Well if history is any guide, one must presume the “P” stands for “Prelude to disaster.” Day’s after Pakistani dictator/president, Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency…it seems more apparent than ever that the always unstable Pakistan is just steps away from complete and total disaster…can an Iraq-style insurgency be next? Here you have a nation torn apart by fundamentalism, radicalism and militarism. Here you have a nation in which rule of law has always come with an asterisk next to it, where civilian governments can be measured in months not years…perhaps what is most troubling is the fact that Pakistan is home to a sizeable number of Al Qaeda members, as well as a significant nuclear arsenal.

When Pakistan finally falls into the abyss how long can we realistically expect to wait before nuclear weapons are in the hands of agents of Al Qaeda? A week? A month? Surely not more than a year? The situation is far more grave than we can imagine.

One thing is for certain, Musharraf declared a state of emergency because he saw the writing on the wall, without imposing military rule his days as leader are numbered and the minute his iron hand is removed from the picture, the Islamists will have no obstacle in their quest for dominance in that country.

The situation in Pakistan puts the US (and the world) in a dangerous position. How can we support a hard-line dictator who suppresses basic civil liberties, the rule of law and seeks to severely restrict the principles of representative government?

Musharraf and his hard-line efforts will serve only to radicalize those who would have previously considered themselves moderates and centrists. The result another reactionary government in the mold of Hugo Chavez only this model will be infected with the virus that is radical Islam, for which there is no known cure…One thing is for certain if Pakistan goes over the brink the world is in for dark days indeed, unfortunately most people don’t even know it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7086272.stm