Setback for Pakistan

The influential international news magazine The Economist described Pakistan as "the most dangerous place in the world" before elections in February returned the country to democracy. The repudiation of the military regime headed by President Pervez Musharraf led to an agreement between the two major political parties to form a coalition government that held out the promise of political stability. The hope was that a democratic government with popular backing would be better equipped to deal with Islamist extremists and that Pakistan would cease to be the weakest link in the alliance to fight the war against terror.

Yesterday's announcement by Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League, that he is withdrawing his party from the coalition headed by the Pakistan People's Party's Asif Ali Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto, throws Pakistan back into the political instability that has prompted repeated military interventions. Pakistan could again become the most dangerous place in the world if its feuding politicians fail to put the country's interests ahead of party politics.

Mr. Sharif has not broken completely with Mr. Zardari. He said yesterday, in remarks reported by The Associated Press, "We will sit together for the time being, we are not going to sit on the opposition benches for the time being." But he refused to back down on a pledge to reinstate judges who were removed from office by President Musharraf when the Supreme Court reportedly planned to impeach him.

In keeping with the legacy of Ms. Bhutto, who promised to work with President Musharraf, Mr. Zardari has offered a compromise on the reinstatement of judges which would not undermine reconciliation efforts and would not antagonize the military.

Mr. Sharif, who was removed from office as prime minister by Gen. Musharraf, then the army commander, should not allow a personal grudge to influence him in making a decision that will weaken Pakistan. The AP quoted retired Gen. Talat Masood, a respected analyst, as saying that the breakdown in the coalition "makes the political horizon very uncertain. It is a setback for democracy. It is a setback for stability."

Far more worrying is that the feud between Mr. Sharif and President Musharraf will not only undermine a political alliance that held out the promise that Pakistan would at last become a stable democracy, but that it will make the country even more vulnerable to terrorism directed from al-Qaida's safe haven in the lawless tribal area bordering Afghanistan.