Pakistani visa for Americans

Dear cycling friends,
I am an American and I have applied recently for the Pakistani visa because I want to cycle at least a part of the Karakoram in June. I'm planning to come in through India and leave back through the same border. (Wagah). At the Consulate here they have forwarded my application to the Ministry of Interior in Islamabad and I've been told it will take 3-6 months OR LONGER to get news of the visa. This seems an extremely long time to wait of course and so I am trying whatever I can to make it happen in a speedier way. Have any of you other American riders encountered this problem or has anyone received a visa recently and what are your insights if so? I have followed all of the requirements (LOI etc). I was told by one Trekking agency there that with the American visas they have been much more strict and even LOST the applications when they were sent from the U.S. and that one of their American clients finally had to give up his trip due to all of this. Certainly losing the investment in the visa is a significant loss, but more importantly I would feel a loss at not being able to cycle this spectacular country. I welcome any help/advice/insight into this topic! Thanks in advance!