I think all of this is true: popular (and among her constituency, populist) politician; deeply tainted by corruption and political irregularities; loathed by a large section of the Pakistani population too. You, however, have the politicians that you have, and there certainly wasn't (and isn't) a more "national" figure on the Pakistani political scene.

Contrary to the Peters article, however, I'm unconvinced that the Musharraf/military regime has done a very good job (at all) of containing the rise of radical Islamist groups--indeed, in many ways it has worsened the problem.