The most dangerous nation in the world? A nuclear-armed U.S. ally, Pakistan has been in turmoil for months: Why Washington, and the world, are so worried about what lies ahead.

• Author: Smith, Patricia
• Position: INTERNATIONAL

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As one crisis after another has gripped Pakistan in the last few months violent protests against the government, martial law, suicide bombings, the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the rioting that followed her death--the United States and the world have been watching with trepidation.

Pakistan is not just another developing nation: It's the second-largest Muslim country in the world (after Indonesia), and a nuclear-armed U.S. ally at the center of a troubled region. It's surrounded not only by China and Iran, but also by predominantly Hindu India, with which it has fought several wars in the last 60 years; and most significantly, Afghanistan, where 26,000 U.S. troops are stationed. The largely uncontrolled border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan is rife with Islamic radicals and terrorists, including, it is believed, Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who masterminded the 9/11 attacks.

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Indeed, with Pakistan considered the front line in the war against terrorism, it's no wonder that Senator Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has called Pakistan "the single most dangerous nation in the world."

The forecast for what lies ahead is cloudy at best. Parliamentary elections, postponed after Bhutto's death, are scheduled for February 18. President Pervez Musharraf, the former head of the Army who took power in a military coup in 1999, promises that the elections will be fair, but he clearly wants to remain in power, and some doubt his intentions.

"The country can't stand another controversial election," says Ahsan Iqbal, a spokesman for one of the opposition parties. "Our fear is, after Benazir Bhutto's death, a controversial election will be a recipe for disaster."

And disaster in Pakistan would have implications far beyond its borders. Of particular concern is who controls the nation's nuclear arsenal.

"This is a nuclear-armed country," explains Teresita Schaffer of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Washington, D.G. "It's a country that's potentially a very important sanctuary for terrorists bent on making trouble elsewhere. And it's a country that's been engaged in a long-standing nuclear arms race with its neighbor, India."

Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. has considered Pakistan a key ally in the war against terrorism. But Washington has been frustrated by President Musharraf's failure to make more progress...