In a new report, the International Crisis Group, also warned that instability in Pakistan will worsen and sectarian conflict spin out of control unless Musharraf, who has sought domestic and international legitimacy through a "civilian facade" ceded power to civilians and removed curbs on the moderate parties.
The thinktank asks major democratic powers, including the US, to press Musharraf to hold free and fair elections and stop unlawful arrests and detention of the opposition leaders at the pain of losing aid instead of tolerating his authoritarian behaviour just for short-term security cooperation.
"The international community should make clear that its support - which has bolstered Musharraf's claim to legitimacy - will quickly evaporate unless he shows he is serious about taking steps towards democratic reforms," said Robert Templer, Director of Crisis Group's Asia Programme. In addition to halting its pressure tactics on mainstream parties, the thinktank asks Pakistan's military government to appoint an independent federal Election Commission, refine and liberalise party finance laws, lift the ban on student unions and allow parties to establish their own requirements for election of their leaders.
The report said the mainstream political parties must also become serious about internal reform if they are to steer Pakistan towards democracy and political stability.
The parties, it said, need to promote internal discipline and accountability, better organise their grassroots base and allow more party workers, especially women and young people, to play meaningful roles in the decision making process.
Musharraf's marginalisation of moderate political voices, it pointed out, has allowed religious parties to fill a political vacuum, and their increasing strength, if left unchecked, could erode regional stability. With international help, Pakistan's moderate political parties should strengthen and transform themselves into more viable political players, it suggests.
The Pakistan People's Party and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), the report says, have regained some of the credibility they lost when they led governments during the flawed democratic transition of the 1990s. But their continuous subjugation to state coercion, coupled with their own internal weaknesses, leaves in question whether they can counter an interventionist military.
"These parties are the most effective safeguard against the religious lobby's anti-western agenda and still present the most credible alternatives to authoritarian rule," said Samina Ahmed, Crisis Group's South Asia Project Director.
"But the parties themselves must step up and make changes to ensure their own survival." The report noted that Musharraf has created his own party, the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam) and brought it to power through "rigged elections."