An editorial in the L.A. Times lauds Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s decision to resign earlier this week, but questions whether Asif Ali Zardari or Nawaz Sharif have “the expertise to cope with the country’s most daunting challenges — runaway inflation, religious extremism and ongoing conflict with India.”  Despite this, the editorial remains hopeful. “Democracy can and will work even in parts of the world where so far it has seemed a dismal failure. All it takes is a little patience; Pakistan’s people and army just need to provide it.”

On the other hand, Syed Saleem Shahzad at Asia Times Online reports on yesterday’s Taliban attacks in Afghanistan, claiming that the Taliban seized upon Musharraf’s resignation and the power vacuum it created in the country. Pakistan “is clearly a government of disunity, destined to endless feuding and paralysis - a situation militants will exploit to the full, as they have since Musharraf shed his uniform last November.”

Likewise, William B. Milam in the Daily Times (Pakistan) compares Musharraf’s resignation to the ending of Casalanca, where the key players made sacrifices to a “greater good.” Miliam, however, “doubts it will be sufficient for Pakistan to overcome its existential crisis.”

Meanwhile, Peter Wonacott and Zahid Hussain in the Wall Street Journal reports that Pakistan’s civilian government  hit a snag after the PPP asked to review the issue of restoring the judges dismissed by Musharraf.  Xenia Dormandy, a South Asia scholar at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government predicts that the infighting will worsen. “I’d be stunned if the current coalition lasted to next fall.”