ISLAMABAD -- The first anniversary this month of the restoration of Pakistan's democracy following the three years of military rule has brought little joy over the future prospects of the South Asian nuclear-armed state.
While Pakistan's leaders, who are commended by the Bush administration for supporting the war on terror, may often predict the arrival of a new democratic era, their assessments increasingly appear to be out of sync with reality.
Just a year after last October's elections, which ushered in a new Parliament and a civilian government, it is clear that Pakistan has failed to break the hold by some of its most tainted politicians of the past as they have returned to high positions of influence.