-term ally of US and will be rewarded. Whether you like it or not US needs Pakistan's help in its war on terror and also to track down Osama Bin Laden."

According to Janardhan the rules of the game have already been laid out even on the Kashmir issue.

"Pakistan has all along wanted the Kashmir issue to be taken up on the international podium like the United Nations. It was also demanding third party mediation in the dispute. In the past even the GCC countries wanted to mediate in the Kashmir issue.

"But now even they have backed out and have expressed that the Kashmir issue should be solved bilaterally between India and Pakistan. Even the United States has declined to serve as a mediatory. All probability of third party mediation in the Kashmir issue has now been ruled out."

He said if Bush's visit to India is viewed in the larger context of strategic relations, it includes the fact that somehow there is a need to tame China.

"Moreover the US needs to keep in touch with the growing world economies like China and India. China has always been seen as a competitor and a communist country whereas dealing with India is much easier. It is a sellable idea in the Congress itself. India fits into the space and can collaborate," said Janardhan.

According to him the nuclear deal itself will bring plenty of opportunities to US companies.

"If India needs to set up reactors it has to get raw materials from somewhere. You see, the deal is not political alone. There is a lot of lobbying that takes place by business houses who want the deal to come through," said Janardhan.

Sohail Khawar, an Abu Dhabi-based stringer of Pakistan's leading Jung Group of Newspapers, said: "Bush came to Pakistan for nothing. It was to show that the United States is a friend of Pakistan. His trip to Pakistan was not to offer anything but to instruct Islamabad what it has to do? 'do this and that' was the Bush message to General Pervez Musharraf."

Khawar said the Americans have signed a landmark nuclear deal with India and have assured a greater space for New Delhi in Afghanistan, curtailing Pakistan's role in the neighbouring country.

He said: "They [Americans] have always extended their hand of friendship to Pakistan in order to serve their own interests whenever the need arises. Being the only world superpower, countries do expect to benefit from the US, but here it has always been Pakistan giving something to US. This shows how weak our foreign policy is. Pakistan has to improve its foreign policy for the benefit of the country and its people."

Kamal Puri, president of the Skyline College, Sharjah, said the United States views India as the future, while it views Pakistan as the present. "The US is well aware of the potential that India holds due to its knowledge-based economy," he said.

According to Puri the new bond of friendship between India and US comes after 50 long years.

"The energy needs of India are met with this [nuclear] deal while in return the US wants India's help to replace all the monarchies in the world with democracy. The US is the world's most powerful democracy while India is referred to as the world's largest democracy.

"A very good percentage of Indians are working in Nasa, Microsoft and in the US education centres. This century is knowledge-driven. Now, due to the competitiveness in Indian education system, the Indians are well equipped to face the global challenges," he added. Puri said the future buzz word is going to be China and India.

"By 2050 China will provide 29 per cent of world GDP, the US will have 28 per cent of world GDP and by the same year India will drum up 18 per cent of the world GDP. Similarly, by 2025 India will have 300 million middle class which is equivalent to the US population. By 2025 it is estimated that India will have 600 million students studying overseas."

Yaqoub Tassawar, a Pakistani writer and poet, said Pakistan's relationship with the US is circumstantial. "The US sees more interest in better relations with India. Pakistan's relations with US are based on incidents such as the developments in Afghanistan and the war against terrorism."

He added that the US president deliberately made his trip to Pakistan a short one after all that drama in Afghanistan, with the Karzai government accusing Pakistan of doing little to stop cross border terrorism.

"Our [Pakistan's] position is very weak. Democracy has never prevailed in Pakistan. We have internal weakness and know where we stand and what our position is [when it comes to priority]," he added.

K. Kumar, Convenor of the Indian Community Welfare Committee, Dubai said India is an emerging superpower in terms of technology and knowledge-based economy and undoubtedly the biggest market for the multinational corporations.

"The US wants to foster a better relationship with India. India in turn has certainly bargained a very good deal without compromising too much. It is what we call in the corporate world a win win situation."

Asked whether the US-India ties will hamper relations with Pakistan, Kumar said: "Not at all. Currently both India and Pakistan are trying to work out a mutual solution. Pakistan has always been a US ally and will continue to be. US on the other hand cannot afford to dump Pakistan. This is because Pakistan plays a major role in the war on terror. Bush has made this very clear in his speech in Islamabad."

Dr Haider Mehdi, a senior Pakistani academician based in Sharjah, said Bush's Pakistan visit was not groundbreaking. More importance was given to the India visit because the Americans want to improve their relations with Pakistan's neighbour, he said.

"India is a big country and tilted towards becoming a world power. India has to remain a balanced, subdued and humanistic country. They should merge with neighbouring Asian countries and form a new power and a strong bloc," said Dr Mehdi. He urged India and Pakistan to improve relations with each other. "There should be no competition between Pakistan and India."

On Pakistan's relations with the US, he said the ties are based on military cooperation between the two countries, which is not very well received in the country.

"The US wants India to be a strategic partner. No country in the world can ignore the qualified workforce that India has. We are over a billion people," said S. Shetty, Chief Operations Officer, Global Operations, UAE Exchange.

"We are leaders in the field of Information Technology. America is aware of this fact and so today all leading IT companies in the US are zeroing in on Indian IT professionals. American company Cisco Systems is planning to invest $1.2 billion (Dh4.4 billion) in Bangalore, while Microsoft plans to invest $1.7 billion in a research facility."

According to him, with the growing Indian market, the US has come to market its products. "The future belongs to India and China because these are two of the fastest growing economies.

"In India the purchasing power of the middle income group has skyrocketed. Indians living overseas are returning to their homeland because of the opportunities that are being provided to them. It won't be long when we get to hear that India is a land of opportunities."

So, has India become a new friend of the US? Shetty said: "I will not be surprised that even UK, France, Australia come calling on India. There is a lot of debate going on with regard to the Pakistan and US relationship.

"First of all I feel that the relationship between India and the US and Pakistan and the US are not on the same level. With Pakistan the US has a political relationship while with India it is political as well as commercial."

Bharatbhai Shah, prominent Indian social worker and businessman, held a different view. He said the US has a reputation of dumping its allies as and when its own requirements are met.

"The deal that we have signed is subject to the approval of the Congress. India should not get all excited but she should be cautious. This is because the US has a history of coming close to countries to serve its own purpose. Once the purpose is over, they just dump their friends and allies."

Dr Talat Mahmoud Butt, Secretary-General of the Pakistan Association Committee, Abu Dhabi, said he does not believe dictatorship or lack of democracy is the reason for the lacklustre visit of Bush to Pakistan. He said the two countries still enjoy good relations, which, he added, have been proved by Bush's statements praising President Musharraf at very important forums.

"I see it differently. The relation between India and US is between two systems, whereas our relationship is probably based on relations between two persons [Bush and Musharraf]," he said.

Dr Butt also said people should not be concerned over the US signing deals with India as they have their own interests.