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Colonial heritage explains why Pakistan’s political practices after partition have been so different from those of the Indian Union. Even though the military is omnipresent, it does not always oppose democratisation, as Western countries believe. It is Islamization and the consequences of the Afghan wars which are Pakistani’s current major problems. As it has just been shown in the case of the last parliamentary elections, Pakistan still has some democratic resilience.Gilbert Étienneis honorary professor of economy of developement at the Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales and the Institut d'études du développement (Geneva). He has written, among other works: Chine-Inde. La grande compétition (Paris, Dunod, 2007).