Pakistan and democracy were like eternally
star-crossed lovers for a long time, separated after brief reunions by
unregenerate relatives. Since 2008, however, civilian governments have been the
rule, however constrained by the military which is in a sort of unspoken
alliance with a section of Islamist extremists. This time, too, the government
will be civilian, though cricket icon Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-I-Insaf’s
victory shows the military’s heavy hand. It remains to be seen how