WASHINGTON, Sept 1: President Pervez Musharraf may declare a state of emergency in the country if his efforts to reach a deal with his political opponents failed, The Washington Post warned on Saturday.The official Voice of America radio, in a commentary on the current political situation in Pakistan, noted that the country’s “political landscape is clouded with uncertainty.”

Another prominent American newspaper, Boston Globe, speculated that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s decision to negotiate with an “unpopular president” has raised questions about her motives.

Los Angeles Times noted that “beset by increasing public discontent over his military-backed regime, President Musharraf has not decided whether to step down as Pakistan’s army chief and become purely a civilian leader.”

The US media is showing so much interest in the situation in Pakistan that New York Times columnist William Safire, who writes a column on popular etymology, mentioned the possibility of Ms Bhutto’s return to Pakistan as “a way forward” to democracy, in one of his etymology columns.