General Tommy Franks and his team are undoubtedly having sleepless nights, repositioning ships in the Indian Ocean and redirecting Tomahawk missiles. NASA will be nudging one or more of their satellites into new geo-static orbits over new targets. The Pentagon will be dusting the inevitable contingency plans stowed away since long, while American think tanks will be burning the midnight oil to come to grips with the new situation evolving from Pakistan's elections of October 10, 2002.

Nothing has really changed, nor is it likely to, as regards our commitment to eradicating terrorism at home and abroad. We continue to be a strong ally in the war against terror, something the President and his team have reaffirmed publicly. But more often than not, substance is less important than perception; and the perception has changed dramatically in the last few days. Once the dust of elections settles, it is inevitable that the international perception of the emerging scenario in Pakistan will suffer a deadly blow. New governments led by religious parties in provinces bordering Afghanistan may well have an adverse impact on the world's view of developments in this region. While there is no doubt that senior leaders of the successful religious parties, having extensive parliamentary and governance experience, will espouse moderation, there is also the rhetoric of the more militant components of the religious coalition. Already statements are emerging demanding the withdrawal of American forces from Pakistan, of a change in direction of Pakistan's of foreign policy, of enhancing the activities of the madaris, of introduction of the hasher elements of Sharia law etc. To placate their electorate, some leaders are demanding radical changes in the very life style of society. The more sober amongst the leaders are fully cognizant of the need for pragmatism and compromise. They will undoubtedly prevail, to the extent that they will respect the opinion of their political allies with moderate views, whom they need for the arduous task of governing the state in its present extremely difficult economic and socio-political condition.

But the voices that are heard are often the ones that scream the loudest and represent the far fringes of society, easily drowning the voices of reason and accommodation. Western perception will be affected by these loud voices; and also by the appearance of the new ministers and parliamentarians who may choose to behave like Afghanistan's discredited Taliban. For there is no denying the fact that the suppression of liberal political voices over the last three years has enabled the religious coalition to fill the void, deservedly winning seats in every province and in the federal capital. More significantly they will dominate the indirectly elected Senate for many more years to come. It is they who will project the new image of Pakistan in the twenty first century.

Fear has gripped much of the world over the last year or so, in particular the US since the tragedy of 9/11.That fear has resulted in government actions in American which Americans themselves would have considered inconceivable earlier on, including denial of fundamental rights to its citizens, racial profiling, religious intolerance and unequal treatment of Muslims in general and Arabs in particular. The "War on Terror" has spread from Afghanistan to the Middle East, through Jerusalem and Palestine into Iraq, while terrorist acts in the last few days alone have spread to Kuwait, Yemen and Bali. In this environment of fear the emergence of religious parties as a major player in Pakistan's politics brings to the fore-front American's greatest fear of all. Generally forgotten in the West is the most powerful message of Islam --- of peace, of compassion, of justice, of fair play and of magnanimity. Stark images of brutality, of extremism, of violence against women, of honour killings, of Amina Lawal awaiting a Nigerian court's order of stoning to death, haunt highly impressionable viewers everywhere in the world. The threatened denial of Pakistani airbases to the American military and of local police support to the FBI in its hunt of terrorist pale in comparison to a serious situation which America and most of the world fears the most --- nuclear weapons in the hands of Islamic militants.

There is no question of Pakistan's nuclear weapons falling into any extremist hands, even if there were extremists in positions of high office in government. But it is the perception which will overtake reality. Were such a perception to grow, it would not be inconceivable that from the position of any ally in the "War on Terror" Pakistan itself ends up becoming an adversary and a target of that very war. A few more irresponsible statements, a few expressions of the intent to restart militant training in the Madaris, a few freedom fighters to Kashmir or overseas, a few administrative actions against women, could well spark a torrent of hostility towards Pakistan, far more critical and grave than the perceived threat to the US from Iraq. Such acts and statements may well be seen as a drift towards nuclear weapons falling into the hands of extremists. Were that to happen there would be very little choice but for the hawks in the US to go on the offensive, directing General Franks to point his Tomahawk missiles at our nuclear assets.

In the next few days and weeks Pakistan's new leaders will surely need to rise to the occasion; suppress the desire for cheap popularity through extremist sloganeering; demonstrate a dedication exclusively to improving the economic well being of the citizens; project the glory of a tolerant, compassionate and enlightened Muslim state; and spearhead dynamic new policies for the common good which inspire national and international confidence and trust. Then the Tomahawks will point away, the contingency plans will return to the filing cabinets, the common man will get back his dignity and the true and humane face of Islam will be universally acknowledged and respected, even by the bigoted Franklins and Grahams and Falwels of the world. A leadership failure at this stage will damage the state for years, if not decades, to come.