NEW YORK, April 17: Underscoring that “Gen Musharraf deludes himself if he thinks the presidential referendum he has scheduled at the end of the month is an affirmation of democracy” the New York Times asked the Bush administration to “more forcefully tell Gen Musharraf that his plan can only undermine the respect he has earned throughout the world since Sept 11.”

In an editorial “Pakistan’s Perpetual President” the Times noted that “in a surreal spectacle, Gen Musharraf has been barnstorming around Pakistan holding rent-a-crowd rallies while barring anti-referendum demonstrations’, adding, his heavy-handed tactics can only undermine the nation and weaken its ability to fight terrorism.”

The paper observed “with the war on terrorism far from won and the Muslim world unsettled by the situation in the Middle East, Gen Musharraf may think he is doing the United States a favour by extending his term. He is wrong, in principle and in practice.”

It also emphasized “he (Gen Musharraf) has, until now, won broad support for his anti-terrorism campaign within Pakistan, especially among the nation’s educated elite and members of its business and landowning class, politicians, human rights groups and even many mainstream religious leaders. His recent blunt tactics to promote the referendum risk alienating the very supporters who have stood by him.”

Referring to Gen Musharraf’s Tuesday’s press conference the paper said “the general’s attacks on Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif on Tuesday appear to have been inspired by the fact that these two former leaders’ supporters are actively opposing the referendum. Gen Musharraf said the two would be arrested if they tried to return to Pakistan. He is not the first leader to equate endorsement of his leadership with the survival of his country, but such an overstatement is hardly likely to help get the country back to elected government.”