There comes a time in the life of every country when it has to grapple with its destiny. With 40 dead in the recent Karachi clashes, Pakistan is stranded yet again on the cross roads. Diverse forces, consisting of a trinity of extraordinarily heroic individuals, are pushing it into dissimilar paths, each having a final destination that is dream for some and nightmare for others.

The Wayward General

General Pervez Musharraf has drifted from his stated desire to rid Pakistan of corrupt politicians, Islamist extremism, and democracy. According to Transparency International, Pakistan's score at the 2006 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) remains at 2.2, same as it was in 2002, the year of the coup. Again, it was under his watch that Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a conservative Islamic party, acquired power in two provinces for the first time. As for genuine democracy, the percentage of those who voted in the 2002 referendum in favour of Mr. Musharraf for another five-year term of presidency was 98%!

Pakistan's soldier-president had the potential to be a statesman but he has slipped. Each new day of his presidency is a trauma to the nation.

The Uncertain Daughter of the East

Then there is Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan 's most electrifying leader-in-exile and the Islamic world's first democratically elected woman Prime Minister. Her life-portrait is also the story of her nation. Belonging to a privileged feudal family, father was hanged, brothers were killed, husband was jailed, she herself banished. Luckily for her, the allegations of corruption in her prime-ministerial tenures have not dented the charisma. But when it comes time to strike, the lady appears confused and hesitant - contemplating secret deals with Mr. Musharraf; planning conspiracies with fellow-exile and former Prime Minister Mr. Nawaz Sharif.

Mrs. Bhutto should have already been holding rallies in Karachi and Quetta, instead of gracing the seminar halls of New Delhi and Washington DC. No one knows what she want - partnership with the army house or sending the army back to the barracks?

The Case of the Judge