Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has done "far too little" in combating terrorism, a leading US daily on Friday said and asked Washington to encourage Benazir Bhutto to work with her long-time rival Nawaz Sharif to build a broad "civilian democratic front".
In a strongly-worded editorial, The New York Times also asked Washington to play a "more tougher military game" with the Pakistani Army to let it know that Musharraf's dictatorship is not in its own best interests "nor would it guarantee Pakistan's stability".
Instead of urging Benazir Bhutto to expand her credibility on implausible power-sharing deals, Washington should be encouraging her to work with her long-time political rival, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and build a broad civilian democratic front," the newspaper said.
Sharif is expected to return to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia before November 26, the last date for filing nominations for the January general election.
Referring to Pentagon's plans to increase the role of American special forces in the region bordering Afghanistan, the paper said before going any further, President George W Bush must work a lot harder to restore democracy which is the "best hope for holding off chaos that would make Pakistan even more hospitable for extremists."
"Washington should make clear that it will provide all the military support Pakistan needs to fight terrorism and defend its borders. But it will not underwrite Pakistan's efforts to acquire advanced weapons it seek unless the army shows more effectiveness against terrorism and more enthusiasm for democracy," it emphasised.
Before plunging American forces more deeply into Pakistan's remote borderlands, the paper said Washington needs to deal with the "critical political crisis threatening that country's very core and America's strategic interests".
Gen Musharraf has done "far too little" to drive al-Qaeda and the Taliban from its Pakistani sanctuaries over the last six years, but President Bush still insists on linking America's interests to the general's "erratic and authoritarian whims", the editorial said.
"Even with Pakistan under martial law, Bush claimed preposterously this week that the general "truly is somebody who believes in democracy", the paper said.
In this context, it said, some American military planners, meanwhile, are proposing digging in even deeper by sponsoring and underwriting alliances between Pakistani Army units and tribal fighters near the country's border with Afghanistan where al-Qaeda and the Taliban are strongest and the plans also call for increasing the size and role of American special operations forces working in those regions.
The Pentagon, the editorial said, has had successes working with tribal groups in northern Afghanistan against the Taliban and more recently with Sunni sheiks in Iraq against al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia.
"Unfortunately this plan ignores two critical facts about Pakistan: it is far from clear that these tribal groups want to join the fight, and there are similar doubts about the loyalties of some of the Pakistani military officers, especially now," it stressed.