I am casually acquainted with a Pakistani national (who currently lives abroad), who told me that Musharraf may pretend that he is trying to suppress extremist Islamists in that country but the people he most often punishes are the democratic/secularists. This person says that he thinks Musharraf is actually encouraging Islamist extremism, because that helps him consolidate his hold on power.

I told this acquaintance that I think the governments of the US and the UK are also covertly promoting Islamist extremism for the same reasons, and maybe that's why the governments of the US and UK are so supportive of Musharraf.

I asked this acquaintance what the governments of the West could do to help the people of his country, or at least to not harm them, and he said they should stop supporting the army in Pakistan so that the Generals will become isolated, and then the democratic movements can use the democratic process to bring about change.

Any efforts the West can undertake to avoid energizing Islamist extremists would go a long way toward helping to promote democracy in countries like Pakistan. Things like giving Rushdie the knighthood have exactly the opposite effect.