Telegraph : A slim chance, but it's all Pakistan has

A slim chance, but it's all Pakistan has

October 21, 2007

The articles we publish from Imran Khan and his former wife Jemima are extremely sceptical of the ability of Benazir Bhutto to do anything except worsen an already alarming political situation in Pakistan.

They remind us that there are a number of outstanding charges against Ms Bhutto that, although she has denied them, have never been satisfactorily refuted. But whatever Ms Bhutto's personal merits, the deal she has struck with President Musharraf offers at least the hope that the nightmare scenario for that country will be averted.

That nightmare is a fundamentalist takeover, which would be truly terrifying. Pakistan has nuclear bombs: in the hands of an Islamist government, they constitute a terrifying threat.
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Western diplomacy is rightly focused on attempting to minimise the chances that the nightmare ever becomes a reality. That is why Ms Bhutto and her deal with President Musharraf is so important: an alliance between the two of them may be the best hope for ensuring that Pakistan remains a Western ally.

It may also be the best hope Pakistan has of becoming a prosperous democracy. Pakistan has watched its recently-liberalised neighbour, India, blossom economically, while it has stagnated, with most of its population denied any chance of improvement thanks to the country's under-developed economy.

Politics is at the root of much of the poverty. Corruption remains endemic among government officials. State-funded education is a disaster, with thousands of teachers who never teach collecting salaries, and hundreds of school buildings being left derelict.

If many Pakistanis are now sending their children to the madrassa schools that teach an aggressively Islamist message, it is because that is all there is.

Benazir Bhutto and President Musharraf deserve the chance to begin the long process of repairing civil society in Pakistan. The safety of the West may depend on their success.