Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, appears to face a tricky dilemma in deciding how far to co-operate with Washington's war on terrorism. If he is too accommodating to US demands, the argument runs, he will antagonise the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan, destabilise the region, and risk a dangerous backlash from Muslim groups within Pakistan. But if he is too resistant to Washington's requests, then he may only succeed in leading his country further into the political wilderness.

Yet this is something of an illusory dilemma. Gen Musharraf would be wise to follow Washington's lead because it would be in the overwhelming interests of his country.

The threat of international terrorism endangers Pakistan more than any other country. It makes compelling sense for Islamabad to join the fight against it. The Pakistani people desperately crave the security and stability needed to bolster their fragile economy. Pakistan should commit itself fully to the international coalition now trying to stamp out the terrorist scourge.

It may be Pakistan's curse to live next door to Afghanistan, but it does have some influence. With 2m Afghan refugees on its soil, Pakistan may have no option but to treat with the Taliban. But the presence of Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan has only brought misery to the people of that tragic country and earned international opprobrium.

Pakistan should be praised for trying to persuade the Taliban to expel him. But Gen Musharraf should take further steps to combat militants in his own country.

There are strong suspicions that Pakistani groups are linked to bin Laden. Their activities must be stopped. Islamabad should also pursue its stated aim of disarming its own population, bringing order to lawless parts of the land, and cracking down on other terrorist groups. The Indian government alleges that Pakistan has encouraged militants seeking to destabilise Kashmir. Gen Musharraf should remove all grounds for such accusations and seek to revive the stalled peace process with India.

Allowing foreign powers temporary access to Pakistan's military bases to strike at bin Laden - should it be proved that he was involved in the terrorist attacks on the US - would be controversial. But even here Pakistan should agree, provided there is international support for such action and the strikes are solely directed at terrorist targets.

There would undoubtedly be risks to Pakistan in supporting such a policy. But the risks of leaving a terrorist-infested Afghanistan to fester are greater still.