Pakistan is today in the grip of several, often countervailing, conflicts which are likely to keep the country destabilized for months to come and making the country a cause for worry for the world community.

The most visible, and identifiable, conflict is the open confrontation between the higher judiciary and the political establishment. The Supreme Court's decision to demote 54 government officers was the latest in a series of judicial pronouncements that clearly undermined, and in fact questioned, the authority of the elected government. These officers were promoted by Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gillani some seven months back.