I post this reluctantly, for I claim no expertise in international politics, much less in prophesying, but the situation, after the horrific assassination of Benazir Bhutto, seems to border on the catastrophic. On this both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal concur.From the Times editorial:

Benazir Bhutto was a flawed and undeniably courageous leader. Her return to Pakistan two months ago raised hopes that her country might find its way toward democracy and stability. Her assassination on Thursday is yet one more horrifying reminder of how far Pakistan is from both and how close it is to the brink.

And the Journal, in its editorial, refers to a meeting of the editors with Ms Bhutto:

During her meeting with us last summer, Bhutto warned that while the jihadist movement would never have the popular support to win an election in its own right, they had sufficient means at their disposal to "unleash against the population, to rig an election, to kill the army and therefore to make it possible to take over the state." Today those words seem grimly prophetic. And while she was in many ways a flawed figure, her answer to that challenge--a real fight against terrorism that would give jihadists no rest; and a real democracy that would give them no fake grievance--looks to be the only formula by which Pakistan may yet be saved.