I think Miss Farzana Shaikh got it wrong. People of Pakistan love Musharraf. When he led the coup against corrupt leader like Nawaz Sharif, the public was cheering his take over. He has managed to control the economy, have Pakistan debt forgiven, and bring some sort of stability to Pakistan. Yes, many people would like to see him distance himself from US and its fight in Afghanistan, but the people can tolerate this cooperation. After all, all Pakistanis know that Al Qaeda and their protectors, the Taliban, are not welcome in Pakistan. Paksitani public trusts the army to keep control of countries nuclear weapons. They dread these bombs falling into hands of extremists or incompitent rulers like Bhutto or Sharif. Mushraaf has kept Pakistan and its allies safe from fanatics. Polls show over two-thirds of Paksitanis back Musharraf's policies.

Z Hussain, Rochdale, UK

The cost of inaction, of letting the clerics gain more and more power will also be incalculable, not just for Musharraf but for the whole of Pakistan. What you end up with is Iran. Do you really want to see the clerics in charge?

Susan, Raleigh, USA

Pretty flawed anlysis given that 9 out 10 people on the street support Musharraf's move againt the Ghazi brothers. Yes, Pakistanis on the whole are privately relgious but not dogmatic. A Jehadist fringe supported by the ISI does exist. But the Government can easily turn off the tap to financial inducements if it is threatend. Your impression that the state is fragile and can crumble easily is advocated by analysts, especially of the Indian school, since 1947. Bangladesh was an aberration because of civil war caused by poor judgement and bad policy. As a Bangladeshi I can see you immediately draw a parrallel to an earlier crisis. It is not the same situation.

billoo bhai, London, UK

First class. Let us hear more from Ms Farzana Shaikh. So good to read someone who really knows the beast. So different from the shallow punditry of those on the Left - and the not-so Left.

Donald Last , Worthing, UK

I think you have the wrong end of the fish rod.
Mr. Mushraf has election round the bend. To keep all eyes peeled on the Red Mosque is a good vision for his coming back. Please do not underestimate Pakistan Player Mr. Musharaf.

Firozali A.Mulla MBA PhD, Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania

In my opinion, in light of the observations made in the article, the only option left is outright military action and repression. This may be abhorrant to sensitive minds, but these minds seem altogether too sensitive to form a reasonable conception of the enemy suddenly facing a striking number of nations - if, that is, they can contemplate it at all. Neither indifference, nor placation, nor bribery, nor limited police action have worked - not even outright concessions of large swaths of territory has worked. And in every victory, the Islamists show they are the equals of history's most horrible barbarisms. This is fascism, arising in the Islamic countries, with its unique twists, as each iteration of fascism displays. Wake up.

Daniel, Cleveland, OH

And some of us worry about global warming - it might get a lot hotter soon.

tony, birmingham, uk

By 'demise', I take it you mean moving to Switzerland to oversee his bank account?

Derek S, Dundee,

"Pakistan’s worst crisis for 36 years?"

is it worse than than having the soviet superpower destabilising Pakistan in the 80's?

or worse than the situation Pakistan was in a week after 9/11?

put the issue in context, its nowhere near as serious as previous issues. the mosque will be cleared and in a month most o us will have forgotten about it.

akram, London,

CAN an Islamic nation produce a liberal pluralistic state? The jury is still out. One feels sorry for Egypt, Algeria etc which are seeking to do this, but constantly fighting off the Sharia merchants who want the full-on Islamic state to complete their Koranic way of life. Turkey only seems to hang on to its 'secular' state, ie non clerical rule, by its army.
This is the main issue in world politics at the moment, and the problem is worsening not improving. Best of luck to Musharraf.

Ibnez, Dalston, UK

David, was that sarcasm? The "neo-con" plot line is a form of narcissism indulged in by the ignorant. Read, for example, VS Naipaul's "Among the Believers," and you will see clearly that the Islamism Musharraf faces is autochthonous, that these populations have been so for time out of mind (note, for example, that neither the British nor the Afghan chiefs could coax the Islamic fanaticism out of these tribes - cf. The Great Game). The current campaign, waged by all reasonable governments, is to subdue the Islamist threat that, while by itself technically rudimentary and parasitic, is extraordinarily attractive to millions of minds who have almost no experience with any modern, relatively liberal curriculum or political structure. The purpose is to bring them into the modern world in some sort of relationship of their choosing - note the integration of such diverse countries India, China, Russia, Indonesia and Japan, among others. THAT is the extent of the "plot."

Daniel, Cleveland, OH

No government can permit these self-appointed, 7th-century, witch doctors to preach the religious subversion of civil authority.

It's about time the Pakistani Government found a little resolve.

And the same goes for the British and European Governments too.

The Red Mosque treatment needs to put into general practice.

No civil authority worth its salt will permit a Red Mosque in its midst.

Michael Grable, SILVER SPRING, USA/MD

The Massacre at the Red Mosque was foretold by Edgar Allen Poe last century, in the "Mosque of the Red Death".

lee, reston, usa

It ill behoves experts to, criticise, decry,and belittle, honest attempts to grapple with almost intractable problems such as those in Pakistan.
Perhaps if Chatham House and its kind made practical (and personal) contributions, rather than catcalls from the side lines.
I remember when the Berlin Wall came down (I was there when it was first put up). Not one of the "Expert Institutions" had forecast, or even hinted at its rapid demise.
What is it they say about "When you are up to your a... in alligators ?"

Peter Bolt, Redditch, UK

Just as well the War on Terror is no more, or a bumper sticker, or a Neo-con plot, otherwise there would be severe problems with Nuclear Islamists.

David Williamson, Tucson, USA/AZ

Musharraf should be supported in this. There is no place for theocracy in the modern world. There can only be one legitimate government in a country and Musharraf has to make sure it's his.

Ian, Bristol,