Pakistan's transition needs U.S. help

WASHINGTON, July 24 (UPI) -- Washington is tasked with helping Islamabad transition from a military dictatorship to a civilian democracy without jihadist interference, scholars say.

With the era of general-turned-President Pervez Musharraf complete, Islamabad must tackle the challenge of transferring the centers of power to civilian hands.

But its challenges are daunting as the army is both the largest landholder in the country and the director of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency, writes Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer and senior fellow at The Brookings Institution.

Riedel, writing in The National Interest, notes the army generals are reluctant to give up power, while civilian authorities are divided along partisan and regional lives, devoting more of their time to political bickering than governing the country.

Meanwhile, the national economy is in the hands of "almost-feudal landlords" while the national educational and judicial systems continue to falter.

Riedel says Pakistan is at the cusp of major changes, but those changes could be radical without the help of the American government.

"If we don't help Pakistan now, we may have to deal with a jihadist Pakistan later," he writes. "That should focus our attention."