Pak, a Molotov cocktail waiting to explode, says expert

Islamabad, Apr.10 (ANI): Pakistan seems like a Molotov cocktail waiting to explode. It is a country so busy quarrelling, that it is failing to solve its problems, claims David Ignatius, the co-host of PostGlobal, an online discussion of international issues.

Their ruling elite bickers over politics, while out on the streets Taliban insurgents step up their suicide attacks. Its military plays the role of national conciliator, but worries about Muslim revolutionaries in its own ranks. Its historic friend and benefactor, the United States, is facing huge public criticism for allowing unmanned drones to cruise over the western frontier assassinating Taliban militants by remote control.

A hint of Pakistan's troubles came soon after Holbrooke and Mullen arrived here Monday night. Anne Patterson, the highly regarded U.S. ambassador, had assembled some of the nation's political elite to welcome the visiting Americans. During a question-and-answer session, a shouting match erupted between a prominent backer of President Asif Ali Zardari and a supporter of dissident Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry.

The next morning brought fresh evidence of the dangers facing Pakistan. Holbrooke and Mullen met a group of young tribal leaders who had traveled, at great personal risk, from Waziristan and other frontier areas. Some were dressed in the colorful turbans of the frontier; others in Western clothes. If Taliban leaders back home knew they were meeting with Obama's special envoy and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, they could be killed, the Washington Post article by Ignatius says.

If there's a positive sign in all this chaos, it's that the Pakistani army isn't intervening to clean up the mess. Chief of Army Staff, General Kiyani seems to understand that the route to stability isn't through another army coup, but by making this unruly democracy work before it's too late. (ANI)