The local opponents of President Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler since his peaceful coup in 1999, now consist of a wide range of Islamist groups openly vowing to get his regime toppled because of his alliance with the US and his vital role in the American-led war on global terrorism. He compares his regime favourably to that of the Shiite theocracy in Iran.
The general talks and acts in such a way as to appear as if he represents the West's best hope of a leader who ...