Political Histroy of PAkistan

Introduction

Pakistan is a country in South Asia that was created in 1947 as a homeland

for the Muslims of British India. Pakistan has a population of about 220 million
people, and is the world’s fifth-most populous country. Pakistan has a federal
parliamentary system of government, with four provinces, two autonomous
territories, and a capital territory. Pakistan is a nuclear-armed state, and has
a tense relationship with its neighbor India, with whom it has fought several
wars over the disputed region of Kashmir. Pakistan is also a key ally of the
United States in the war on terror, and faces various challenges from militant
groups, sectarian violence, and economic instability.

Pre-independence era

The political history of Pakistan can be traced back to the Pakistan Movement,
which was a nationalist movement that aimed to establish a separate state for
the Muslims of British India. The Pakistan Movement was led by Muhammad
Ali Jinnah, who is regarded as the founder of Pakistan. The Pakistan
Movement was based on the two-nation theory, which argued that the Muslims
and Hindus of India were two distinct nations that could not coexist peacefully
under one state. The Pakistan Movement also faced opposition from some
Muslim religious scholars, who feared that a secular state would undermine the
Islamic identity of the Muslims.

The Pakistan Movement gained momentum after the Lahore Resolution of

1940, which demanded a separate state for the Muslims in the northwestern
and eastern regions of India. The British government, which ruled India at the
time, agreed to grant independence to India and Pakistan in 1947, after the
Second World War. However, the partition of India and Pakistan was
accompanied by widespread violence, displacement, and bloodshed, as millions
of people migrated across the new borders. The partition also left the fate of
Kashmir unresolved, as both India and Pakistan claimed the region as their
own.
Parliamentary democracy

After the independence, Pakistan adopted a parliamentary system of

government, with Jinnah as the first governor-general and Liaquat Ali Khan as
the first prime minister. Pakistan faced many challenges in its early years,
such as integrating the refugees, establishing an administrative system,
formulating a constitution, and developing the economy. Pakistan also had to
deal with the issue of its two wings, West Pakistan and East Pakistan, which
were separated by a thousand miles of Indian territory. The two wings had
different languages, cultures, and political interests, and the East Pakistanis
felt marginalized and exploited by the West Pakistani elite.

Pakistan also had to cope with the security threat from India, which led to
the first Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-48 over Kashmir. Pakistan joined the
US-led alliances of SEATO and CENTO in the 1950s, hoping to gain military
and economic assistance from the West. However, Pakistan also faced internal
political instability, as the civilian governments failed to deliver good
governance, and the military began to intervene in politics. In 1956, Pakistan
adopted its first constitution, which declared Pakistan as an Islamic republic,
and made Urdu the national language. However, the constitution was abrogated
in 1958, when General Ayub Khan staged a coup and imposed martial law.

Military dictatorship

Ayub Khan ruled Pakistan from 1958 to 1969, as a military dictator and later
as a self-appointed president. He introduced a new constitution in 1962, which
gave him sweeping powers and reduced the role of the parliament. He also
initiated a series of economic and social reforms, known as the Decade of
Development, which boosted the growth and industrialization of Pakistan.
However, his policies also widened the gap between the rich and the poor, and
alienated the East Pakistanis, who demanded more autonomy and
representation. Ayub Khan also faced a war with India in 1965, which ended
in a stalemate and a UN-sponsored ceasefire.

Ayub Khan’s regime was challenged by a mass movement in 1968-69, led by

the opposition parties and the student activists, who demanded the restoration
of democracy and the end of martial law. Ayub Khan resigned in 1969, and
handed over power to another general, Yahya Khan, who promised to hold free
and fair elections. The elections of 1970 were the first general elections in
Pakistan’s history, and resulted in a landslide victory for the Awami League, a
Bengali nationalist party, in East Pakistan. However, the Pakistan People’s
Party (PPP), led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, won the majority of seats in West
Pakistan, and refused to accept the Awami League’s demand for a confederal
system of government. This led to a political deadlock and a civil war in East
Pakistan, where the Pakistani army launched a brutal crackdown on the Bengali
population, killing hundreds of thousands of people and creating millions of
refugees.

The civil war in East Pakistan attracted the intervention of India, which
supported the Bengali rebels and invaded East Pakistan in December 1971. The
Pakistani army surrendered to the Indian forces, and East Pakistan became an
independent state, known as Bangladesh. The loss of East Pakistan was a
humiliating and traumatic event for Pakistan, which also resulted in the
overthrow of Yahya Khan and the rise of Bhutto as the new president and
prime minister of Pakistan.

Democratic interlude

Bhutto’s government was the first civilian government in Pakistan after 13

years of military rule. Bhutto introduced a new constitution in 1973, which
restored the parliamentary system and gave more autonomy to the provinces.
He also pursued a populist and socialist agenda, which included nationalizing
major industries, banks, and educational institutions, and launching a nuclear
program. He also tried to improve Pakistan’s relations with the Islamic world,
the Soviet Union, and China, and to seek a peaceful settlement with India
over Kashmir.

However, Bhutto’s government also faced many problems, such as economic

decline, corruption, inflation, and opposition from the religious parties, the
ethnic groups, and the military. Bhutto’s popularity eroded after he rigged the
elections of 1977, which sparked a nationwide protest movement, led by the
Pakistan National Alliance (PNA), a coalition of nine opposition parties. The
PNA demanded the resignation of Bhutto and the holding of fresh elections.
The situation deteriorated into violence and chaos, and prompted another
military coup, led by General Zia-ul-Haq, who arrested Bhutto and imposed
martial law.

Military dictatorship

Zia-ul-Haq ruled Pakistan from 1977 to 1988, as a military dictator and later
as a self-appointed president. He executed Bhutto in 1979, after a
controversial trial, and banned all political parties and activities. He also
imposed a strict version of Islamic law, or Sharia, on the country, and
introduced various Islamic ordinances, such as the Hudood Ordinance, the
Blasphemy Law, and the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance. He also supported the
Afghan mujahideen, who were fighting against the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan, and received massive military and economic aid from the United
States and Saudi Arabia. Zia-ul-Haq also faced a war with India in 1984,
over the Siachen Glacier, which is the world’s highest battlefield.

Zia-ul-Haq’s regime was opposed by various democratic and secular forces,

such as the PPP, the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD), and
the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT). He also faced resistance from the ethnic
and nationalist movements, such as the Sindhi, Baloch, and Pashtun groups,
who demanded more rights and autonomy. Zia-ul-Haq tried to legitimize his
rule by holding a referendum in 1984, and a non-party based election in 1985,
which were widely seen as rigged and manipulated. He also amended the
constitution in 1985, and gave himself the power to dissolve the parliament
and dismiss the prime minister at his discretion. He also appointed loyalists
and Islamists to key positions in the judiciary, the bureaucracy, and the
media.

Zia-ul-Haq’s regime came to an abrupt end in 1988, when he died in a

mysterious plane crash, along with several senior military and civilian officials.
His death paved the way for the restoration of democracy and the lifting of
martial law.

Democratic interlude

The elections of 1988 were the first party-based elections in Pakistan after
11 years of military rule. The elections resulted in a hung parliament, with no
party winning a clear majority. The PPP, led by Benazir Bhutto, the daughter
of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, emerged as the largest party, and formed a coalition
government with the support of some smaller parties and independents. Benazir
Bhutto became the first female prime minister of Pakistan, and the first
female leader of a Muslim country. She inherited a difficult situation, with a
weak economy, a huge foreign debt, a volatile security situation, and a
powerful military establishment. She also faced opposition from the
conservative and religious parties, such as the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI),
a coalition of nine parties, led by Nawaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab.

Benazir Bhutto’s government lasted for only 20 months, and was dismissed by
President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in 1990, on charges of corruption, nepotism, and
incompetence. The president used the power of Article 58(2)(b) of the
constitution, which was introduced by Zia-ul-Haq, and which allowed him to
dissolve the parliament and dismiss the prime minister. The president also
appointed a caretaker government, headed by Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, and
called for fresh elections.
The elections of 1990 were won by the IJI, and Nawaz Sharif became the
prime minister of Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif pursued a liberal and pro-business
agenda, which included privatizing state-owned enterprises, deregulating the
economy, and attracting foreign investment. He also tried to improve
Pakistan’s relations with India, and signed the Lahore Declaration in 1999,
which was a bilateral agreement to reduce the risk of nuclear war and to
resolve the Kashmir issue peacefully. However, Nawaz Sharif’s government also
faced many challenges, such as the Kargil War of 1999, which was a covert
military operation by the Pakistani army to capture strategic heights in the
Indian-controlled Kashmir, and which almost triggered a nuclear confrontation
between the two countries. Nawaz Sharif’s government was also accused of
corruption, mismanagement, and authoritarianism, and was overthrown by
another military coup, led by General Pervez Musharraf, in 1999. Musharraf
arrested Nawaz Sharif and imposed a state of emergency.
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After the military coup of 1999, Pakistan entered another period of military
dictatorship, followed by a fragile democracy, and a struggle against terrorism
and extremism. Here are some headings for the next sections of the note:

Military dictatorship
• Musharraf’s rule and reforms
• The 9/11 attacks and the war on terror
• The 2002 elections and the MMA
• The 2005 earthquake and the relief efforts
• The 2007 crisis and the state of emergency
• The assassination of Benazir Bhutto and the return of Nawaz Sharif
• The 2008 elections and the coalition government
• The impeachment and resignation of Musharraf

Democratic interlude
• The PPP-led government and the 18th Amendment
• The 2010 floods and the humanitarian crisis
• The 2011 US raid and the killing of Osama bin Laden
• The 2013 elections and the PML-N victory
• The PTI-led protest movement and the dharna
• The 2014 Peshawar school massacre and the National Action Plan
• The 2016 Panama Papers scandal and the disqualification of Nawaz
Sharif
• The 2018 elections and the PTI victory

Current affairs
• The PTI-led government and the economic challenges
• The 2019 Pulwama attack and the Balakot airstrike
• The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown
• The 2021 Daska by-election and the ECP controversy
• The 2022 Senate elections and the no-confidence motion
• The 2023 general elections and the prospects of the opposition
• The 2024 Kashmir referendum and the regional dynamics
• The 2025 Vision 2030 and the development goals
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