i

POLITICAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

DURING BENAZAIR Bhutto SECOND ERA

BY

NIDA IQBAL

Thesis submitted to Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan in the partial

Fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

BS IN PAKISTAN STUDIES

Submitted to
MR. KHALID KHAN
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
GPGC TIMERGARA

DEPARTMENT OF PAKISTAN STUDIES

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
GOVERNMENT POST GRADUATE DEGREE COLLEGE TIMERGARA
SESSION: 2018-2022
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APPROVAL SHEET
The researcher has conducted research thesis on “POLITICAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL
DEVELOPMENT DURING BENAZAIR Bhutto SECOND ERA 1993 to 1996
” in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of degree of BS from Abdul Wali
Khan University Mardan.

External Supervisor: ____________________

Internal Supervisor: ____________________

Chairman: ___________________

Date: ____________________
 iii

DEDICATION
This study is dedicated to my parents who are source of my guidance and
prayers for me and my teachers who thought me and to those who are
striving in the path of ALLAHALMIGHT
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

All accolades go to the Almighty Allah for giving us the fortitude, knowledge, health, and wisdom

to complete our task. Without the financial and spiritual support of our parents, we would not have

been able to finish this mission. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Mr. Khalid Khan,

our supervisor, for guiding us in completing this work. He gave us the motivation and bravery we

needed to follow the rules. Finally, we express our gratitude to the administration of our Post

Graduate Degree College Timergara for providing us with such a unique opportunity to further our

education and serve as leaders of our country.

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Contents
ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................................v
CHAPTER 01................................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................................1
Statement of the Problem...........................................................................................................................2
Objectives of the studies............................................................................................................................2
Research questions.....................................................................................................................................2
Significance of the study............................................................................................................................3
Biography of benazir bhutto and his political career..................................................................................4
Biography of benazir bhutto.......................................................................................................................4
Political career of benazir bhutto................................................................................................................5
Benazir rise into power for second time.....................................................................................................5
Political and constitutional developmen during benazir’s second era........................................................6
The Sabir Shah case...................................................................................................................................7
Public hangings banned..............................................................................................................................9
Implementation of decision to separate the judiciary form the executive...................................................9
The local bodies case...............................................................................................................................10
Wattoo government sacked: lahore high court verdict.............................................................................11
CHAPTER 04..............................................................................................................................................14
JUDICIAL DECISION DURING BENARZIR SECOND TENURE..........................................................14
PPP’s rough handling of superior courts..................................................................................................15
The judges’s judgement...........................................................................................................................17
CHAPTER 05..............................................................................................................................................19
DISMISSAL OF BENAZIR’S GOVERNMENT.........................................................................................19
Corruption................................................................................................................................................19
Law and order situation............................................................................................................................20
Judges case...............................................................................................................................................20
Benazir government dismissed by president Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari.............................................20
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................21
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ABSTRACT
This article is being written to provide a full analysis of Benazir Bhutto's second term. This study's
primary objective is an in-depth examination of the political developments that occurred during
Benazir's second term as Pakistan's prime minister. In 1993, elections for the National Assembly
were conducted. Despite not winning with a clear majority, the Pakistan People Party was
nonetheless able to create a government. The PML-N under Nawaz Sharif was unable to form the
government because it lacked a majority of seats. Farooq Leghari, a member of her own party, was
chosen by Benazir to become Pakistan's president after she created the country's administration.
Evidently, this gave her a more solid foundation for authority.

Benazir lacked the necessary administrative experience. She demonstrated poor leadership and
ineffective management of her government. She was having a lot of issues as a result of this factor.
She made an effort to hold crucial portfolios, like defense and foreign affairs, in her own hands.
Senior party officials who were designated as advisors didn't see themselves as being accountable to
the legislature.

As fate would have it, Benazir and Leghari's relationship deteriorated to the point of breaking
when Leghari was accused of profiting from land deals connected to his PPP associations.
Additionally, Leghari and Benazir misunderstood each other when the president disregarded
Benazir's advice on certain matters relating to the Army and Supreme Court.

The president terminated Benazir's second term on November 5, 1996, using the authority
afforded by the infamous 8th Amendment. Her government was accused of corruption, poor
economic management, the murder of Murtaza Bhutto, the slaughter of people, and disobeying
Supreme Court rulings.

In actuality, the qualitative method is used to do this research. Both primary and secondary
sources of information are employed. We have studied a variety of books on history, politics,
democracy, and Pakistani studies during our numerous trips to the public library in Timergara as
part of this assignment. To put it briefly, this research will assist various academic candidates in
fully comprehending Benazir Bhutto's second term.
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CHAPTER 01
INTRODUCTION
Benazair Bhutto was born in the year 1953 in Karachi. She was the only politician who
had to deal with the pain of seeing her father put to death. She was not in a position of authority
when she was killed, yet the United Nations Security Council still met to denounce her murder.
She has stated that "Pakistan is no ordinary country" and that "my life has been no ordinary
existence" in her memoirs The Daughter of the East. We regret having to add that she did not die
a typical death to this. She acknowledged out loud that she was taking a risk with her life in order
to rid Pakistan of the jihadists. She stated: "We had heard rumours that the (Zia) rulers were
going to hire the Afghan mujahideen to assassinate me," in another context.

Off-lasting effects are the responses of those who had been under her authority. She
appeared as if she were a member of the family, easygoing and eager to put her visitor at ease
right away, according to Kamran Shafi. Benazir had a very good character. 'I had long long gone
to the meeting after paying attention to numerous recollections about her arrogance, fiery temper,
and rapid fuse,' another journalist, M. Ziauddin, wrote of his encounter. However, the Benazir I
encountered came across as someone who needed to be spoken to, engaged in conversation, and
challenged.

Faisal Hayat's account of his reluctance to give up on her cause and resistance to torture
was left in the second edition, despite the fact that he had joined General Musharraf's cabinet in
the interim. This is a sign that some individuals joined Pervez Musharraf after rebelling against
Ziaul Haq. But the tyrannical space has actually shrunk more. Following the murder of Benazir
Bhutto, numerous generals, admirals, and air marshals met to call on President Pervez Musharraf
to resign.

In prison or exile for the majority of her life. Her years of success were outnumbered by
her years in power. She had to battle a steep hill twice to become prime minister. Both times, she
waged a losing battle and fell short of fulfilling her obligations. His ability to manage the
assassination problem with greater maturity than the authorities demonstrated his fortitude.

Benazair Bhutto's death was attributed to a lever on her car rather than the assassin or the
suicide bomber, despite the fact that Pervez Musharraf had visited her twice in Dubai and that
they shared similar adversaries. The car's creators vowed to file a lawsuit.

However, her widower Asif Zardari replied, "We have resolved to transform our sadness
into our power." This is the glimmer of hope her legacy offers.
 2

Statement of the Problem

The appointment of Benazir Bhutto, chairperson of the PPP, because the first ever girl top
minister of Pakistan in 1988, become a completely unique and salient function of the political
records of Pakistan. Her 2nd tenure commenced as Prime Minister of Pakistan while the
overall elections for National Assembly had been hung on October 06, 1993 at the same time
as the provincial assembly`s elections had been hung on October 09, 1993. The basis of our
study here is to look insight into her second tenure. This era was very unique in the history as
because she learned much experienced from her first tenure. As she was dismissed from her
office in 1990. She made her mind to not repeat the previous mistakes.

While coming into office in 1993, she tried his best in the early stages and surpassed his
barriers. The difficulties of her government began out while she appointed Farooq Ahmad
Khan Leghari as President of Pakistan. Nevertheless, the Eight Amendment became the
swords of Damocles on her head and lost his office.
Furthermore, we will study the various political and constitutional development happened
in her second tenure. Firstly, we will look how she holds his office and took the charge as
Prime Minister. In the second phase, we will deeply study the governance of his tenure and in
the last our focus will be on her downfall from the office.
Objectives of the studies
1) To observe the political and constitutional improvement in the course of Benazir Bhutto 2nd era
to focus on the governance of Benazir Bhutto government.
2) To highlight the relationship of Civil Military bureaucracy.
3) To explain in length the causes of Benazir dismissal.

Research questions
Q. What was the agenda of Benazir Bhutto while coming into office for the second time?

Q. What were the major events happened during the second tenure of Benazir Bhutto?

Q. How Benazir government managed to overcome the danger of Eight Amendment?

Q. What caused the Benazir government to fall?

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Significance of the study

Pakistan is a democratic country. From the day of independence up till now democracy did not
rooted in Pakistan. From Liaquat Ali Khan the primary Prime Minister of Pakistan to Imran Khan
not one of the high minister had finished its complete tenure. It is a dark spot on the history of
Pakistan. There are numerous motive for the failure of democracy in Pakistan.

After studying the second era of Benazir Bhutto we would be able to analyze how Benazir Bhutto
came to power after the first government of Nawaz Shariff ended. We will be able to learn how
the circumstances made a way easy for Benazir Bhutto to come into power. Understanding this
phase of history is important that shows how the political journey of Pakistan derails in hours of
time. This era is an episode how the undemocratic power has weakened the democratic culture of
Pakistan.

In this research work, the student of history can understand how the Benazir government tried to
solve the problem of 58-2(B) to smoothly run the democratic norms of the country. While study
this era of Pakistani politics, you'll be able to without difficulty locate the errors the Benazir`s
authorities made that paved the manner for the then President Farooq Leghari to ended its
authorities. The 90’s era is that time in the history of Pakistan, where the undemocratic powers
strongly hold the power in his grip.

Furthermore, the purpose of this research work is to study in deep how the Benazir Bhutto second
tenure deliver to the democratic system of Pakistan. How she controlled to run the affairs of the
government? We would also study, how she learned from her first government when she was
elected in the 1988 and then his government was dissolved by Ghulam Ishaq Khan.

The real problem of that time politics was the removal of Article 58-2(B), which ultimately ended
her government. Prior to the Benazir second tenure, Nawaz Shariff also tried hard for the removal
of Article 58-2(B), but didn’t succeeded in doing so. Ultimately, Nawaz Shariff also lost his
government in the name of Article 58-2(B).The primary trouble earlier than the Benazir authorities
turned into the abolition of that article from the constitution of 1973. The series of all these events
are the factor which weakened the political history of Pakistan. Here we will discuss in deep, that
political episode of Pakistani politic.
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Biography of benazir bhutto and his political career

Mrs. Benazir Bhutto remained the Prime Minister of Pakistan for 2 times. Her first tenure begins
off evolved shape 1988 to 1990 and 2d tenure from 1993 to 1996.In this research study we
focused the duration from 1993 to 1996, but for a better understanding we will study her early
life as well as her first political journey.

Biography of benazir bhutto

Benazir Bhutto was born in 1953 at Karachi. At the age of 16, She went to England and got
admission at Harvard’s Radcliffe College. In 1977, she graduated from Oxford University. Mrs.
Benazir Bhutto turned into the daughter of Mr. Z.A Bhutto who turned into Prime Minister of
Pakistan from 1971 to 1977. Mrs. Benazir Bhutto additionally served because the Prime Minister
of Pakistan twice. She changed into born on 21st June, 1953, at Karachi. After acquiring early
education from Pakistan, she went to USA and graduated from Harvard University. Later on, she
obtained Diploma in Foreign Affairs from Oxford University. On return to Pakistan, she worked
as a Research Assistant in the Foreign Service of the country. During the reign of Gen. Zia ul Haq,
she spent more than five years in captivity. From January 1984, she spent a year and nine months
in exile. She returned to Pakistan in 1986 and reorganized PPP. Her political party won
overwhelming majority in the elections of 1988. Consequently, Mrs. Benazir Bhutto additionally
served because the Prime Minister of Pakistan twice. She changed into born on on December 01,
1988 and continued in this capacity upto August 06, 1990, when the Assembly was dissolved by
Mr. Ghulam Ishaq Khan the president of Pakistan. The General Elections were held again in
October 1990. The PPP could not won majority in these elections. Thus, Mrs. Benazir Bhutto took
up the role of Leader of Opposition in the Assembly.

Again Pakistan Peoples Party won the 1993 elections and thus Benazir Bhutto was elected as
Prime Minister of the country. She served in this capacity from 19 th October, 1993 to 4th
November, 1996, when her government was dismissed by President Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari
under the article 58(2)B. Later on, general elections were held in 1997 in which PML(N) won
majority of seats and Mian Nawaz Sharif took oath as the Prime Minister for the second time.
During Nawaz regime. Benazir faced many charges of corruption and was forced to live in exile in
Dubai.
On 12th October, 1999, Gen, Pervez Musharraf imposed martial law in the country and the
circumstance forced Benazir to stay out of the country. However, the circumstances changed in
2007 and Benazir returned on 18th October, 2007. A large number of PPP workers greeted her at
the Karachi airport but sadly enough her procession was hit by two bomb blasts which killed 135
people. Undeterred by these blasts, she continued addressing public meetings in different cities.
Her glorious political career came to an abrupt end on 27 December, 2007, when she was
assassinated soon after her address in Liaquat Garden Rawalpindi.
 5

Political career of benazir bhutto

The mysterious air crash of Zia-ul-Haq on August 17, 1988 and the elections in Pakistan in 1988
paved the way for Benazir Bhutto to become Prime Minister of Pakistan with a mixed feeling of
hope and fear. She had no choice however to permit General Mirza Aslam Baig preserve as Chief
of Army Staff (COAS) and Lt. Gen. (R) Sahibzada Yaqoob Ali Khan, Senator of Islami Jamhoori
Ittehad (IJI) as foreign minister. Moreover, she additionally supported the candidacy of Ghulam
Ishaq Khan to turn out to be elected President of Pakistan.

In the beginning of her Premiership, Benazir vowed to repeal the Hudood Ordinance, revert the
Eight Amendment to the Constitution and to convert the then semi- Presidential system in Pakistan
to a Parliamentary democracy but very soon she realized that none of these acts were possible due
to the fresh and prevailing legacy of Zia-ul-Haq on national level and some of his very close
confidants in power, particularly Ghulam Ishaq Khan, President of Pakistan.
The core contemporary issues, which Benazir faced during her first term as Prime Minister of
Pakistan, were as under:

a. Political settlement among the various factions of Afghan Mujahideen and installing
their legitimate government in Afghanistan.
b. Kashmir Issue
c. Pursuing Pakistan’s nuclear programmer after Pressler Amendment

Finally, one year after the Midnight Jackal Drama and a prolonged power tussle between the
Prime Minister and President, the latter on August 06, 1990 while exercising his powers dismissed
Benazir Bhutto as Prime Minister of Pakistan and her government on the charges of corruption,
nepotism and despotism.

Benazir rise into power for second time

The trendy elections to the National Assembly and the 4 provincial assemblies have been hung on
sixth and ninth October, 1993, respectively. The Pakistan Army oversaw those elections and made
sure that there was a fair competition amongst the political parties. 32 political parties participated
in the elections and ran for 217 National Assembly seats, of which 207 were held by Muslims and
10 by non-Muslims. MQM stayed away from the National Assembly elections.

No birthday celebration received a clear majority in the National Assembly elections. PPP won 86
seats, PML (N) won 73, while the remainder more than a dozen parties shared the remaining seats
once they were distributed. In this way, Pakistan Peoples Party narrowly defeated PML by seven
seats (N). Only six seats were won by its ally, PML (J). PPP was able to mount a comeback in this
way after suffering a crushing setback in the national elections in 1990. The PPP and PML were
able to create a coalition government based on the results of the 1993 elections (Junejo group).
 6

The situation was essentially the same at the provincial assembly elections that were held on
October 9, 1993. No political party won a majority in its entirety. Small majorities were won by
the PML (N) in Punjab and the PPP in Sindh and NWFP. Similar to the Center, the circumstances
only permitted the formation of coalition ministries. With 18, 21 and 27 seats, respectively, the
PML (J) in Punjab, the ANP in the NWFP, and the MQM in Sindh had the deciding votes for the
establishment of the government.

In order to create the government at the centre following the elections, the Pakistan Peoples Party
joined forces with the PML (J). Following intense political campaigning, Mrs. Benazir Bhutto won
the election for 14th Prime Minister of Pakistan on October 20, 1993, with 121 votes to Nawaz
Sharif's 72. The National Assembly's speaker is Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani. Thus, Mrs. Benazir
Bhutto's second term as prime minister got off to a cloudy and tense start.

Political and constitutional developmen during benazir’s second era

The PPP secured 86 seats after the 1993 general elections, while the PML (N) secured 73 seats.
The PML (J) also gained six seats and allied with the PPP in the Punjab and the center. On
October 19, 1993, Benazir was chosen as prime minister with the help of a few minor parties and
independent parliamentarians.

The PML (JMian )'s Manzoor Wattoo was nominated to lead Punjab as chief minister. The PPP
held an overwhelming majority in the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, where it established the
government. Syed Abdullah Shah is the new chief minister of Sindh. The PML (N) and the Awami
National Party (ANP), which did well and won 36 of the 80 seats in the Provincial Assembly, have
an electoral partnership in the NWFP. Sabir Shah of the PML-Pir N was chosen as the NWFP's
Chief Minister. Nawab Zulfiqar Magsi won the election for chief minister of Baluchistan with the
support of the PML (N) and ANP alliance. All of his competitors withdrew their nomination
paperwork.
Mian Manzoor Wattoo of the PML (J) was chosen as the chief minister of Punjab. In Sindh, the
Provincial Assembly, where the PPP established the government, had an absolute majority.
Sindh's new chief minister is Syed Abdullah Shah. The Awami National Party (ANP), which
performed well and won thirty-six out of eighty seats in the Provincial Assembly, has an electoral
alliance with the PML (N) in the NWFP. The PML-Pir N's Sabir Shah was chosen as the NWFP's
Chief Minister. With the backing of the PML (N) and ANP alliance, Nawab Zulfiqar Magsi was
elected chief minister of Baluchistan. Every one of his rivals withdrew their nomination papers.
The election of the president, which took place on November 13, 1993, came after the formation
of the national and provincial governments. Many candidates initially submitted their candidature
papers, including some prominent political personalities as former president Ishaq, Nawabzada
Nasrullah Khan, Nawab Akbar Bugti, Air Marshal (Retd) Asghar Khan, Yahya Bakhtiar, Balakh
 7

Sher Mazari, and others. But as time went on, one by one, they withdrew from the campaign,
leaving only the PPP's Farooq Ahmad Leghari and Acting President Wasim Sajjad as the only
remaining contenders. Politicians from Pakistan, Sajjad, congratulated Leghari on his victory and
accepted defeat.Sajjad received 168 votes, while Leghari received 274 votes, making him the
winner. Sajjad apologised for his behaviour, which is unusual among Pakistani politicians, and
congratulated Leghari on his victory.

Leghari said in his opening remarks that the sooner the Eight Amendment was repealed, the better.
Benazir said that the Eight Amendment had been rendered useless for at least five years as a result
of Leghari's election as president. She pledged to introduce a bill to repeal the Eighth Amendment,
which would, in her opinion, expose Nawaz, who had vehemently opposed the Amendment when
his government was overthrown but was now unable to work with Benazir to repeal it. Despite this
assertion, her government has never actually introduced a Bill.

The Sabir Shah case

The coalition government of the PML (N) and the ANP led by Sabir Shah was a thorn in the side
of the PPP, which found it difficult to accept opposition parties joining the provincial government
in the NWFP. With the aid of constitutional deception, the PPP attempted to undermine it. Its own
candidate for President had been elected, which would be helpful for the situation. The PPP
needed to find a way to go around the coalition's majority and turn it into a minority. As long as
Sabir Shah and his administration were in power, this was impossible. Consequently, Sabir Shah
and his followers will become a minority in the Provincial Assembly. It was therefore essential to
have the government suspended in order to provide the PPP in the NWFP, led by Aftab Sherpao, a
transitional period in which to win over members of the Provincial Assembly, turning Sabir Shah
and his followers into a minority.
In the end, a constitutional answer was discovered to do this. The President's powers of emergency
were put to use. The governor of NWFP reported that a circumstance had developed where the
NWFP administration could no longer function in conformity with the Constitution. On February
25, 1994, the President issued a proclamation in accordance with Article 234 of the Constitution
instructing the Governor to take over the duties of the administration of NWFP and stating that
Parliament should exercise the Provincial Assembly's authority.Additionally, it was mandated that
the Chief Minister and the provincial ministers immediately resign from their positions. In order
for the PPP to establish a government in NWFP through flagrant horse trading, the governor rule
was lifted. In order to undermine and ultimately topple Sabir Shah's government, PPP operators
lured and ultimately won over enough borderline members of the ruling coalition.
Under Article 184(3) of the constitution, Sabir Shah challenged the constitutionality of the
Proclamation before the Supreme Court of Pakistan on the grounds that the dissolution of his
government was unjustified because he had a majority in the House, that the province was at peace
with the PPP, and that the report that the President of Pakistan based the Proclamation on was
 8

flawed.Fourth, the Chief Minister and other ministers' positions could not be terminated by the
President in accordance with Article 234, Fifth, the proclamation violated Article 17 of the
Pakistani Constitution by depriving the elected representatives of their fundamental right to self-
government, and Sixth, the proclamation's only goal was to depose the duly elected government
with the help of the two defectors.

The respondents argued that the petition was misconceived because no fundamental right was at
issue, that the President and the Governor could not be impeached under Article 248 of the
Pakistani Constitution, that the petitioner's government was weak because seven ministers and
advisers had resigned, and that Article 236(2) of the Pakistani Constitution prevented any challenge
to the validity of the proclamation. The court made it clear that the Governor will be free to re-fix a
day and time in accordance with Article 130(5) of the Constitution of Pakistan requiring the Chief
Minister to obtain a vote of confidence from the Assembly.

The Supreme Court held that:

a. A proclamation made under Article 234 that is coram non judice or malafide would not
be saved by the ouster provision of Article 236 (2), and the higher court can review the
proclamation's legality in the exercise of its judicial authority.

b. The legality of a public officer's appointment cannot be contested through collateral

proceedings. Because the Acting Governor's acts and instructions were covered by the de
facto doctrine, it is not essential to decide whether or not the Acting Governor was duly
appointed.

c. In accordance with Article 234, the receipt of a report by the prior to issuing a
proclamation. The President is free to take action based on information he has obtained
from any other source. The implication of the word "otherwise" in Article 234(1) is
broad.

d. The opposition's attempts to remove the Chief Minister and his Cabinet and the Chief
Minister's and his party's attempts to retain power were obviously at odds with one
another. In this case, the Speaker had denied to change the date in response to the
Governor's notice under Article 130(5) of the Constitution, which stipulates that the Chief
Minister must receive a vote of confidence. A temporary remedy under Article 234 of the
Constitution had to be taken in this case in order to give both parties a chance to cool off.
According to Article 234 of the Constitution, the President had cause to issue the
proclamation in these circumstances.

e. The Governor's ability to exercise his or her constitutional powers was impeded by the
Speaker's refusal to permit the Assembly to convene in response to the Governor's order,
and the Chief Minister's announcement that he or she would not seek a vote of
confidence. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister, who may have lost the Assembly's
 9

confidence, insisted on remaining in office. Therefore, the Governor was right in

informing the President that the province's government was not being run in conformity
with the Constitution's requirements.

f. The Chief Minister and his cabinet may only be suspended by the President under Article
234 of the Constitution for a period of two months. But he lacks the authority to fire or
remove them from their positions.

g. According to Article 130(5) of the Constitution, the Governor has the authority to
demand that the Chief Minister receive a vote of confidence.

h. ‘The President's satisfaction under Article 234 that a situation exists in which the
province's government cannot be carried out in accordance with the Constitution's
provisions cannot be treated subjectively; rather, it must be based on the existence of
objective circumstances that support the issuance of the proclamation. If the Court
determines that the President's satisfaction was based on evidence that has a connection to
the subject of the proclamation, it cannot overturn the proclamation on the grounds that
therhad insufficient information to convey his satisfaction with the existence of a circumstance
that would have justified issuing the announcement.

Public hangings banned

Election 10 of the Special Courts for Speedy Trials Act of 1992 gave the government the power to
choose where a death sentence would be carried out. According to the legislation, the government
could order a public hanging to have a deterrent effect. The Supreme Court of Pakistan took suo
moto notice of this statute and ruled that public hanging violated Article 14 of the Pakistani
Constitution's guarantee of human dignity. The "Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Islam,"
which was drafted by a number of eminent Muslim academics and released in London on April 12,
1980, was likewise found to violate Article 7 by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Article 7's pertinent
passage is as follows:

The prohibition against torture:

Torture of either the guilty or the suspect is prohibited because "God will impose
punishment to those who have committed torture in this life."

Implementation of decision to separate the judiciary form the executive

In the case of Sharaf Faridi, the Pakistani Supreme Court had mandated the immediate separation
of the judicial branch from the executive branch. However, Benazir's administration was taking its
time about it. The administration requested a deadline extension, which the Pakistani Supreme
Court rejected. Ultimately, the decision was put into action with the 20 March 1996 proclamation
of the Legal Reforms Ordinance, 1996. After then, there were subsequent ordinances issued every
four months until it finally became a law on July 3, 1997. The "Executive Magistrates" and
"Judicial Magistrates" designated under the Ordinance would report to the District Magistrate and
 10

the Sessions Judge, respectively.The Pakistan Penal Code and other criminal law statutes have
given judicial magistrates the authority to try criminal offences. Infractions of public tranquilly,
disrespect for the legal authority of public officials, violations of weights and measures, and
infractions of public health, safety, convenience, decency, and morals can all be tried by executive
magistrates. Executive Magistrates now have the authority to impose sentences of up to three
years.

Legal groups have sharply criticised these parts of the bill because they think that giving such
authority to an Executive Magistrate is a violation of the Pakistan's Constitution, which establishes
a wall between the judiciary from the executive branch, and the ruling rendered by the Supreme
Court of Pakistan in the case of Sharaf Faridi.

The local bodies case

Local governments are thought to be the foundation of a democratic system. Zia, who generally
disliked elections, significantly relied on local body elections to usher in a new cadre of leadership
throughout Pakistan. He was largely successful in this endeavour. The fact that the new leaders—in
particular, the PML (N)—came to power through local body elections speaks much about their
abilities and statecraft knowledge. Particularly in the Punjab, individuals who shouldn't have
advanced above municipal corporations and district councils ended up as federal ministers, chief
ministers, and governors.

When Nawaz resigned as prime minister on July 18, 1993, the caretaker government decided to
turn back his primary source of public support, which came from the local bodies. On December
28, 1991, local body elections in the Punjab were held for a four-year term that ended in 1995.
However, the local councillors' terms of office were immediately terminated by a notification that
the Governor of the Punjab issued on August 15, 1993. Elections for new local bodies have to be
held immediately in January 1994. Civil servants have assumed the role of elected officials.

Office holders of lical councils contested this notification in a number of constitutional cases
before the Lahore High Court. On January 30, 1994, a single Bench granted the petitions, but the
local councils were not reinstated. Instead, the provincial government was given two months to
arrange elections; in the event that this did not succeed, the local councils chosen on December 28,
1991, were to be reinstated. Unsatisfied, the petitioners sought Intra-Court Appeals to contest the
failure to restore the local councils.

While these appeals were pending, the Governor of the Punjab issued an Ordinance on April 5,
1994, stating that the government had the authority to regulate the term of local councils
regardless of how long the residual term was. The Lahore High Court's sole judge's cancellation of
the notification was also upheld by the Ordinance. On April 9, 1994, the Intra-Court Appeals were
dismissed on the grounds that a new notification setting a new date for local council elections—27
July 1994—had been issued, superseding the earlier challenged notification.
 11

The Supreme Court of Pakistan, however, overturned this decision and instructed the appellants to
revise their pleas. Following the remand, these intra-court appeals were decided by a decision dated
January 19, 1995. Three months were granted to the provincial government to hold new local
council elections with the caveat that, in the event that the provincial government failed to do so, all
local councils in the province would be reinstated. Notifications issued under the validating
Ordinance were also deemed to be unconstitutional. This ruling was contested in appeals before the
Pakistani Supreme Court, which were accepted on 26 June 1996. All local bodies and councils in the Punjab
province were then ordered to be reinstated so they may finish their terms through 9 February 1997. The
Punjab Provincial Assembly enacted the Punjab Local Government (Repeal) Act, 1996 on the next day, June
27, repealing the Punjab Local Government 1979 and announcing the resignation of all local council
members. The Punjab Local Government Act of 1996, which provided for the restructuring and continuation
of local government institutions, quickly followed.

The Punjab Local Government (Repeal) Act, 1996 was contested before the Supreme Court of
Pakistan on the grounds that it was an exercise of legislative authority because it was intended to
prevent elected local council members from taking office and to overturn an earlier Supreme Court
decision that had done so. Because the Punjab Local Government (Repeal) Act, 1996 was passed
by the elected representatives of the people, i.e., the members of the Provincial Assembly, using
the authority granted to them by the Pakistani Constitution, the Supreme Court maintained its
legality.
The Court further ruled that it was not permitted to question the legislature's intentions or malice
aforethought. The Court is not permitted to contest the legislative branch's judgement or fairness
after a competent statute has been passed. The Court cannot argue that a statute should not be
enforced because doing so would invalidate its own decision.

Wattoo government sacked: lahore high court verdict

The PPP formed a coalition with the PML (J) to create a government in the Punjab in an effort to
keep the PML (N) out of power despite the fact that it had more seats in the Assembly than any
other major party. Even though the PML (J) only had 18 seats in the House of 248 when Manzoor
Ahmad Wattoo was chosen as chief minister, the PPP was forced to swallow the bitter pill. After
nearly two years of this tense alliance, the PPP Assembly members in Punjab had had enough of
him. They were unable to accept his haughty and dictatorial leadership style. Eventually, Benazir
capitulated, and arrangements were made to fire Wattoo. It was meant to be a replication of the
actions taken in the NWFP to remove Sabir Shah.

Following the receipt of a report from the Governor of Punjab against Wattoo, the President issued
a proclamation under Article 234 of the Constitution on September 5, 1995, ordering the Governor
to take over the duties of the provincial administration. Following the aforementioned
Proclamation, the Governor assumed command of the province's affairs on the President's behalf.

The Governor then instructed Wattoo to request a vote of confidence from the Provincial Assembly
 12

during a hastily arranged meeting on September 12th, 1995. Wattoo stayed out of the meeting, and
the Speaker let the Governor know. Wattoo was dismissed from his position as Punjab's chief
minister as a result of his failure to win a vote of confidence.

Wattoo's dismissal did not resolve Benazir's issues; she desired a PPP representative as Punjab's
chief minister. But in order to form the government, the PPP needed the cooperation of the PML
(J), as it fell short of the necessary majority in the Provincial Assembly. After two years of
experiencing power, the PML (J) was not prepared for anything less than the position of chief
minister. Benazir had to give in to the PML (Jdemands )'s and make concessions to her junior
coalition member after making repeated offers. It was decided to choose Sardar Muhammad Arif
Nakai, who was weak and supple. According to the agreement, a PPP candidate was appointed
senior minister, primarily for administrative matters. Even if it was only in title, Nakai was more
than delighted to assume the role of chief minister.
Nakai received 152 votes on September 13, 1995, and was chosen without opposition as the
Punjab's Chief Minister. He took the oath of office that day and on September 14, 1995, he
received 148 votes to cancel the Proclamation of Emergency that had been proclaimed on
September 5, 1995. This time, emergency measures were utilized to oust one chief minister and
install a new one.
The Lahore High Court upheld the legality and constitutionality of the Government's decree
requesting a vote of confidence and the Proclamation of Emergency pursuant to Article 234 of the
Constitution. In a decision issued on October 30, 1966, a full bench of the Lahore High Court
finally heard the constitutional petition and adopted its findings.
The Court concluded that the ability to declare an emergency in a province in the event that the
constitutional machinery fails is an exception and should only be used in extreme circumstances.
Such a power encroaches on provincial autonomy and, if misused, can upset the balance between
the federation and its constituent parts, leading to a sense of deprivation among the provinces that
would be harmful to the federation as a whole.
The Court concluded that the power is not unchecked or untamed. Two restrictions apply: first, the
President must be satisfied, and that satisfaction must be based on information pertinent to Article
234; and second, the satisfaction must state that the affairs of the province cannot be managed in
conformity with the Constitution. The satisfaction must be unbiased and founded on data related to
Article 234 in some way. Although the Court was not permitted to intervene in the President's
satisfaction or substitute its own judgement for the President's, it was nonetheless necessary to
demonstrate that the information upon which the President had acted was pertinent to the
circumstances described in Article 234. It must be proven that there was a deadlock, a
constitutional breakdown, or existence of a situation not contemplated by the Constitution, and it
did not otherwise cater for or provide a remedy, in order to show that the affairs of the province
could not be carried on in accordance with the Constitution. Action under Article 234 could not be
done if a situation could be resolved in accordance with another clause of the Constitution. The
Court further concluded that a vote of confidence could only be directed toward a chief minister
 13

who was really in office. Wattoo could not have been asked to receive a vote of confidence in such
circumstances because he had ceased to serve as chief minister after the declaration of Article 234
in the constitution. The Court further noted that although there was no time constraint, he should
have had a reasonable amount of time to do so. It was argued that sixteen hours did not constitute
sufficient time, especially considering that the Provincial Assembly may contain up to 248
members.
The Court rejected the claim that because the issue was a political one, it was beyond the Court's
constitutional purview. The Court ruled that it would have the right to settle the dispute if the issue
at hand was political in nature and involved the interpretation of constitutional provisions. The
superior courts have a duty to uphold the Constitution with all of their might and majesty, and in
doing so, they shouldn't hesitate to invalidate unconstitutional actions or orders or to grant
constitutional relief resulting from them. This is because they took an oath to uphold and defend
the Constitution. No expediency or other factor should be permitted to get in the way of it, and any
divergence from or violation of the Constitution must be excused or allowed to continue.
By using the aforementioned criteria, it was determined that the President's Proclamation of
September 5, 1995, under Article 234, lacked legal standing. It was believed that Nakai's election as
chief minister was illegal. As a result, on September 5, 1995, Wattoo was reinstated as Chief
Minister. The Governor could request a vote of confidence from Wattoo by providing him at least
two clear days to do so. However, Wattoo made the decision to advise the Governor against
dissolving the Assembly prior to receiving a vote of confidence. Finally, it was decided that Nakai
would be reinstated as chief minister without a new election or other formalities if Wattoo failed to
win a vote of confidence.
The celebration of the restoration turned out to be quite fleeting. The verdict was made public on
November 3, 1996. The Provincial Assembly tabled a resolution for a vote of no-confidence
against him the same day, with 85 members supporting it. The government of Benazir was
overthrown on November 5th, 1996. In order to get a vote of confidence, Wattoo appealed to the
Supreme Court. The ten-day period was increased to thirteen days by the Supreme Court. As a
result, Wattoo was obliged to get a vote of confidence by no later than November 16. The date for
the move to cast a vote of no confidence was set for November 16. Wattoo was forced to seek a
vote of confidence from the Provincial Assembly after the motion for a vote of no-confidence was
withdrawn by the movers on November 16. A vote of confidence for Wattoo was out of the
question because 93 PML-N members of the Provincial Assembly submitted their resignations on
that exact day. In order to avoid impeding the polls, he consequently announced his resignation as
chief minister of the Punjab that day.
 14

CHAPTER 04
JUDICIAL DECISION DURING BENARZIR SECOND
TENURE
In Pakistan, appointments to the Superior Courts have typically been made on grounds other than
merit, such as political allegiances, nepotism, or favouritism. On this matter, there has been a tacit
agreement between the judiciary and many governments. High-ranking judges could be chosen by
governments using their political favourites, who then appointed friends and family on behalf of the
government and their colleagues. Before tensions between the two led to a significant conflict, this
dubious cooperation between the two state organisations persisted for a considerable amount of
time.

Before becoming prime minister in 1993, Benazir announced revisions regarding the nomination of
judges, saying they would now be done on the basis of merit. She quickly broke her word after
making it. Understanding Benazir's interactions with the judiciary, which may have influenced her
opinions, attitudes, and policies towards the superior judiciary, is crucial to understanding the
following clash between the executive and the judiciary.

Benazir's first interaction with the higher court system was during the Lahore High Court trial of
her father, which was followed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan's denial of his appeal, which she
subsequently referred to as a "judicial murder" in her book Daughter of the East. She therefore
believed that the legal system was a hostile organisation.

Benazir also observed that the judiciary complied humbly with General Zia's Martial Law
administration and worked hand in glove with it. After all, the Supreme Court of Pakistan gave
Zia's Martial Law legitimacy in the Nusrat Bhutto case and even granted him the authority to
unilaterally change the Pakistani Constitution, which he always used carelessly, cruelly, and
capriciously against the PPP.

Although Benazir got relief from the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the Political Parties Case in
1988, she face hostile courts when her government was dismissed by Ishaq in 1990. Except for the
Peshawar High Court, the other High Courts comprehensively upheld the dismissal of her
government and the government of the PPP in Sindh. The Supreme court of Pakistan upheld these
judgment of the Peshawar High Court favouring the PPP in the NWFP. Not only this, Benazir has
also noticed that her arch rival and his party were always given favourable verdicts from Even
though Benazir received justice from the Pakistani Supreme Court in the Political Parties Case in 1988, she
had to deal with unfriendly courts after Ishaq ousted her from power in 1990. The other High Courts, with
the exception of the Peshawar High Court, unequivocally endorsed the removal of her government as well
as the PPP government in Sindh. The Peshawar High Court's rulings favouring the PPP in the NWFP were
affirmed by Pakistan's Supreme Court. Benazir has also observed that, with the Peshawar High Court as the
lone exception, her arch adversary and his party consistently received favourable rulings from the High
Court and the Supreme Court.
 15

Benazir faced hostile courts after Ishaq ousted her administration in 1990, despite the fact that the
Supreme Court of Pakistan had granted her relief in the Political Parties Case in 1988. The
removal of her government and the PPP government in Sindh was unanimously confirmed by all
high courts, with the exception of the Peshawar High Court. The Peshawar High Court's decisions
favouring the PPP in the NWFP were upheld by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Benazir has also
observed that, with the Peshawar High Court as the lone exception, both the High Court and the
Supreme Court consistently rendered favourable judgements in favour of her archrival and his
party.

Justice Jan was astonished to find that Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, who was younger than him and two
other colleagues, had been appointed Chief Justice of Pakistan on June 5, 1994, after he had been
passed over for the position. As a result, a forty-year-old tradition of designating the judge with
the most experience as Chief Justice was arbitrarily abandoned. Senior judges would have
resigned in protest in any other nation, but Pakistan does not have a tradition of doing so. Justice
Jan had a lengthy leave of absence and was unable to return to work.

What influenced the choice of Justice Sajjad to serve as Chief Justice? The fundamental cause
appears to be Benazir and her government's limited perspective, restricted thinking, and local
perspective. She might have become distracted by his two seeming dissents in favour of the PPP.
First, Justice Sajjad, one of the two dissenting judges, ruled that Ishaq's order to dissolve the
National Assembly was unlawful in Ahmad Tariq Rahim's case, in which the 1990 dismissal of
Benazir's government by Ishaq was contested.

He noted that the PPP government's removal was the main goal of the dissolution. Out of the
eleven judges who upheld the order as valid in the case of Nawaz Sharif, where the dismissal of
the Nawaz government by Ishaq was being contested, Justice Sajjad was the lone contrarian who
expressed displeasure with the way Chief Justice Nasim Hasan Shah had announced at the start of
the proceedings that the country was about to hear "good news."

At the conclusion of his ruling, he added a biting comment, noting that the Supreme Court had not
reinstated two prime ministers from Sindh who had been ousted by the president's discretion, but
that the situation had been reversed in the case of a Punjabi prime minister. When choosing his
position, Benazir must have been troubled by these comments. She might have believed that
because he is Sindhi and a supporter of the PPP, he would side with the government and defend its
interests.

PPP’s rough handling of superior courts

The PPP government then launched an offensive against the judiciary. The government ousted and
appointed as judges of the Federal Shariat Court the Chief Justices of the Sindh and Lahore High
Courts, whom it regarded to be hostile to the PPP or sympathetic to the political opposition.

The humiliating appointment was accepted by the chief justice of the Sindh High Court, but the
 16

chief justice of the Lahore High Court declined and resigned. Two Supreme Court judges were
appointed to serve as the acting chief justices of the two High Courts in their place. Justice Abdul
Hafiz Memon was appointed as an Acting Chief Justice of Sindh after first serving as a judge on the
Sindh High Court. The notification was immediately retracted once it was realised that his
appointment as a High Court judge had made him the junior most judge and therefore he could not
be the Acting Chief Justice. He was then informed that he was a Supreme Court Judge, then another
notification designating him as the Sindh High Court's Acting Chief Justice.

Likewise, the Lahore High Court met with failure. Following the dismissal of the Chief Justice,
the PPP government appointed Justice Muhammad Ilyas, a retired judge of the Lahore High Court,
as acting chief justice of the Lahore High Court. At the time, Justice Ilyas was serving as a judge
of the Federal Shariat Court and was extremely irate with the previous administration for what he
believed to be having denied him appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court. A non-Supreme
Court acting chief justice presided over the Peshawar High Court as well.

The PPP government started the second part of its plan, which involved filling the High Courts
with political appointments, with three High Courts being presided over by Acting Chief Justices.
Nine judges were chosen to serve on the Sindh High Court, the majority of them were PPP leaders'
favourites or political appointees. Most of them lacked the necessary experience at the High Court
Bar, making them either ineligible for appointment or unfit for appointment. Twenty appointments
filled the Lahore High Court in August 1994. Two of them came from the judges for the session,
while the other six were allegedly chosen from the Bar. Only six to seven judges could defend
their selection on the basis of merit. Three or four more cases could be categorised as marginal
cases. Of these appointments, eight or nine were outright ridiculous. Four or five of them had
never or infrequently represented clients in the High Court. One of them allegedly saw the High
Court building for the first time when he arrived to take the oath of office. Of them, four or five
lacked the necessary 10 years of High Court Bar experience. Nepotism was evident even amongst
these political appointees. The Punjab Governor appointed his younger brother to the position.
One of the Chief Minister's longtime pals was appointed. A strong MNA appointed his own son, a
man with no prior legal experience. For the president, chief minister, and governor, it appeared
like there was some sort of quota

The Supreme Court's courts were crowded with ad hoc justices as well. Ten permanent judges,
including the Chief Justice, were present at one stage, but there were up to seven ad hoc judges,
with two of the regular judges also functioning as acting chief justices of the high courts. As a
result, the number of permanent judges and ad hoc justices on the Supreme Court was almost
equal at the time.

Acting Chief Justices of the High Court were reduced to acting as the government's basic rubber
stamps. They had essentially renounced their constitutionally mandated position as judicial
consultees. Up to a point, Chief Justice Sajjad was on board with everything. At first, he even
supported PPP nominations and issued notices of contempt to anyone who opposed them verbally
 17

or in writing. Finally, when things started to go beyond his tolerance, he backed off. On a number
of matters, including the nomination of a judge of the Sindh High Court from among the session's
judges ahead of many others senior to him, he broke with the PPP administration. When he
believed that the PPP's activities were detrimental to the institution of justice, he made the
decision to oppose.

The judges’s judgement

For the purpose of examining the validity of such appointments, the Pakistani Supreme Court
granted permission to file an appeal against the appointment of twenty judges to the Lahore High
Court. A five-judge Supreme Court of Pakistan bench rendered a majority decision approving the
appeal against such nominations after lengthy debates that spanned many months. The Supreme
Court decided as follows.

A. It is unconstitutional to appoint ad hoc justices to fill Supreme Court vacancies that

are not temporary.
B. The appointment of an acting chief justice is only permitted as a temporary fix that
never lasts longer than 90 days.
C. The nominations of judges made on the recommendation of an Acting Chief Justice
were unlawful and unconstitutional because an Acting Chief Justice cannot be a
consultee for the purpose of appointing judges.
D. A High Court judge who is not already on the bench gains a reasonable expectation
that he or she will be considered for appointment as a permanent judge. If the Chief
Justice of Pakistan recommends him for the position, he or she will be appointed as
such absent compelling arguments to the contrary that the President or Executive
would record and that would be admissible in court.
E. If there are any regular vacancies in the judiciary, especially those of the Chief
Justices, they should all be filled as soon as possible and, in any case, no later than 30
days after they arise. It should take no longer than 90 days to fill a vacancy caused by
a death or other unanticipated event.
F. The senior-most judge on a High Court is entitled to expect that his or her name will
be put forward for selection as Chief Justice. If the President/Executive does not
record any very compelling arguments to the contrary, he may be appointed as Chief
Justice of that Court.
G. That assigning a Supreme Court Judge to a High Court as an Acting Chief Justice
would be unfavourable, especially in light of the Court's disapproving remarks in its
ruling in Abrar Hassan v. Government of Pakistan.
H. The Constitution's use of the phrase "after consultation" in Articles 177 and 193 refers
to a participatory consultative process between the consultees and the Executive. No
complaints of arbitrariness or unfair play should be possible thanks to its
effectiveness. Both the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief Justice of a High Court
are qualified to evaluate a candidate's qualifications for a position as a judge on the
 18

higher courts in terms of knowledge and experience. As constitutional consultees, the

Chief Justices' opinions were deemed to be binding on the Executive. If the Executive
disagreed with the views of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief Justice of a
High Court, it was mandated that it record compelling arguments that might be used
in court. The Court noted that the recommendation of the Chief Justice of a High
Court and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, in India as well as in Pakistan, has
always been accepted and acted upon, save in very rare situations, during the pre-
partition period.
 19

CHAPTER 05
DISMISSAL OF BENAZIR’S GOVERNMENT

She had no fear of the hanging sword of democracy, the eighth amendment, because Farooq
Leghari, her own choice for president, was in office. Farooq Leghari even said he wouldn't use the
authority the Eighth Amendment gave him to take action against the Benazir government.
However, when the PPP government really began operating, the hopes and expectations for better
political conditions, the promotion of democracy, and economic progress that were associated
with the second PPP rule were severely dashed. The Benazir government was immediately met
with the issues that coalition governments typically encounter in parliamentary systems.
The promise Benazir made to advance democracy fell through. She would have been unable to
successfully mask her hatred for Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N. The PML (N) was the target of
confrontational politics between the PPP and the PML (N) this time, which led to the body politic
succumbing to the PPP's adversarial attitude once more. Following two months of governor rule in
NWFP, the PML (N) coalition government was dismissed. Nawaz Sharif and his family members
were the targets of false accusations.

By lowering the budget deficit, the economy made some progress. Benazir, however, was unable to
deliver on her pledge to improve the general state of the populace. Due to poor government lending
and tax policies, the industrial and agricultural sectors were severely impacted, and a significant
portion of the textile industry had to close. 50% of the total exports came from the textile sector.

Corruption
The administration did not follow the accepted standards of effective management. Due to their
extensive corruption and unethical behaviour, Benazir's party members could not be strictly
controlled. To further harm the faltering national economy, they are deeply involved in
accumulating the national wealth. Due to the disastrous policies and lack of control among the
party workers, the political climate in the nation has only gotten worse since the PPP
administration came to power in 1993.

The country's continued lawlessness was made worse by the haughtiness of party members and
government employees, as well as by their arrogance and the extrajudicial killings in Karachi. The
efficient operation of the government was severely hampered by widespread corruption in all fields
and at all levels, unemployment, and a high crime rate. Nepotism and rule-breaking in the
administrative agencies had gotten so bad that it was almost impossible for the government to run
smoothly anymore.
 20

Law and order situation

Law and order quickly declined during Benazir's leadership. The country's administrative structure
was rendered utterly inoperable by the frightening decline in law and order. The violence caused by
racial and religious differences wreaked havoc in Karachi.

Other regions of the country were affected by the ethnic violence. Malakand, a significant city in
the country's North, had to endure the worst-ever violence on an ethnic and sectarian basis. Ethnic
and sectarian conflict was centred in the province of Sindh. Through stringent measures, the
government had to uphold law and order.

Judges case
Another factor in Benazir's government's downfall was the outrage she caused the public with regard
to the Supreme Court judges. In the case referred to as the appointment of judges, the Pakistani
Supreme Court issued its ruling. In his remarks to the National Assembly, the prime minister mocked
the ruling. The government steadfastly opposed the judgment's implementation, in flagrant violation
of the constitution's requirement that all governmental and judicial institutions nationwide support
the Supreme Court.

The legislators and bureaucracy were helpless to stop the situation from becoming out of control.
No longer were they in a helpless situation. They were no longer able to stop the situation's
deterioration. Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari, the president, was under intense pressure to dissolve
the legislature. The Jamaat-e-Islami staged a sit-in (Dharna) in front of the NA to demand that the
administration step down since it had broken its oath of office.

Benazir government dismissed by president Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari

Eventually, the President made the decision to take action in order to preserve the rapidly declining
riches of the country. On November 5, 1996, the national assembly was dissolved and Benazir's
administration was overthrown by the president exercising his authority under Article 58(2b) of the
Constitution. New elections would be held on February 2, 1997, the President stated. The prime
minister-in-waiting was chosen as Malik Miraj Khalid. Even though Benazir appealed the
president's order to dissolve the government, the Supreme Court supported it and did not reinstate
the government.
 21

REFERENCES
1. (Dr.Naushad ) Pakistan Past ,Present and future
2. (Ehsan). Pakistan Affairs
3. (Imtiaz Shahid). An advanced handbook of Pakistan Affairs
4. (Khan 2009). Constitutional and Political History of Pakistan
5. (M.R Kazimi). A concise History of Pakistan
6. (Rabbani 2012).Pakistan Affairs
7. (Saeed).The formative phrase of Pakistan
8. (Saeed, Mansoor).Trek to Pakistan
9. (Sattar 2019).Pakistan Foreign Policy