President Musharraf’s declaration of a state of emergency against his own government on November 3, followed by large-scale arrests of his opponents, was a slap in the face of Washington and the Bush Administration. The American press has taken a very critical stance. Senior US officials, including President Bush himself, have been advising Musharraf since August — when he apparently came close to declaring an emergency — not to declare martial law/emergency, to work with the established political parties to restore democracy, and to take off his uniform. All three steps are now in doubt. There is much public hand-wringing by Bush administration officials as they try to come up with something to salvage a Pakistan policy.

So far, US concerns to keep President Musharraf committed to the war on terrorism have trumped other issues like democracy and a mediocre record on containing terrorism at home. Almost every senior American official since 9/11 has lavishly praised his anti-terrorism efforts and wishfully predicted that he was working for the restoration of democracy. This policy was very personalised, relying on Musharraf to keep his country committed to the global war on terrorism in the face of limited public support in Pakistan for the engagement. The war on terrorism is widely regarded in Pakistan as a war against Islam. Even now, the US reaction to the declaration of emergency demonstrates the overriding concern with terrorism. The secretary of state, while publicly criticising the emergency declaration, argues that the US still has a war on terrorism to fight. The Pentagon has issued a statement that arms support would continue; Pakistan is a frontline state and its cooperation, however flawed, is important for the political future of Afghanistan.

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