Pakistan is in a position to change the world.
Nestled between theocratic Iran, communist China, war-torn Afghanistan, and their nemesis India, Pakistan's geography is a curse that also makes it one of the most pivotal nations on Earth.
Among other things, Pakistan is one of the 10 most corrupt nations in the world, has a large rural and illiterate population, is the widely speculated home of Osama Bin Laden, is one of the world's more likely nuclear flashpoints, and has been known in the past to share its nuclear capabilities with the likes of North Korea and Iran.
And that is why it is somewhat unsettling that Pakistan is so important in world events. For it is also one of the allies the United States leans most heavily on in the war against the Taliban.
In the dying weeks and months of 2007, the events in Pakistan grabbed international headlines, providing a glimpse into its politically tumultuous situation.
Musharraf Losing Legitimacy
General Pervez Musharraf, who came to power in a military coup in 1999, has seen a steady decline in legitimacy. When he first came to power, the military leader promised to clean up the nation's corrupt institutions and help instill more liberal democratic practices. He also took steps towards a peace with India and began cooperating with the United States in the war in Afghanistan.
It was enough for the United States to extend hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Pakistan, both militarily and otherwise.
Yet instead of increasing transparency in the country, Musharraf's policies have made many political institutions less independent, and he has fired judges for insufficient loyalty to him. In November, he fired the Chief Justice and declared a state of martial law, prompting protests across the country against the military dictatorship.
And although Musharraf has cooperated in sending his army to the border region to fight the Taliban, he also appeals to Islamic conservatives friendly to the Taliban, leading to a strengthening of extremist sentiment and sympathy for America's enemies.
Pakistan has posted impressive growth in recent years, yet its rural areas have been left behind. There, where most of the population is illiterate and many live in poverty, political corruption and neglect give rise to unrest and instability.
At the border with Afghanistan, the United States enlists the help of the Pakistani army, which is charged with the task of fighting exiled Taliban soldiers who have been driven out of Afghanistan to the north. At the same time, however, the country is a primary training ground for jihadists.
Elections Only a Partial Solution
The federal elections, initially scheduled for Jan. 8, are not going to provide a quick fix to any of Pakistan's paradoxical problems, but could still help usher in a greater appreciation for democracy.
The Pakistan Peoples Party, or PPP, which was led by Benazir Bhutto, was comparatively secular and, in spite of its own corruption-plagued record, represented more democratic ambitions.
"Civilian control is better," says PPP USA's Ali Nawaz Memon. "Democracy is the way to do it," continues Memon, a strong supporter of Bhutto who spoke with her only three days before her assassination. Memon, like many others, sees a lack of economic development in the rural regions as one of the major problems facing Pakistan, and one that foments extremist sentiment.
Sindh Province, where both he and Bhutto grew up, has seen very little economic development. "For basic needs such as education and water, they were counting on Bhutto," he says.
After Bhutto was assassinated last week, Musharraf's party blamed her death on the Taliban. Many, however, blamed Musharraf's security forces or other political opponents within the country, including possibly the Pakistan Muslim League led by Nawaz Sharif.
In December the U.S. government withheld $50 million in aid to Pakistan, and is now considering steeper measures.
But while the assassination could serve as a political coup for Bhutto's opponents—her party is now led by her less popular husband and 19-year-old son—it may also serve to heighten Pakistani sympathies and strengthen their resolve to install a more functional democracy that better represents the will of a torn and fragmented population.
And that would be good news both for the people of Pakistan and the world.
With additional reporting by Court Pearman in Washington, D.C.
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