Instability in the neighborhood

Over the last few days, the fledgling democracy in Pakistan has come under severe stress. By banning Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif and imposing Governor’s rule in Punjab, President Zardari has weakened democracy. Not surprisingly, the Sharif brothers are spearheading a mass movement that seems to be spreading.

The situation is a double whammy. On the one hand, the Taliban is seen to be making serious inroads into Pakistan across the Afghan border. Parts of he Swat Valley are already believed to be under Taliban control. On the other hand, the fragile deomocracy is on the verge of collapse. The Army Chief, Gen. Kiyani, has already spoken to President Zardari and virtually served him an ultimatum: bring the country back to order quickly or else…

The bigger threat arising from an unstable Pakistan is the effect this is likely to have not just on India, but also on the world. The Afghanistan-Pakistan border has repeatedly been called out as the hotbed of all terrorist activities. Imagine the conflagration that this tinderbox can cause by an ill-advised terror strike anywhere on earth.

India is busy with her own elections and the current government is a “lame duck” at best. Of course, the reality of coalition politics also means that even if a full-fledged government were in power, there is little that it could have done. It is high time that governments that have some leverage in Pakistan step in and prevent the country from returning to military rule. Should that happen, the whole world will be at even greater risk.