THE MUDDLING

NINETIES: Benazir Bhutto

And Nawaz Sharif (1988-
1999) Contd.
Lecture 8
NAWAZ SHARIF’S FIRST
GOVERNMENT
• On November 1, 1990, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, became prime
minister for the first time.

• In his first address to the nation he promised a comprehensive national

reconstruction program and to increase the pace of industrialization.

• He presented his vision: "turning Pakistan into a (South) Korea by

encouraging greater private saving and investment to accelerate
economic growth."
NAWAZ SHARIF’S FIRST
GOVERNMENT

• Sharif introduced Islamic Laws:

o The Shariat Ordinance

o Bait-ul-Maal (to help poor)

• He gave these tasks to the Ministry of Religion.

 FOREIGN POLICY AND
KALASHNIKOV CULTURE
• Nawaz Sharif strengthened relations with Central Asia’s Muslim countries.

• He tried to form a Muslim Bloc by uniting all Central Asian Muslim

countries thus he extended the membership of Economic Cooperation
Organization (ECO) to all Central Asian countries.

• Pakistan also joined the international coalition to drive Iraq out of Kuwait
during the Gulf War.
• Afghanistan was disintegrating into chaos Nawaz Sharif attempted to
broker a peace, but the violence continued.
 DOWNFALL OF SHARIF’S FIRST
GOVERNMENT

• Differences over policy matters surfaced between the prime minister

and the president.

• In 1993 the president brought up charges of corruption and

mismanagement against Nawaz Sharif, dismissed him and dissolved
the National Assembly
DOWNFALL OF SHARIF’S FIRST
GOVERNMENT
• New elections were announced for July 1993.

• Till that, Nawaz Sharif was reinstated as prime minister.

• In July 1993 both Nawaz Sharif and Ishaq Khan resigned from their
positions.

• Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi was named as the caretaker prime minister

and Wasim Sajjad the caretaker president.
Elections of 1993
• However, elections were held in October 1993.

• Pakistan Muslim League (PML) led by Nawaz Sharif won 72 seats. The
PPP won a plurality, with 86 seats in the National Assembly but
formed a coalition government with 121 seats.

• Her position was further strengthened when a PPP member, Farooq

Leghari won the presidential elections in November 1993.
Elections of 1993

• In his first address as president, Leghari pledged to revoke the Eighth

Amendment, which had previously been used to dissolve
governments at presidential will.

• He also supported weakening the power of religious courts and

expanding women’s rights.
SECOND BENZAIR GOVERNMENT
(1993-1996)
• Benazir's second government promised to strengthen the democratic
Institutions and pursue her reforms program.

• Her reform program addressed:

o Ethnic problems
o Strengthening the national treasury,
o Reconstructing the financial system,
o Enhancing social services and women's rights.
 FAILURE IN BENAZIR’S POLICIES
• However, various problems such as inefficient bureaucracy, weak
infrastructure widespread tax evasion and corruption, neglect of
social development and high population growth continued to plague
the economy.

• One of the major problems was the widespread violence in Sindh.

• Pakistan also became one of the leading sources of drug supply to the
US and Europe.
 BENAZIR’S CENTRAL ASIA POLICY

• Benazir backed the Taliban, who she saw as a force that would
provide security to protect the proposed pipeline of reforms and bring
stability to their country.
 BENAZIR’S CENTRAL ASIA POLICY
• In an address later on in 1998 Bhutto realized her mistake and she said that
these policies had created a strategic threat to Pakistan and led to Islamic
militancy, suicide bombings, weaponizing the population, the drug trade,
increased poverty and unemployment.

“I remember when the Taliban first came up in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Many of us, including our friends from the U.S., initially thought they would
bring peace to that war-torn country. And that was a critical, fatal mistake we
made. If I had to do things again, that’s certainly not a decision that I would
have taken”
(Bhutto 2007)
 PRESIDENT DISMISSES BENAZIRS
GOVERNMENT
• Throughout the later half of the 1990s relations between Bhutto and Leghari
deteriorated.

• On November 5, 1996, Leghari dismissed the Benazir Bhutto government,

alleging crimes including corruption, mismanagement, and murder.

• The National Assembly was also dissolved.

• After Bhutto’s dismissal, Malik Meraj Khalid was named caretaker prime
minister.
 NAWAZ SHARIF’S SECOND
GOVERNMENT (1997-1999)
• In the February 1997 elections, PML won a two-thirds majority in the
National Assembly and Nawaz Sharif was re-elected as the Prime Minister.

• In April 1997,the Thirteenth Amendment to the constitution was adopted

by the National Assembly which again gave Prime minister authority over
the president.

• No longer concerned about dismissal from his position, Nawaz Sharif let his
relationship with President Leghari deteriorate.
NAWAZ SHARIF’S SECOND GOVERNMENT (1997-
1999)

• On November 28, 1997, an unruly mob of the PML-N workers and

leaders stormed the court building in Islamabad and forced the Chief
Justice Syed Sajjad Ali Shah to adjourn the contempt of court case
against the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

• President Leghari resigned on December 2, 1997.

• On December 31, 1997, the PML candidate, Muhammad Rafiq Tarar,

became Pakistan's ninth President.
 NUCLEAR TESTS AND THE
ECONOMY
• On May 28, 1998, Pakistan conducted its own tests of five nuclear
devices.

• The United Nations passed a unanimous resolution calling on both

Pakistan and India to end their nuclear weapon programs, and urged
both countries to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

• Pakistan expressed willingness to sign the treaty if India did the same,
but India declined.
 NUCLEAR TESTS AND THE
ECONOMY

• Following Pakistan’s nuclear tests of late May and early June 1998, the
United States reimposed sanctions included a ban on aid , financing,
ban on loans from US banks and restrictions on exports.

• Japan joined the United States, freezing most of its development aid
to Pakistan and withdrawing support for new loans.
 THE COUP AGAINST SHARIF
• Sharif, worried about the potential for a coup, planned to replace Musharraf.

• On October 12, 1999, General Musharraf was on a commercial flight to

Karachi, returning from a visit from Sri Lanka, Nawaz Sharif ordered the Civil
Aviation Authority to deny the flight permission to land anywhere in
Pakistan.

• The plane ultimately landed with only minutes of fuel left on-board.

• This became known as the “Plane Conspiracy” case.

 THE COUP AGAINST SHARIF
• Musharraf proclaimed himself the chief executive of Pakistan and
Pakistan was once more under military rule.

• Musharraf became the president of Pakistan on 20 June 2001, only to

win a controversial referendum on 1 May 2002 which awarded him
five years of presidency.

• Although, Musharraf relinquished the position of Chairman of Joint

Chiefs in 2001, he remained the Army Chief until retiring from the
army in 2007.