The conservative Heritage Foundation--a leading Washington think tank--has said that it is important for the United States to maintain its strong stance against the emergency imposed by President Pervez Musharraf [Images]. It warned, anything contrary, will be viewed as backing Musharraf against the public's will.
 
In a paper by Heritage's South Asian specialist Lisa Curtis, titled Musharraf's Emergency Rule Will Only Fuel Pakistan Crisis, it has said the Pakistani public in recent years has grown increasingly resentful of US policy toward Pakistan, which it perceives as placing US counter-terrorism interests ahead of Pakistani popular objectives like return to civilian democratic rule.
 
"Anger at the United States has eroded popular support for countering extremists, damaging US objectives in the war on terrorism," the paper said.
 
It said, "The best-case scenario for Pakistan at this critical point in its history would be for a caretaker government to take power and allow the major politicians to leader their parties in a general election at the earliest date possible."
 
"The election rules and guidelines would have to be established by a neutral caretaker government in touch with all of the major parties," the paper said, and said "in the past, Pakistan has established caretaker governments during periods of transition from military to civilian rule. For example, in 1993, a caretaker government was established to usher in elections that ended up bringing Benazir Bhutto [Images] to power for the second time".
 
Curtis said in the paper that "a credible election would be a major blow to extremists and their agenda for Pakistan--which includes imposing harsh Islamic rule--and provide conditions for a smoother working relationship between civilian and military leaders to confront the rising tide of Islamic extremism and violence in the country".
 
It said that "any new political dispensation, the military would maintain a strong decision-making role, especially regarding security matters, and would continue to be responsible for keeping the country's nuclear assets safe and secure and out of the hands of terrorists".
 
The paper acknowledged that Musharraf  "had been an important ally for the United States in the war on terrorism, but his steps toward increasing authoritarianism has put him at odds with the moderate political forces of the country and thereby strengthened the extremists".
 
Therefore, it said "Washington must consider carefully how to leverage its influence with Pakistani leaders to encourage this pivotal country of 165 million to transition to civilian-led government, while maintaining a military capable of focusing on confronting anti-state forces".
 
Thus, according to the paper, "Developing a united front between the Pakistani military leadership and moderate civilian politicians against the extremists remains the most promising path out of Pakistan's current crisis."