Pakistan's self-styled Chief Executive, General Pervez Musharraf, has had a relatively easy ride since carrying out his coup last month.
But the low-key international response will certainly change now that he has accused ousted premier Nawaz Sharif of treason and kidnapping - with charges sure to follow.
When the Pakistani people accepted the overthrow of yet another corrupt regime with relief - even enthusiasm - foreign governments tended to take a wait-and-see approach.
The general's first moves have been reasonably sound. Although he refuses to say when, or how, democracy will be returned, he succeeded in convincing a Commonwealth delegation not to expel Pakistan from its ranks by pointing out that he had not imposed martial law, that fundamental rights were unaffected and the courts continued to function normally.
Since then General Musharraf has named a 10-member cabinet of respected technocrats and businessmen, a cabinet untainted by contact with the Sharif regime. He also appointed non-governmental agencies to carry out social reforms.
For Pakistan's people, an encouraging agenda. Everything that is known about the military leader suggests he is a different character to General Zia ul-Haq, who hanged Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the prime minister he overthrew, on what were generally seen as trumped-up charges exactly 20 years ago.