NEW YORK, Aug 11: Reflecting on the political crisis in Pakistan, the New York Times said in an editorial in its Saturday issue that “telling General Musharraf not to seize still more power is not enough. Washington should tell him to negotiate a rapid return to democracy, before it’s too late”.

In the editorial, “High Maintenance Musharraf”, the newspaper acknowledges that “Pakistan’s location, adjoining Afghanistan, Iran, India and China, makes it one of America’s most important allies”, but it adds: “General Musharraf’s reckless political trajectory is turning him into one of the Bush administration’s most dangerous partners.”

Commenting on the reported 2am conversation US Secretary Of State Condoleezza Rice had with Gen Musharraf, the Times observes that “more than early-morning crisis management will be needed to keep this very difficult situation from turning drastically worse”.

“After eight years of authoritarianism and broken promises, General Musharraf has forfeited the support he once enjoyed among ordinary Pakistanis, educated professionals and even fellow military officers.”

Noting “while he regularly pleads that he is too weak to crush the Taliban and Al Qaeda forces that find ready sanctuary inside his country”, the newspaper says “he (Gen Musharraf) has shown no lack of enthusiasm for lashing out at Pakistan’s reawakening civil society”.

“Most Pakistanis now want a return to elected civilian government, even if that means bringing back some of the flawed party leaders the general has tried to banish from political life, like two former prime ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.”

Underscoring “if General Musharraf tries to forcibly cling to power over growing protests”, the NYT said: “The most likely beneficiaries are militant minorities, from armed Islamist groups to conspiratorial military nationalists.”

“These extremists stand ready to exploit the resulting tensions to their own advantage. Their political representatives have never attracted majorities when Pakistan has held reasonably fair elections. But if they managed to seize power in a political crisis, they would gain control not only of Pakistan’s strategic frontiers, but of its nuclear arsenal and know-how as well,” the Times said.—Correspondent