In any case, the situation in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state of 180m people, looks dire.

ECONOMIST: Pakistan and America

Foreigners looking nervously at this nuclear-armed state wonder whether militants who murder ministers might one day take over the government.

ECONOMIST: Another political assassination in Pakistan

And today, this weakened leader is presiding over a tinderbox that threatens to engulf the nuclear-armed state and its neighborhood.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Pakistani nightmare