The term of the current assemblies, in which his political supporters dominate, runs out on November 15. And his October re-election as president has not been notified because the supreme court is still hearing a case on his eligibility to be re-elected. Yet, by drawing the battlelines against the judiciary, Musharraf could be undermining the fight against terror. A big problem Pakistan’s army has been facing in fighting religious extremism lies in the popular impression being created by anti-state actors that this battle is being waged at others’ behest, notably America’s. By targeting the court and using extra-constitutional means to keep himself in power in the name of fighting terrorism, all he does is further alienate civil society.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has reacted by saying that while emergency proclamation is “highly regrettable” she hoped he would still move towards quick elections. Like it or not, the US administration cannot disclaim ownership of Musharraf’s actions. Post 9/11, its foreign policy has been supposedly oriented to bringing in democracy and fighting terrorism in the Muslim world. Musharraf, with a clearly half-hearted fight against the Al-Qaeda/Taliban and with a democratic process tilted in favour of political actors of his choice, has already received $10 billion in mostly military aid. America’s burden is not just that its favourite despot could be in trouble domestically. It is also that America has sheltered him and emboldened him to curtail civil rights and undermine democratic institutions. This is as much a crisis for the United States as it is for South Asia.