Pakistan's new Coalition Government is struggling to settle into office with little sign it's enjoying any sort of honeymoon. It's wrestling with the details of reinstating judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf, and not surprisingly, a power struggle with the President himself is starting to take shape.

In addition, the Coalition is under pressure from Washington to prove its bona fides in the war on terror by going after Taliban warriors seeking refuge in Pakistan's tribal areas.

To shed some light on the political climate in Pakistan, Jim Middleton spoke to Imran Aslam, head of the independent television network Geo TV, from Karachi.

Jim Middleton, Presenter: Imran Aslam, welcome to the program.

Imran Aslam, President, Geo TV: Thank you very much.

Jim Middleton: Starting with media freedom in Pakistan, last year your television station was raided by police and were you forced off air. How are the media being treated under the new Coalition?

Imran Aslam: I think it's more the same but in a more subtle way. There are restrictions, there are people who speak to us in a very quiet voice, but behind it is the hint of a threat. So this continues. I think this is a process that we will have to continue to fight and try to restore some sort of sanity. Obviously the press are a little agitated also because some of the issues that the entire country were agitating about seem to have gone into a very strange situation where there is confusion, and also a lot of back tracking that goes on all the time. So people are getting a little upset about this. And the press, because it reports the type of agitations of the lawyers, of civil society and so on, is in the front line once again.

Jim Middleton: So you are worried that you or other media outlets could still be muzzled?

Imran Aslam: We certainly are. For instance, we're still trying to get a licence for our English channel, which has been in the doldrums for over a year now. And there is some hesitancy on the part of the powers that be to push us in the direction of accepting whatever they want us to put out on the air. I think this is a cat and mouse game going on. We've had to continuously show that we are going to be there and continue to report on the facts on the ground.

Jim Middleton: Turning to other matters, last week a very senior US official John Negroponte demanded that Pakistan live up to its commitments as he put it, in the war on terror, by bringing security to the remote tribal areas. This sounds like Washington is worried that the Coalition Government will go soft.

Imran Aslam: I think there've been negotiations. I think it's in the line of what the Americans also tried to do in Iraq, where they did find support within the tribes, the Sunni tribes and then have moved on to sort of even negotiate with people like al-Sadr and so on. This has been an ongoing process. I think there have been attempts all the time to try and integrate the tribes in the Pakistani mainstream. It should've been done years and years ago. Unfortunately, there are people up there that keep telling us there are huge al-Qaeda people hiding in those areas. The Americans are obviously concerned that these sort of deals we are doing, the Pakistani Government is doing, might have... might be more political expediency.

Jim Middleton: Do you think then the negotiations recently initiated by the Prime Minister Gillani with people associated with the Taliban that those negotiations do represent going soft?

"I think most of the people now want some sort of solution to this issue."

Imran Aslam: I don't know. There is an argument in Pakistan that we have to now look after our own national interests as well. I think most of the people now want some sort of solution to this issue. They're almost sick of chasing shadows and not getting anywhere. So they have to find that Gerry Adams type of character they can sit down and talk to. Eventually this does happen. But the fatigue is setting in and I think there is a fear that this might really push into mainstream Pakistan as it did in the last year or so. I don't think people want a repeat of this.

Jim Middleton: Mr Negroponte said, and I quote, "Any agreement would have to be looked at in the light of US imperatives to prevent the tribal areas being used for plotting and executing international terrorist activity." How are Pakistanis and indeed the Pakistan Government likely to respond to what is very tough talk, in effect, laying down the law?

Imran Aslam: I think the nexus is already there. It's a long one. The American Government and the Pakistanis armed forces as well as the intelligence agencies and so on, have had this ongoing discussion on this issue. And there've been these … raids that the Pakistan Government says that you know, they carried out. And everybody knows that the (inaudible) are there, the drones are around, that there is intelligence on the ground as well, and I think what is happening now is that because this new Government has to deliver on peace and security, this might be just a phase before you know, maybe another confrontation takes place.

Jim Middleton: Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zadari say they've got a deal to restore the sacked judges in Pakistan as early as this week. Is it really that simple?

"A lot of Pakistanis are now questioning the moves of these two Coalition partners."

Imran Aslam: I don't think so. There are lots and lots of issues. I think mainly it's the sort of deal that was done before these parties came into power. A lot of Pakistanis are now questioning the moves of these two Coalition partners. One is playing bad cop, one is playing good cop. There've been lots of see-sawing that goes on. At this stage, they've set a deadline, which is 12th May, but the leading Coalition partner has not committed to that date.

Jim Middleton: As part of the deal between Mr Zadari and Mr Sharif, the incumbent judges would not be replaced. Where would that leave former Chief Justice Chaudhry?

Imran Aslam: These are the questions being asked. There was one formula put forward that he had to, you know, sort of either step down or not take on any case that pertained to the presidency. There was also the formula that instead of being there till 2013 I think, he will retire in 2010. Both of these seem to be unacceptable to Nawaz Sharif.

Jim Middleton: If this deal does go ahead and the new judges are in place, what are the chances of impeachment proceedings against President Musharraf?

Imran Aslam: They've hinted at it. I think Nawaz Sharif more than Asif, because I think what …. Nawaz's role has been is that he realises probably that nothing's going to change, you know, unless they get rid of General Musharraf. And the feeling in Pakistan is that you know, this may not happen because it's sort of linked with the American elections and Bush's own commitment perhaps to General Musharraf that so long as he's there, he will continue to be the President. I mean this is all speculation. Nothing is there on the ground obviously.

Jim Middleton: You're talking about allies in Washington in the person of President Bush, but what about at home, is time running out for President Musharraf domestically?

Imran Aslam: I think he is to a large extent isolated but he still has a stature I think internationally, where a lot of people who come calling do make it a point to go and see him. He is looked upon, I think as a senior statesman, and so on. And has a handle, I think, on what are Pakistan's main issues in terms of the strategy and the strategic significance of what's happening around us.

Jim Middleton: So he could still conceivably outmanoeuvre the duo at the head of the Coalition Government, is that possible?

Imran Aslam: I think this is one of the things that are going around. There are conspiracy theories that some sort of plot is being hatched within the presidency. Some of the back and forth that we've seen and the contradictions, within the Coalition seem to indicate this.

Jim Middleton: Thank you very much for your time Imran Aslam.

Imran Aslam: Thank you very much indeed.