Charade:

You have to hand it to Pervez Musharraf. With all the problems the Pakistani president faces at home, he still found time to spend eight days in Europe last week, assuring world leaders everything is fine in his nuclear-armed state. But everything is not fine, and the cracks in his sunny public-relations facade were not hard to see.

Throughout his European tour, Musharraf insisted that he could weather the political turmoil back home and ensure free and fair elections for Parliament on Feb 18.

However, even senior administration officials now admit that there are still “serious distortions” in the Pakistani election process.

Lack of security remains a serious concern as the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban has expanded from the Afghan border to Pakistani cities. Since the political crisis mushroomed last year, Musharraf has worked overtime clinging to power. It’s hard to believe that if he is faced with a tidal wave of popular dissatisfaction, he will let voters choose a Parliament that could one day remove him. If it is rigged, they must hold him accountable. Successfully moving Pakistan from military rule to civilian-run democracy is essential to combating extremism. Musharraf has a major role in making this happen. The United States and its allies must keep reinforcing that message. — The New York Times