Is Pakistan at risk of imploding?

Forget poor Bob Wolmer. I wouldn't want to be the Pakistani Tourism Minister. Sadaqat Jan of Associated Press reports

"...Islamic clerics at a radical mosque in Pakistan's capital have demanded the tourism minister be fired for hugging a foreign man, saying she committed a 'great sin'."

Fresh from a charity parachute jump in France last month to raise money for victims of the devastating October, 2005 earthquake in Pakistan the Minister made the gaff of hugging her tandem instructor after the jump. Well half hug half pat really but completely unforgivable--apparently.

The Mullah's were so concerned they established their own court, declared a fatwa and have threatened to stage suicide attacks if authorities try to raid the mosque. They are devoted.

Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have indicated they will take strict measures to enforce the law but I find myself wondering how? Previous attempts a few months back to crack down on hard line extremists and unlawful mosques resulted in a riot of Kalashnikov waving students and an immediate back down including a commitment by Musharraf to rebuild any damaged illegal mosques. Musharraf laid one of the foundation stones by himself according to Pervez Hoodbhoy a teacher at Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad.

Although Musharraf is busy thinning out the ranks of the military of hard line Islamists according to Pervez one wonders whether the ongoing Iraq crisis combined with the Iran pressures and the Taliban crack-down have brought Pakistani militant Islamism to the boil.

Of course all of this pales into insignificance to the impending military judicial showdown over the sacking of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on his decision regarding the privatization of a government steel mill as well as the arrests and disappearances of over 150 people attributed to the Musharraf government.

This might all come to a head on April 13 when the sacked Chief Justice appears before the Supreme Judicial Council. Some are intimating it might unravel the entire Musharraf government with both lawyers, currently boycotting the judicial system, as well as political parties expected to protest on mass.

Perhaps now might be a good time for Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov to postpone his 3 day visit to Pakistan.