India's leadership often accuses Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's self-appointed president, of duplicity. General Musharraf might have shown courage in pledging to take on the forces of Islamic radicalism, they concede. But, in practice, his heart is still with the "jihadi" groups.

As one of the instigators of Pakistan's unsuccessful Kargil war with India in 1999, Gen Musharraf has arguably given New Delhi's leaders strong grounds for mistrust. But it would be wrong to confuse the general's evident nationalism with any liking for Islamism.

In his one-hour televised broadcast to the nation on January 12, Gen Musharraf described Pakistan's religious groups as hypocrites "more concerned with protecting their limousines and comfortable houses" than fulfilling their "social obligations towards fellow human beings".

In what is already seen as a watershed for Pakistan, Gen Musharraf also pledged to close down the "state-within-a-state" operated by home-grown militant groups and turn Pakistan into a "modern and progressive" state.

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Is Gen Musharraf sincere in these aims? And will he succeed? Everything about Gen Musharraf's background indicates a distaste for the unruly forces of Islamic radicalism. On taking power in a bloodless coup in October 1999, Gen Musharraf stated that one of his aims was to curb the forces of Islamic extremism.

Unlike many of his predecessors, the whisky-drinking general - only the second "mohajir", or immigrant from India, to head Pakistan's army - was happy to be portrayed as westernised and unpious.

Quite deliberately, Pakistan's new leader chose to be photographed with his scarf-less wife holding their pet dogs - breaking two taboos in a conservative Muslim society. He also championed the cause of female education, pointing out that his mother has achieved a masters degree.

More importantly, Gen Musharraf embarked upon reform of the country's madrassas, or religious schools, and took steps to curb the power of domestic militant groups, including, last August, banning two sectarian Muslim groups.

"It is quite wrong to think that Gen Musharraf has recently been forced into the crackdown on militant groups by the US," said Khalid Mahmud, of the Institute of Regional Studies in Islamabad. "September 11 accelerated the crackdown, but it was already underway."

But the 59-year-old general, who lists Kemal Ataturk, Turkey's secular founding father, as his favourite personality, also faces obstacles in achieving his goals. First, he faces the delicate task of disentangling the Islamic jihadi groups from the Kashmir "freedom struggle" - an indispensable element of Pakistani nationalism.

Although Gen Musharraf has told India he will put a stop to the infiltration of militants across the line of control that divides the disputed province of Kashmir, he has also pledged continued "moral, political and diplomatic" support for indigenous Kashmiri separatists.

Such a balancing act will be tricky. But no Pakistan leader can afford to abandon the Kashmir cause, say analysts. "Every Pakistani feels Kashmir is in their bones," said Talat Masoud, a retired general. "Gen Musharraf must be careful to show that his policies do not harm Pakistan's claim to Kashmir."

Similarly, Gen Musharraf must find a way of side-lining or directly confronting the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence, Islamabad's equivalent of the CIA, which has long operated hand-in-glove with the alleged terrorist groups.

But Gen Musharraf's greatest challenge may be to restore democracy, which he has promised to do by October. Although his policies appear to have the support of all the mainstream parties, they are tightly regulated and unable to build a broad-based political culture.