For ten years, Pakistan's President Mohammed Ayub Khan has ruled his country with the firm hand of a field marshal, which he is. Under his version of "basic democracy," Ayub's rule is sustained by indirect elections through a sympathetic electoral college of 120,000 educated Pakistanis. He, in turn, provides Pakistan with political stability and a steadily improving economy. But last week Pakistan's facade of political calm cracked. A would-be assassin took two wild potshots at Ayub. Student riots broke out in half a dozen cities.
And police arrested 141 opposition politicians, including Ayub's chief rival, ex-Foreign Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
The...