Pakistan politics, which seldom seems far from the boil, is erupting even further with the return of Benazir Bhutto. After a devastating suicide blast killed over 100 of her followers in her return motorcade on October 19, there was yet another apparent assassination attempt on President Pervez Musharraf. Though the would-be assassin did not get within a mile of Mr. Musharraf's office on a military compound in Rawalpindi, his detonation nonetheless served as a reminder of the Pakistani regime's fragility.

The imposition of emergency rule last Saturday was the latest indication of the state of the nation led by General Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup. The Americans, who regard the general as a crucial ally against al-Qaida in Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan, carefully orchestrated an arranged political marriage, as it were, between Mr. Musharraf and Mrs. Bhutto. Former foes, the two have agreed to bury their differences and forge some kind of partnership, ahead of next year's parliamentary elections.

Mrs. Bhutto's dowry was to end her objection to Mr. Musharraf's recent, contested election as president. Mr. Musharraf's price was to use his authority to lift corruption charges against Mrs. Bhutto, enabling her to end her exile and return to Pakistan.

The emergency declaration has evoked strong disapproval from both the United States and Britain, as it is likely to mean that the parliamentary elections expected in January will be put off.

Pakistanis who want to create a more democratic country have been shaken by the 'marriage'. Not only do they dislike it, but they also recognise how deeply unpopular it will prove to be in many quarters. The large and growing share of the Pakistani population, which believes its country has become too pro-American, will become ever more receptive to the lures of the Islamists.

And the Islamists, the dreaded threat that unites the Americans to Mr. Musharraf's increasingly shaky regime, show no sign of losing ground just now. It appears that in the areas of Pakistan that border Afghanistan, they are operating with more freedom than ever. In Afghanistan itself, the epicentre of the original struggle, reports suggest that the Taliban - their ranks swelled by committed foreigners - are advancing northwards once more.

Within Pakistan, the attacks on both Mrs. Bhutto and Mr. Musharraf suggest increased boldness by Islamists. Though the purpose of the attack on Mrs. Bhutto's motorcade remains unclear, she immediately blamed Islamist elements allied to the country's powerful intelligence service Mrs. Bhutto may have political interest in making this claim - she probably would have made it regardless of who carried out the attack - it nonetheless has a ring of plausibility to it.

Musharraf's apparent retreat from a democratic path is troubling in the context of his role as the Americans see him in the war on terror; but his inability to prevent would-be assassins operating with considerable latitude is the most troubling thought of all.

It is worth remembering that Pakistan is a country with a nuclear bomb, simmering with Islamism, boiling with anti-Americanism. The Bhutto-Musharraf political marriage is the thin, remaining thread which joins it to the American war on terror. At a moment's notice, it could snap.