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Chaos in Pakistan forces Americans to weigh their belief in democracy with concern for security and fear of the unknown.

The government of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan has removed whatever moral legitimacy it had — and it came to power by coup — by shutting down private-sector TV, suspending the constitution, arresting justices of its supreme court and trying to swear in obedient replacements. The American sympathy for democracy and the rule of law puts us on the side of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, 58, who has emerged as the hero of civilized government. Removed from office by Musharraf and placed under house arrest, Chaudhry smuggled out a statement in which he asked the people to stand up for Pakistan's constitution. "Don't be afraid," he said. "God will help us, and the day will come when you'll see the constitution supreme and no dictatorship for a long time."

It is difficult for Americans to relate to such events. Seventy years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt tried to pack the Supreme Court, which is one of the things Musharraf is trying to do. But FDR tried to do it in a constitutional way, and when Congress refused, he gave up on it. Another president, Abraham Lincoln, suspended the right of habeas corpus in order to enforce a military draft, and our current president has weakened that right. But what is happening in Pakistan is outside Americans' experience.

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Supporters of Benazir Bhutto clashed with police in front of parliament Wednesday after she urged party activists into the streets to protest emergency rule, deepening the uncertainty engulfing a Pakistan already shaken by rising Islamic militancy.

Seeking to position herself as the only leader able to unite the country to confront Islamic extremism, the former prime minister toughened her rhetoric against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, but she left open the possibility of resuming talks if he ends the crackdown.

President Bush, meanwhile, told the U.S.-allied general that Pakistan must go through with parliamentary elections that had been planned for January. Bush commented after a senior U.S. official called Musharraf an ``indispensable'' ally in the war against extremist groups.

Thousands of Pakistanis have been jailed or put under house arrest since Musharraf assumed emergency powers Saturday, and Bhutto called on her followers to show their defiance of the clampdown on civil liberties.