PAKISTAN’S TENUOUS POLITICAL and security situation just got a whole lot worse. After days of rumors that President Pervez Musharraf would impose a state of emergency in the violence-wracked country, Musharraf followed through on Saturday in a move that is likely to plunge the county into further political turmoil and provide an opening for the Taliban and al Qaeda to consolidate their gains in Pakistan’s northwest tribal areas.

In what Pakistan’s English language news organization Dawn called “General Musharraf’s Second Coup,” Musharraf deployed units of the paramilitary Rangers throughout the capital on Saturday just prior to declaring the state of emergency. The constitution was suspended and replaced by a Provisional Constitutional Order. In an attempt to control the flow of information, communications inside Islamabad were shut down–telephone service was interrupted, cable stations, and news organizations were ordered off the air.