A door opens for reform in Pakistan - Part I

Although the weak ruling coalition may not meet the ethical or efficacy standards set by civil society, disagreements among the major political parties centre on fundamental policy issues - including the role of the judiciary and the constitution - and not just positions and favour. Their public disputes are among the most transparent political discussions to which voters have been privy in a very long time.

These domestic issues critically affect the state's fortunes. At least one coalition member, the Awami National Party, recognises the delicate relationships between citizen rights and border security, and came to office with plans to deal with militants sensitively and responsibly. If this pattern can be carried over to more substantial dealings with Afghanistan and India, and if the desire for peace can lead public opinion and the army toward a more liberal stance on Kashmir, then this fragile government might - unexpectedly, counter-intuitively, no doubt inelegantly - provide the region an opportunity to recast its relationships.

For this to happen, Pakistan will finally have to recognise that cross-border belligerence, on its east and west, cannot overcome its own inequality and poor governance. That is a hard lesson to learn, and one that will stick only if India, Afghanistan and the US take up the challenges it implies: to take a long, serious view of Pakistan's governance and the possibilities it might one day offer the region. This means helping Pakistan to democratise Musharraf's personalised command structure and the electoral system he designed to thwart popular politics, working with parliamentarians with whom they may not agree, and ensuring that Pakistan's government can recognise and represent its own interests, even when they may diverge from those of their allies and neighbours.

The betting in Pakistan is that the coalition won't last long enough to tackle the economy, let alone the broad problems of disaffection and militancy. That may be. But wait and see won't work for long: for everyone's sake, Pakistan's fledgling government needs help now.