In a stark example of how drastically a situation can change in just one week, it seems that Pakistan is once again teetering on the brink.

This past week has brought two shocks which threaten to further destabilize Pakistan’s already-tenuous politics: the brutal assassination of Salman Taseer in Islamabad and the sudden departure of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) from the governing PPP coalition. Both incidents point to a spiral of political destabilization over the next few months as the forces of Islamic fundamentalism, a lack of essential services, and widespread hopelessness push up against political institutions that are increasingly fragile.