A supporter of former premier Nawaz Sharif gestures as he jumps over burning tires during a protest in Lahore on March 2, 2009, after a court last month barred the main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif from running for office. Political turmoil in Pakistan after a court banned the most popular opposition leader running for public office could make the stagnant economy even more dependent on US aid and IMF bailouts. Thousands of supporters of Nawaz Sharif have rallied across the nuclear-armed country, with mobs setting cars ablaze and clashing with police in the biggest protests against the rule of President Asif Ali Zardari. (Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images)
Relatedly, see the Atlantic Council's dire warning about the future of Pakistan:
The time horizon to get aid to Pakistan so it can begin the job of turning around its economy and polity is months not years. Pakistan requires a great deal more assistance than it currently getting if it is to succeed and the principal source of that assistance must be the United States.
--Michael Crowley