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Alarm in Pakistan

The United States must stop placing all of its hopes on President Pervez Musharraf to restore order in Pakistan and demand that he reinstate an independent judiciary and ensure free elections next month, according to a popular opposition leader.

The political chaos in Pakistan threatens to increase instability and encourage terrorism, Imran Khan, leader of the Movement for Justice Party told the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

"It's very important that the people in the U.S. realize that the strategy of backing one man rather than the democratic process is deeply flawed because what is happening now is that General Musharraf's popularity has plummeted," Mr. Khan said.

He noted that 75 percent of Pakistanis want Mr. Musharraf to step down. His decline in popular support dropped sharply in March when he fired Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Though Justice Chaudhry was eventually reinstated, he was fired again in November when Mr. Musharraf, then the army chief, imposed emergency rule and fired most of a Supreme Court that was preparing to oust him from power.

Mr. Khan, a former internationally renowned cricket star, compared the Bush administration's support for Mr. Musharraf to U.S. support for the shahof Iran before the shah was overthrown in the Iranian revolution that brought the current theocracy to power.

The Dec. 27 assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto deepened the crisis, with parliamentary elections now scheduled for Feb. 18.

Mr. Khan expressed worries that the political turmoil, coupled with an increase in terrorism, will undermine U.S. interests in Pakistan, which the White House sees as a crucial ally in the war against Islamic extremists.

"This is a critical juncture ... and it's going to affect both Pakistan and the U.S.," he said, adding that Pakistan now shares the U.S. concerns over terrorism.