With former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif winning last week's elections, the future of the country remains unclear.
On the one hand, Sharif's succession to power will mark the rare democratic transfer of power in Pakistan. Furthermore, Sharif ran a campaign promising economic revitalization in a country desperate for electricity and the resources to rebuild a struggling (possibly crumbling) economy. Sharif's election also raises the specter of military détente and improved relations with India.
On the other hand, violent militant attacks continue to plague Pakistan. On election day alone, more than 30 people were killed and more than 200 wounded by militant bombings and attacks. Then, on the eve of a run-off election in her district, the vice president of the Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI, the party headed by former cricket player/celebrity Imran Khan), was murdered execution-style. The idea of a major party's second-in-command being brutally murdered would be almost unfathomable in western democracies, yet it barely registers as a major news item. The brazenness of such an attack on a party leader, moreover, may be a more ominous sign of Pakistan's stability than the scattered violence.
Incoming PM Sharif has a lot on his plate, yet one can only hope that a focus on economic revitalization will help promote stability in the country and the region at large. Economic revitalization is not and should not be a separate issue from Indian relations; indeed, India appears ready to engage in cross-border transmission and pipeline projects that would go a long way toward easing Pakistan's crippling energy problems. Given the large stakes, Mr. Sharif would do well to move swiftly.
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