Musharraf knows better than anyone else, that political power in Pakistan grows out of the barrel of a gun.Things would become infinitely more complicated for him, if he became internationally isolated and lost thesupport of the Americans. The Americans, in turn, do not want him to get embroiled in tensions with India, butrather to focus his attention on stabilizing the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, where around 70,000 Pakistanitroops are now deployed, fighting remnants of the Al Qaeda and its supporters.
Adding to Musharraf's complications is the fact that his favourite jihadis from groups like the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) are now targeting him personally. The other hot Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) favourite, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is now a house divided, with the leadership of Hafiz Mohammed Saeed being called into question and a senior leader, Maulana Ibrahim Salfi, assassinated in broad daylight.