Military Coups In Pakistan

A History of Military Rule

Islamabad is no stranger to military rule; the army has actually been in charge for a
combined 33 years of Pakistan's 68-year history. In 1977, for example, Chief of Army
Staff Gen. Zia-ul-Haq capitalized on domestic political unrest and began an 11-year
tenure as president by overthrowing Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was tried on
charges of politically motivated murder and was hanged in April 1979. In October 1999,
when Sharif, the prime minister at the time, fired then-Chief of Army Staff Gen. Pervez
Musharraf for his role in the Kargil War against India, Musharraf overthrew Sharif in a
bloodless coup. He arrested Sharif, tried him in court and banished him from politics until
2007, when he returned from exile in Saudi Arabia.

Several factors contributed to the military's dominance in Pakistan. After achieving

independence, Pakistan inherited only 17 percent of colonial India's revenue streams but
33 percent of the military, giving the armed forces — already the most organized entity in
the new country — considerable advantage in the new government. Kashmir, the only
Muslim-majority state left in India after the Partition, was another contributing factor. Its
Hindu maharaja, the state ruler, delayed deciding which state to join, but when Pakistani
tribal militias aided by Pakistani soldiers invaded Kashmir, the maharaja agreed to join
India in exchange for protection against Pakistani forces. Last, from Pakistan's
perspective, India's refusal to allow a plebiscite in Kashmir only reinforced the need for
South Asia's Muslims to have an independent homeland.

1953/54 constitutional coup

In 1953, the Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad dismissed the government of

the Prime Minister Khawaja Nazimuddin despite it enjoying the support of the
Constituent Assembly of Pakistan; then in 1954 he dismissed the Constituent
Assembly itself to prevent it changing the constitution to restrict the Governor-
General's powers. In doing this he had the support of General Ayub Khan who
provided troops to control communications with London so as to avoid any
possibility of the Queen being advised to replace the Governor-General.[citation
needed] The failure of the courts to support representative institutions in
Federation of Pakistan v. Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan provided a pattern which latter
led to more open military intervention against elected governments to be justified
using a doctrine of necessity.

1958 coup

In 1958, the first Pakistani President Major General Iskander Mirza dismissed the
Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and the government of Prime Minister Feroz
Khan Noon, appointing army commander-in-chief Gen. Ayub Khan as the Chief
martial law administrator. Thirteen days later, Mirza himself was exiled by Ayub
Khan, who appointed himself president

On October 7, President Mirza declared martial law in Pakistan. He abrogated the

constitution of 1956, describing it as "unworkable" and full of "dangerous compromises.
He dismissed the government of Sir Feroz Khan Noon, dissolved the National Assembly
of Pakistan and the provincial legislatures. Mirza also proceeded to outlaw all political
parties. He appointed General Ayub Khan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistani army
as the Chief Martial Law Administrator and nominated him to become the new Prime
Minister of Pakistan, charged with administering the country.

Issue of West Pakistan and The role of General Tikka Khan

The Pakistan Armed Forces were unable to counter such threats posed by Bangladesh
liberation army. Poorly trained and inexperienced in guerrilla tactics, Pakistan Armed
Forces and their assets were defeated by the Bangladesh Liberation Forces. On April
1971, Lieutenant-General Tikka Khan succeeded General Yaqub Khan as Commander
of unified forces. General Tikka Khan led the massive violent and massacre campaigns
in the region. He is held responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of Bengali people
in East Pakistan, mostly civilians and unarmed peoples. For his role, General Tikka Khan
gained the title as "Butcher of Bengal". General Khan faced an international reaction
against Pakistan, and therefore, General Tikka was removed as Commander of Eastern
front. He installed a civilian administration under Abdul Motaleb Malik on 31 August 1971,
which proved to be ineffective. However, during the meeting, with no high officers willing
to assume the command of East Pakistan, Lieutenant-General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi
volunteered for the command of East Pakistan. Inexperienced and the large magnitude
of this assignment, the government sent Vice-Admiral Mohammad Shariff as second-in-
command of General Niazi. Admiral Shariff served as the deputy unified commander of
Pakistan Armed Forces in East Pakistan. However, General Niazi proved to be a failure
and ineffective ruler. Therefore, General Niazi and Air Marshal Enamul Haque,
Commander of Eastern Air Force Command (EAFC), failed to launch any operation in
East Pakistan against Indian or its allies. Except Admiral Shariff who continued to press
pressure on Indian Navy until the end of the conflict. Admiral Shariff's effective plans
made it nearly impossible for Indian Navy to land its naval forces on the shores of East
Pakistan. The Indian Navy was unable to land forces in East Pakistan and the Pakistan
Navy was still offering resistance. The Indian Army, entered East Pakistan from all three
directions of the province. The Indian Navy then decided to wait near the Bay of Bengal
until the Army reached the shore.

1977 coup (Operation Fair Play)

Operation Fair Play was the code name for the coup d'etat conducted at midnight
on July 4, 1977 by the Pakistan military, led by Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-
Haq, against the government of then-Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. General
Zia ordered the arrest of Bhutto, his ministers and other leaders of both the
Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan National Alliance. In a nationally
televised address, General Zia announced that the National Assembly of Pakistan
and all provincial assemblies were dissolved, and that the Constitution of Pakistan
was suspended.

Role of Zia ul Haq In Pakistan’s Politics and His Policy of

Islamization

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star
general who served as the 6th President of Pakistan from 1978 until his death in 1988,
after declaring martial law in 1977. He remains the country’s longest-serving de facto
head of state.

After Bhutto was criticised and the Public was going against him especially after the
murder of Ahmed Raza Kasuri’s father. PPP leader Mustafa Khar openly condemned
Bhutto. In 1977 election a large number of grouped to form Pakistan National Alliance.
Bhutto won these election if after the whole opposition united. However, the opposition
did not accept these elections and called it illegitmate.

Soon, all the opposition leaders called for the overthrow of Bhutto's regime. Political and
civil disorder intensified, which led to more unrest. On 21 April 1977, Bhutto imposed
martial law in the major cities of Karachi, Lahore and Hyderabad. However, a compromise
agreement between Bhutto and opposition was ultimately reported. Zia planned the Coup
d'état carefully, as he knew Bhutto had integral intelligence in the Pakistan Armed Forces,
and many officers, including Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan and Major-
General Tajammul Hussain Malik, GOC of 23rd Mountain Division, Major-General
Naseerullah Babar, DG of Directorate-General for the Military Intelligence (DGMI) and
Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan, were loyal to Bhutto.

The coup, (called "Operation Fair Play") transpired in the small hours of 5 July 1977.
Before the announcement of any agreement, Bhutto and members of his cabinet were
arrested by troops of Military Police under the order of Zia.Bhutto tried to call Zia but all
telephone lines were disconnected. When Zia spoke to him later, he reportedly told Bhutto
that he was sorry that he had been forced to perform such an "unpleasant task".
1999 coup

In October, 1999 senior officers loyal to army chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf arrested prime
minister Nawaz Sharif and his ministers after thwarting the Sharif regime's attempt to
dismiss Musharraf and prevent his plane from landing in Pakistan as he returned from a
visit to Sri Lanka

Era of General Pervez Musharraf

Pervez Musharraf is a Pakistani politician and retired four-star army general who was the
10th President of Pakistan from 2001 until tendering his resignation, to avoid
impeachment, in 2008.

The era of Mushharraf brought so many changes in the political scenario of Pakistan,
President Mushharraf called for referendum to get public confidence which he got with
teh alliance of PMLQ. During his time, both Benazir and Shareef brothers were ine exile
which President Musharraf says went out on agreement whereas others say that they
were sent out by force.

There was a campaign against Musharraf by lawyers and and different political parties
with slogan “Go Musharraf Go” . He called for elections but due to murder of Benazir
Bhutto the elections had to be delayed and then later PPP won elections and after some
months President Musharraf retired and then Asif Ali Zardari took over as President of
Pakistan.

The era of President Musharraf is also important with regards to Talibanization as after
9/11 Pakistan had to face so many challenges like the one Afghan War which also brough
distability and terrorism in Pakistan.

Conclusion
Its been successful 11 years and two governments have completed their time
successfully and now the military and political leadership are going together on same
page as compared to the first 6 decades. However, some political parties still blame
Miltary for their interventions in Elections and political process.