Pakistan's military leader Pervez Musharraf has imposed emergency rule in the name of fighting extremists, but the radicals he seems to have in mind are not the ones who carry out suicide bombings. Those arrested or silenced since the order was imposed on Saturday are instead stalwarts of democracy: opposition politicians, judges, lawyers and journalists.
General Musharraf's actions belie his claim to be acting in the interests of the country by taking extreme measures to prevent it from sliding further towards violence and instability. He has, instead, deepened a political crisis over his legitimacy to rule.
It would have been better if he had stepped aside from politics, thereby allowing the opportunity for the democracy he took away by staging a military coup against an elected government eight years ago to take root. Elections scheduled for January could then have been given a blessing through such a move, rather than be jeopardised by orders that forbid free speech, the right of assembly and the rule of law.
Through in effect imposing martial law, whatever hopes Pakistanis had that military rule was about to end have been snatched away.
This is not to deny that Pakistan faces a crisis. Islamists have filled the void created by military misrule and gained support among secular Pakistanis. The bombing of a homecoming rally by former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in Karachi last month, which left more than 130 people dead, amply proves the dangers.
As worrying as the rise of Muslim extremism may be, though, there is a more disturbing trend - the inability of the military and police to fight it. More than 200 soldiers held hostage by pro-Taleban militants in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan since August were freed only yesterday - by the militants, not the authorities.
This extremism was much-cited by General Musharraf in declaring a state of emergency and suspending the constitution. He said that taking rights away from Pakistanis was necessary to save the nation.