Pakistan has taken an important leap towards generating a democratic order.
Amid many incidents of violence and bloodshed aimed at thwarting the parliamentary elections, Pakistanis have voted for a democratic transition from one civilian government to another -- the first since the creation of Pakistan in 1947.
But will it deliver a stable and effective government capable of curing Pakistan's deep economic, social and security problems and foreign policy dilemmas while reining in the military and the Inter-Services Intelligence?
The election results are not as decisive as analysts have indicated. The Muslim League of Nawaz Sharif has won the largest number of seats, and will have no difficulty securing a simple majority, with support from a number of independents and smaller parties in the National Assembly.
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But to lead a stable, effective government and adopt structural reforms, Sharif would need a very solid parliamentary majority. The best option would be to enlist support from Imran Khan's Tareek-i-Insaf (PTI) and President Asif Zardari's Pakistan People's Party as part of building a national consensus. Yet it is this consensus that has been lacking among Pakistan's political elite.
Sharif and Zardari have been bitter rivals during the life of the last PPP-led parliament. Khan represents the aspirations of the young generation of Pakistanis. This puts him at odds with Sharif, who in many ways is tied to the "old guard" Punjabi majority.
Whatever the outcome, Sharif is likely to lead a very uneasy government. He cannot expect to have the kind of parliamentary support that could enable him to address effectively Pakistan's economic and security ills, divisions and endemic corruption.
Ideologically, he stands a better chance of success than the secularist PPP-led government did in seeking a settlement with the Pakistani Taliban to rein in violence. But it is by no means assured.
To generate the stability and security that is a prerequisite for tackling all other problems, Sharif would need the support of Khan, whose party has emerged as the biggest electoral winner in Pakhtunkhwa province, where the Pakistan Taliban has its roots and the Afghan Taliban and their affiliates have safe havens.
Beyond this, he would require the solid backing and loyalty of the military and ISI. Many analysts believe these forces have been instrumental in keeping Pakistan's disparate national groups together, but at the cost of undermining the necessary conditions for shaping a democratic and prosperous country.
The military and ISI boast a pervasive share in the political, economic and cultural life of Pakistan and control its nuclear arsenals. They also have enormous influence in the conduct of Pakistan's foreign policy, especially in relation to India and Afghanistan.
As well as being confronted with a growing Taliban militancy of its own, Pakistan has played a critical part in supporting the Afghan Taliban insurgency, seriously undermining the efforts of the US and its allies to stabilise Afghanistan.
The Pakistani military and security apparatus have had a hand in both. They originally nurtured the two developments as foreign policy tools for wider regional ambitions against India. Although they have grown weary of the Pakistani Taliban, they still appear determined to leverage the political landscape in post-2014 Afghanistan, when most of the US and NATO troops have withdrawn from the country, according to Pakistan's geopolitical preferences.
How a Sharif-led government could tame the military and ISI to act within a democratic framework and wrest from them control of Pakistan's Afghanistan and India policies will be a major challenge. In Turkey, the ruling moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party has been largely successful in this respect.
However, it took more than a decade to reach this goal. Given Pakistan's myriad domestic problems and foreign policy complications, the task of limiting the political space for the military and ISI is not going to be easy at all.
Another critical issue is relations with the US, which have been strained over the latter's unpopular drone operations. Sharif has already called for better relations with India, Afghanistan and the US, but it is not something that could be accomplished easily, given the depth of issues involved in these relations.
Even so, Pakistanis deserve to be applauded for holding the parliamentary elections, as problematic as they may have been.
A Sharif-led government should be widely supported by the international community to bring order to Pakistan. Sharif has been prime minister twice before (1990-1993 and 1997-1999). The first time he was dismissed on corruption charges and the second time he was overthrown by General Pervez Musharraf and forced into exile.
He has the experience and potential the third time round to be more effective.
