NEW YORK, June 27: In the aftermath of the death of 10 Pakistani soldiers “for the United States”, Pakistan is now perhaps more important than Afghanistan as a frontline state in the “war on terrorism”, said the Washington Post.

In an analysis, the Post called the incident “a development that could have far-reaching consequences for the government of President Pervez Musharraf”.

The Post warned that the broadening of the war, which brought Pakistan’s first known military deaths in the US-led campaign against “terrorism”, effectively raises the stakes for all sides in the conflict.

For Al-Qaeda, it means that after two months of pressure, the United States has persuaded Pakistan’s military to attack members of the Al-Qaeda network who have taken refuge across the border. For President Musharraf, it means that his troops have now been killed by members of Al-Qaeda, a group that enjoys some sympathy in Pakistan’s border region.

“This has probably moved Musharraf up a notch or two on Al-Qaeda’s most-wanted list,” Karl Inderfurth, a former US assistant secretary of state for South Asia, said in an interview with the Post.

“Having Pakistani soldiers in combat with Al-Qaeda,” he observed, “is Musharraf’s worst nightmare.”

One bright light for the president is that the two Al-Qaeda fighters killed in the firefight appear to be of Chechen origin, Inderfurth said.

“I think Musharraf is probably breathing a sigh of relief that they weren’t Pakistanis or Afghans,” he said. Their apparent origin outside Pakistan, and also from outside the ethnic Pakhtoons, make it easier to blame the violence on foreigners, Inderfurth told the paper.

But the incident also may foreshadow an extended spell of violence inside Pakistan, experts said. US forces were not directly involved in the fight, but some were nearby, Pakistani officials said.

Also, in response to a request from Pakistan, US forces in Afghanistan went on alert to launch a supporting mission, but ultimately were not called upon, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, said at a Pentagon news conference. “We appreciate the Pakistan Army’s efforts to locate . . . Al-Qaeda,” Myers said.

The outbreak of combat in Pakistan also raises the question of whether the US committed a strategic error by pursuing tactics that widened the war — first in pushing members of Al-Qaeda out of Afghanistan and into Pakistan, and then in pressuring Islamabad to attack them, the paper said.