SEVERAL MONTHS before he was killed in a plane crash in August 1988, Pakistani military strongman General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, who ruled the country with an iron hand for 11 years, reportedly complained to a small gathering of investors that he didn't understand their mind-set. "If only you guys had invested ten years ago, you all would have had spectacular returns," Zia chided.

"Sir," one of the investors is said to have responded, "if we had known you would be around for ten years, we would have indeed invested. We believed you when you said you were just an interim president."

Investors, and Pakistani citizens, might be forgiven for adopting a similar refrain today. Pakistan's leader, General Pervez Musharraf, has held power for four years following his ouster of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup in October 1999. Since then he has stabilized a revolving-door government, tackled endemic...