Pakistan facing huge challenges at 60

Facing a stark choice between military dictatorship and democracy, Pakistan marked its 60th anniversary weighed down by challenges which threaten the very existence of the nation, analysts said.
Tuesday's low-key anniversary of the creation of Pakistan in 1947 was conducted in the shadow of military ruler Pervez Musharraf's attempts to shore up his crumbling power base in the face of widening discontent.
With political opponents circling and violent Islamic militant groups gathering strength, Musharraf is facing ever-louder demands to step down, call a general election and allow a return to democracy.
The once-cowed judiciary is leading a campaign threatening the president's attempts to stretch his mandate for another five years and keep his political rivals outside the country.
"The choice is whether Pakistan will look to the past or look to the future," said political commentator Najam Sethi.
"The past is one of mishmashed identity, the future is functional democracy.
"We will succumb to political anarchy and economic meltdown if we miss the opportunity to achieve functional democracy," he told AFP.
Security across the country has deteriorated in recent months as Islamic extremists sympathetic to Al-Qaeda have launched attacks on troops in the northwest tribal regions and suicide bombings in major cities.
The nation is still reeling from the aftermath of the bloody two-day siege of Islamabad's Red Mosque which was taken over by armed religious extremists.
Nationwide violence since the July 10-11 siege, including 13 suicide attacks mainly in northwest Pakistan, has left nearly 300 people dead.
Newspapers have highlighted the country's huge defence spending. The failure of the state to provide universal education and health care has also helped to create a vacuum being filled by extremists whose influence is spreading.
The security breakdown has unnerved Musharraf's political allies, who last week urged him to declare a state of emergency.
Musharraf declined, saying he feared it would derail his efforts to turn the country back towards democracy.
He marked Independence Day by urging Pakistanis to participate in "the electoral process" and said elections slated for late this year or early next would be free and fair.
But he failed to give a timetable for the vote, as the Dawn newspaper published a poll showing that 65 percent of urban Pakistanis want Musharraf to quit.
Like other recent opinion polls, the Dawn survey found most respondents believe the military should have no role in politics.
Yet Musharraf has repeatedly let it be known he intends to be re-elected to the presidency by the current assemblies ahead of elections, and he will not give up his role as head of the armed forces.
His defiance appears to only weaken state institutions and focus attention on the failure of military rule to improve security, analysts said.
"The dominance of the military has been extremely detrimental for democracy," said political analyst Talat Masood.
"Democratic institutions are very weak and military rulers mutilated the constitution to the extent that it has lost its sanctity."
He said "Talibanisation" -- the spreading influence of religious extremists -- could not be solved without democratic rule.
"Unless we change the basic structure, the country cannot make progress."
The insecurity and uncertainty has weighed heavily on the economy in recent years. Analysts compared Pakistan's economic development unfavourably with other countries in the region.
"Even late starters like China, Vietnam and India have all gone ahead because we under-utilised our potential," said Sakib Sherani, chief economist in Islamabad with ABN-AMRO bank.
"Our institutional framework is weak, politics and weak governance continue to be a drag on the growth trajectory."