No so Pakistan's Islamists, however, whom Musharraf infuriated yet again last month, when he ordered his foreign minister to initiate the first official contact with Israel. But the Islamists' call for nationwide protests flopped. The military, after decades of rule, has dismantled all forms of political organization - parties, trade unions and student associations - leaving Pakistani society immobilized, apathetic and incapable of articulating its preferences.

But the truth is more complex. Musharraf flits effortlessly between personae. At one moment he is the "responsible" world leader who speaks charmingly to the international media about moderate Islam; at the next, he is the cunning conspirator who rigs elections, destroys political opponents, breaks promises on relinquishing power, enters into mutually beneficial relationships with mullahs, and castigates human-rights activists as "Westernized fringe elements" that "are as bad as the Islamic extremists."

To be sure, more incidents of global terrorism associated with Pakistan, such as July's London bombings, will bring new pressures. The U.S. and Europe will make their usual demands to close down the country's hate-spewing religious schools, and to reform a public-school system that, unhindered by the government, churns out young militants burning to kill and die for Islam.

For Musharraf, this means that continuing to hunt with the hounds and run with the hares might get harder. But the current constellation of forces suggests that - barring unforeseen developments - his survival instincts will serve him well for years to come.

Pervez Hoodbhoy is a professor of physics at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad. THE DAILY STAR publishes this commentary in collaboration with Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org ).

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