ISLAMABAD -- Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler, is eager to lament the breakdown of past Pakistani governments in justifying his own assumption of wide-ranging political authority ahead of elections in October.
The outcome of those elections will be important for the stability of Pakistan, a country whose possession of nuclear weapons continues to arouse international security concerns amid the dangerous military standoff with neighboring India.
Pakistan's decision to join the U.S.-led war on terror following the Sept. 11 attacks has prompted fresh international interest in its future outlook. Many Pakistan-watchers are eager to know whether the country is about to enter a periodic crisis of the type it has endured for years.