History of Pakistan Final Report

General Musharafs rule compared to Democratic governments

Group Members
Sareena Khan Hassan sohail Hamza Anjum Tauqeer Qaisar 08-0528 08-056 08-0182 08-0476

Dated:
21st April, 2012

Introduction
Democracy and participatory governance are popular political notions in todays world. Fair and free elections are the key pre-requisite of democracy. However, democracy lacks substance unless the electoral process is coupled with the supremacy of the constitution, the rule of law, civil and political rights and freedoms of the people. The state must practice the principle of equal citizenship irrespective of religion, caste, ethnicity and regional background. It must also ensure equality of opportunity to all for advancement in social, economic and political domains and guarantee security of life and property of its citizens. Our religion Islam supports democracy but whenever our politicians have failed to promote democracy and failed to fulfill peoples expectations than due to internal and external pressures military is given a chance to take over the control and impose a martial law. Military is only the hope after these failed politicians from whom people starts expecting and supports them. Army than imposes a martial law in the country and take over the control due to which economy has to face a lot of problems. At first it seems as if everything is going good and smooth but later when democratic government takes over again people of the country faces many problems. Military should never be given a chance to rule the country they are just to safeguard of their country and its their duty to stay on borders only they are not allowed to take part in civil problems as they are not trained for that. Similarly if we talk about the history of Pakistan whenever army took over the rule they just simply spoiled the policies and economy of the country, foreign policies are disturbed and other countries stop supporting our country due to the martial law. We know that except from a few democratic governments have also failed to meet our expectations but still they never spoiled the way army or military did, lets see what happens in the ruler ship of general Zia and General Musharraf.

General Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq was the one who enforced Martial Law for the third time in the brief history of Pakistan. Second child and eldest son of Muhammad Akram, a teacher in the British Army, Zia-ul-Haq was born on August 12, 1924, at Jalandhar. After receiving his early education from Government High School Simla, he did his B. A. Honors from St. Stephen College, Delhi. He was commissioned in the British Army in 1943 and served in Burma, Malaya and Indonesia during World War II. When the war was over, he decided to join the armored corps. At the time of Independence, like most of the Muslim officers in the British Army, Zia-ulHaq opted to join the Pakistan Army. As a Major he got an opportunity to do a training course

in the Commander and Staff College of United States of America in 1963-64. During the 1965 War, he acted as the Assistant Quarter Master of 101 Infantry Division, which was posted at the Kiran Sector. He remained posted in Jordan from 1967 till 1970, where he was involved in training Jordon's military. He was appointed as Corps Commander of Multan in 1975.

On April 1, 1976, in a surprise move the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, appointed Zia-ul-Haq as Chief of Army Staff, superseding five senior Generals. Bhutto probably wanted somebody as the head of the armed forces who would not prove to be a threat for him, and the best available option was the simple General who was apparently interested only in offering prayers and playing golf. However, history proved that General Zia-ul-Haq proved to be much smarter than Bhutto thought. When political tension reached its climax due to the deadlock between Bhutto and the leadership of Pakistan National Alliance on the issue of general elections, Zia-ul-Haq took advantage of the situation. On July 5, 1977, he carried out a bloodless coup overthrowing Bhutto's government and enforced Martial Law in the country. After assuming power as Chief Martial Law Administrator, Zia-ul-Haq promised to hold National and Provincial Assembly elections in the next 90 days and to hand over power to the representatives of the Nation. However, in October 1977, he announced the postponement of the electoral plan and decided to start an accountability process of the politicians. In a statement, he said that he changed his decision due to the strong public demand for the scrutiny of political leaders who had indulged in malpractice in the past. The Disqualification Tribunal was formulated and many former Members of Parliament were disqualified from participating in politics at any level for the next seven years. A white paper was also issued which criticized the activities of Pakistan People Party's government under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. With the retirement of Fazal Ilahi, Zia-ul-Haq also assumed the office of President of Pakistan on September 16, 1978. In the absence of a Parliament, Zia-ul-Haq decided to set up an alternative system. He introduced Majlis-i-Shoora in 1980. Most of the members of the Shoora were intellectuals, scholars, ulema, journalists, economists and professionals belonging to different fields of life. The Shoora was to act as a board of advisors to the President. The idea of establishing this institution was not bad but the main problem was that all 284 members of the Shoora were to be nominated by the President and thus there was no room for dissention. In the mid 80s, Zia-ul-Haq decided to fulfill his promise of holding elections in the country. But before handing over the power to the public representatives, he decided to secure his position. Referendum was held in the county in December 1984, and the masses were given the option to elect or reject the General as the future President of Pakistan. The question asked in the referendum was phrased in a way that Zia-ul-Haq's victory was related to the process of Islamization in the country. According to the official result, more than 95 percent of the votes were cast in favor of Zia-ul-Haq, thus he was elected as President for the next five years.

After being elected President, Zia-ul-Haq decided to hold elections in the country in February 1985 on a non-party basis. Most of the political parties decided to boycott the elections but election results showed that many victors belonged to one party or the other. To make things easier for himself, the General nominated the Prime Minister from amongst the Members of the Assembly. To many, his nomination of Muhammad Khan Junejo as the Prime Minister was because he wanted a simple person at the post who would act as a puppet in his hands. Before handing over the power to the new Government he made certain Amendments in the Constitution and got them endorsed from the Parliament before lifting the state of emergency in the county. Due to this Eighth Amendment in the Constitution, the powers of the President were increased to an absolute level on the plea of safeguarding national integrity. As time passed, the Parliamentarians wanted to have more freedom and power. By the beginning of 1988, rumors about the differences between the Prime Minister and Zia-ul-Haq were rife. The general feeling was that the President, who had enjoyed absolute power for eight long years, was not ready to share it with anybody else. On May 29, 1988, Zia-ul-Haq finally dissolved the National Assembly and removed the Prime Minister under article 58(2) b of the amended Constitution. Apart from many other reasons, Junejo's decision to sign the Geneva Accord against the wishes of Zia-ul-Haq proved to be one of the major factors responsible for his removal. After 11 years, Zia-ul-Haq once again made the same promise to the Nation to hold fresh elections within next 90 days. With Benazir Bhutto back in the country and the Muslim League leadership annoyed with the President over the decision of May 29, Zia-ul-Haq was trapped in the most difficult situation of his political life. The only option left for him was to repeat history and to postpone the elections once again. However, before taking any decision, Zia-ul-Haq died in an air crash near Bhawalpur on August 17, 1988. The accident proved to be very costly for the country as almost the entire military elite of Pakistan was onboard. Though United States' Ambassador to Pakistan was also killed in the misfortune, yet many do not rule out U. S. involvement in the sabotage. They believe that United States could not afford Pakistan to oppose Geneva Accord and thus they removed the biggest hurdle in their way. The remains of Zia-ul-Haq were buried in the premises of Faisal Mosque, Islamabad. His death brought a large number of mourners to attend his funeral, including a large number of Afghanis, which proved to be one of the biggest in the history of the country. During his rule, Zia-ul-Haq tried his utmost to maintain close ties with the Muslim World. He made vigorous efforts along with other Muslim States to bring an end to the war between Iran and Iraq. Pakistan joined the Non-Aligned Movement in 1979 during Zia-ul-Haq's term. He also fought a war by proxy in Afghanistan and saved Pakistan from a direct war with Soviet Union.

General Pervez Musharraf

General Pervez Musharraf, the second of three brothers, was born in Delhi on August 11, 1943.

His parents chose to settle in Karachi after the creation of Pakistan. He comes from a middle class family, his father having worked for the foreign ministry. He spent his early years in Turkey, from 1949 to 1956, owing to his father, the late Syed Musharrafu-ud-dins deputation in Ankara. Fluently he can converse in Turkish language and claims that Kamal Ataturk is his hero. On return to Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf received his education from Saint Patrick's High School, Karachi, and then from F. C. College, Lahore. In 1961, he joined the Pakistan Military Academy and was commissioned in Artillery Regiment in 1964. He fought in the IndoPakistan War of 1965 as a young officer, and was awarded Imtiazi Sanad for gallantry. He also achieved the Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military) and the Tamgha-i-Basalat. He has been also on the faculty of the Command and Staff College, Quetta and the war wing of (the) National Defence College. He volunteered to be a commando, and remained in the Special Services Group for seven years. He also participated in the Indo-Pak War of 1971 as a Company Commander in the Commando Battalion. A graduate of Command and Staff College, Quetta, General Musharraf also distinguished himself at the Royal College of Defense Studies, United Kingdom. During his military career, General Musharraf acquired varied experience in different command and instructional appointments. He also served as Director General Military Operations at the General Headquarters from 1993 to 1995. General Musharraf rose to the rank of General and was appointed as the Chief of Army Staff on October 7, 1998 when Pakistan's army chief, General Jehangir Karamat, resigned two days after calling for the army to be given a key role in the country's decision-making process. General Musharraf was given additional charge of Chairman Joint Chiefs Staff Committee on April 9, 1999. On October 12, 1999, when through a bloodless coup the military took over the government in Pakistan, he became the head of the state designated as Chief Executive. He assumed the office of President of Pakistan on June 20, 2001. In order to legitimize and legalize his rule, General Pervez Musharraf held a referendum on April 30, 2002 thereby elected as President of Pakistan for duration of five years. In accordance with the deal with MMA (Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal), he agrees to leave the army on 31st December, 2004 but will continue to serve five-year term as President as he got vote of confidence on January 1, 2004, from the parliament and the four provincial assemblies under the provision of the 17th Amendment duly passed by the National Assembly and the Senate. General Musharraf got married in 1968 and has two children, a son and a daughter. He is a natural sportsman, who loves to spend most of his leisure time playing Squash, Badminton or Golf. He also takes keen interest in water sports and has been an enthusiastic canoeist. Being an avid reader, he is well versed in Military History, his favorite subject. General Pervez Musharraf while he was also Chief Executive took over the office of the President of Pakistan on June 20, 2001, under the Provincial Constitutional Order (PCO) by removing Rafiq Tarar before he was allowed to complete his five-years tenure. With immediate

effect he dissolved the suspended Senate, National and Provincial Assemblies and dismissed the Chairman of the Senate and the Speaker of the National Assembly. After assuming the new office as President, General Pervez Musharraf announced, "The change will augur well for the future of Pakistan"; and said, "I think I have a role to play; I have a job to do here; I cannot and will not let this nation down". He gave three reasons for taking over as the President of Pakistan: constitutional, political, and economic. The critical moment in General Musharraf's presidency was 9/11, when Washington suddenly and direly needed his support the international antiterrorism campaign and to crush the Taliban in Afghanistan. Thus he became a pivotal player on the world stage and a close ally welcomed in Washington and London alike as a statesman of international standing. General Musharraf did his best to highlight the core issue of Kashmir at every international forum. In July 2001, he held his first summit meeting with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at Agra but couldnt make much headway in solving the Kashmir problem. Due to his consecutive efforts, however, a lot of tension between the two neighboring countries with nuclear-armed rivalry has been eased as they have restored diplomatic relations and started to build up warming ties mutually by means of confidence building measures. General Musharraf has given a new formula for solving the protracted dispute of Kashmir. After the Taliban were ousted, he offered all possible help to the new government. President General Musharraf kept his word to restore democracy and hold elections in October 2002 as mandated by the Supreme Court. He gratified the nation when after general elections, Pakistan's National Assembly and Senate in November 2002 met for the first time since the coup three years earlier. He also relinquished the post of Chief Executive when Zafarullah Khan Jamali became Prime Minister of Pakistan in November 2002. President Musharraf, however, continues to hold the offices of Chief of Army Staff, and Chief of the Staff Committee. The opposition parties refused to accept Framework Order (LFO) 2002 as it empowered the President to sack the prime minister dissolve parliament and also recognize him as both head of the army and head of the state. According to the opposition the provisions of the LFO were unconstitutional and illegal, and against the sovereignty of the Parliament. As a result, the business of parliament remained in deadlock for a year. In December, 2003 as part of a deal with MMA (Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal) to end the stand-off, General Musharraf agreed that he would step down as military head of the country on December 31, 2004 and also give up some of the powers he assumed after the coup while on January 1,2004. After getting vote of confidence from parliament and the four provincial assemblies, President Pervez Musharraf would now serve full five-year term as President till 2007 under the constitutional provisions after the seventeenth amendment was passed by a two-third majority of the Parliament. He secured 658 votes (56.23 per cent) with simple majority from a total of 1,170 members of parliament and the four assemblies amid MMA abstention and opposition boycott. President Musharraf presents to the world vision of a modern, tolerant, democratic, Islamic Pakistan and favors economic reforms and free trade with the West. He has also played a vital role in negotiating an economic package to assist Pakistan out of its problems.

Conclusion
Pakistan as a state has always been in two different types of leadership, either political parties or army rule. There have always been alternative turns of these leaderships. The main problem with our country has been this changing leadership and that is why our nation have not been able to develop properly. Every leadership imposes different set of rules and laws which always go against the previous leadership. Democracy in Pakistan faced a host of difficulties which did not let the democratic principles institutions and processes develop firm roots in the politics. Political forces and the rise of the bureaucratic-military elite. Long before the first military takeover in October 1958 the dominant elite were talking about the unsuitability of liberal democracy for Pakistan. Intermittent constitutional and political breakdown, the ascendancy of the military to power and the efforts of the top brass of the military to introduce a political system that protected their professional and corporate interests made it difficult to create participatory political institutions and processes that could command the voluntary support of the diversified political interests. The military elite employed the democratic principles in a selective manner and their policy of co-option of a section of the political leaders and exclusion of others accentuated polarization and jeopardized the prospects of political accommodation and consensus-building. This helps to build support for the political institutions and facilitates their sustainability. In Pakistan, periodic breakdown of the political order and repeated military take-over or attempts by the top brass to shape the political process to their political preferences did not ensure political continuity and the competing interest did not get equal opportunity to freely enter the political mainstream. Whenever Pakistan returned to civilian and constitutional rule, the quality of democracy remained poor. It is a case of democracy deficit.