As Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's grip on power slips, a difficult question looms for the Bush administration: Could the "free and fair" elections the United States is demanding lead to a government that would undermine US efforts to fight terroristsin SouthAsia?

US officials repeatedly have urged Musharraf, a general who overthrew the elected government in a 1999 coup, to restore democracy. But the emphasis faded after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, when Musharraf became a strong ally in the hunt for extremists and was seen as a source of stability in a volatile, nuclear-armed country and region.

Now, as religious groups, lawyers, judges, journalists and exiled opposition leaders clamour for Musharraf to go, anything other than free elections in coming months might throw Pakistan into deeper turmoil.

Musharraf's many opponents fear he will rig the elections to cling to

power. The United States still praises the general and has contributed billions of dollars in military aid. The No 2 US diplomat, John Negroponte, plans to travel to Pakistan next week for talks with Musharraf.

In a Voice of America broadcast aired in Pakistan on Friday, Defence Secretary Robert Gates expressed US appreciation for the cooperation of Pakistan's armed forces in US anti-terror operations.

Although calls for democracy in Pakistan continue to come from Washington, there is uncertainty that free elections would establish a stable, US-friendly government willing to fight terrorists thought to be regrouping along the border with Afghanistan.

President Bush began his second term saying democracy topped his foreign policy agenda. That commitment has been challenged because of US support for authoritarian rulers considered important to American interests. The White House also shunned Hamas, the Palestinian group that won democratic elections in 2006

but is considered a terrorist group by the United States.

In much of the world, Bush is not seen as a champion of democracy.

A recent report by Congress' independent research service notes that some in Pakistan appear to view US support for Musharraf "as being an impediment to, rather than facilitator of, the process of democratisation."

Robert Hathaway, of the Woodrow Wilson Centre for Scholars, said the United States has "again and again given Musharraf the benefit of the doubt in a way that has encouraged this perception that, notwithstanding our nice words, we really don't care about Pakistani democracy."

As he seeks a new five-year presidential term from lawmakers between Sept 15 and Oct 15, Musharraf faces the most serious threat to his eight-year rule. He has seen his authority wane since a botched attempt in March to fire the country's top judge triggered protests and widespread calls for an end to military rule.