IN THE AFTERMATH of Benazir Bhutto's murder, domestic power struggles are shaping, or distorting, debates about how she was killed, what becomes of her Pakistan People's Party, and when to hold pending elections. Given Pakistan's geopolitical importance, and the likelihood that any overt American meddling in those power struggles will exacerbate resentment of the United States, the Bush administration must avoid any temptation to play the puppeteer in Pakistan.
Americans cannot be indifferent to what is going on in Pakistan, or about control of its nuclear weapons. In the past, the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, A. Q. Khan, peddled nuclear technology and hardware to Iran, North Korea, and Libya. Pakistan's military establishment had to know about Khan's proliferation activities. Today, Pakistan is the likeliest source of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of undeterrable extremists.
Precisely because so much is at stake, however, President Bush must suppress the impulse to strike a hectoring pose. Bush's past backing for President Pervez Musharraf only made Musharraf more unpopular, and America more resented.
Because of the turmoil ensuing from Bhutto's murder, European election monitors had been saying they could not do their job properly if the elections were held on the original date of Jan. 8. Arguments about when to hold the elections have been drenched in partisan gamesmanship; leaders of the biggest parties changed their positions more than once, as they calculated what would best serve their political interests.
The less Bush says now about the delayed parliamentary elections, the better. As long as those elections are held when the government has said they will be held, and as long as they are free and fair, there should be no quibbling or criticism from Washington. Pakistan is not a protectorate of the United States.
As with the election date, the dynastic transfer of leadership in Bhutto's party to her husband and son is a domestic issue for which Pakistanis do not need American advice.
But calls for an independent investigation of Bhutto's assassination do involve the international community. Musharraf's government was foolish to put out implausible denials that Bhutto was shot. It did so out of fear it would be accused of failing to provide proper security. But it was Bhutto's husband, the notoriously corrupt Asif Ali Zardari, who refused an autopsy.
America could win points for goodwill if it supported an international investigation, showing it is more attached to the rule of law than to Musharraf. But the investigation will not bring Bhutto back, nor resolve Pakistan's domestic conflicts, nor eliminate the threat from religious extremists. Pakistanis will have to do those things themselves.
