1.
Land and Resources
2.
Climate
3.
Population
4.
Population Characteristics
5.
Political Divisions
6.
Principal Cities
7.
Religion
8.
Languages
9.
Education
10.
Libraries and Museums
11.
Economy
12.
Agriculture
13.
Forestry and Fishing
14.
Mining
15.
Manufacturing
16.
Currency and Banking
17.
Energy
18.
Foreign Trade
19.
Transportation
20.
Communications
21.
Government
22.
Executive
23.
Legislature
24.
Judiciary
25.
Local Government
26.
Political Parties
27.
Health and Welfare
28.
Defense
29.
History
30.
Problems of Partition
31.
Cabinet Shifts
32.
The Ayub Years
33.
Civil War
34.
The Bhutto Government
35.
Zia Regime
36.
Recent Developments
Land and Resources
Pakistan is mostly a dry region characterized by great extremes of
altitude and temperature. Its topography is partly divided by the Indus River,
which enters the country in the northeast and flows south into the Arabian Sea.
The Indus forms in general the line of demarcation between the two main
landforms of the country, namely, the Indus Valley, which extends principally
along the eastern side of the river, and the Baluchistan Highlands, which lie to
the west. Three lesser landforms of Pakistan are the coastal plain, which is a
narrow strip of land bordering the Arabian Sea; the Kharan Basin, which is west
of the Baluchistan Highlands; and the Thar Desert, which straddles the border
with India in the southeast.
The Indus Valley in Pakistan varies in width from about 80 to 320 km (about 50
to 200 mi); from north to south it includes portions of two main regions,
namely, the Punjab Plain and the Sind Plain. The Punjab region is drained by the
Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab, and Jhelum rivers, which are tributaries of the Indus;
these rivers supply the irrigation system that waters the Indus Valley.
The Baluchistan Highlands contain a series of mountain ranges; among these are
the Tobakakar Range, the Siahan Range, the Sulaiman Range, and the Kėrthar
Range. The highest peak in the highlands is Tirich Mėr (7690 m/25,230 ft)
located in the Hindu Kush mountains in the north. The Sefėd Koh Range is pierced
by the Khyber Pass on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The highest peak in Pakistan is K2 (also known as Mount Godwin Austen). Rising
8611 m (28,250 ft) above sea level in the Karakorum Range, the peak is located
in the region of Kashmėr that Pakistan controls. K2 is the second highest
mountain in the world, behind Mount Everest. [Top]
Climate
The climate of Pakistan varies widely from place to place. In the mountain
regions of the north and west, temperatures fall below freezing during winter;
in the Indus Valley area, temperatures range between about 32° and 49° C (about
90° and 120° F) in summer, and the average in winter is about 13° C (about 55°
F). Throughout most of Pakistan rainfall is scarce. The Punjab region receives
the most precipitation, more than 500 mm (more than 20 in) per year. The arid
regions of the southeast and southwest receive less than 125 mm (less than 5 in)
annually. Most rain falls in July and August.
Natural Resources, Plants, and Animals
The resources of Pakistan are primarily agricultural. The country's mineral
resources include salt, chromite, coal, gypsum, limestone, manganese, sulfur,
clay, graphite, copper, petroleum, and natural gas.
Vegetation in Pakistan varies according to elevation. Alpine flora grows on the
higher slopes. Forests of spruce, evergreen oak, chir or cheer pine, and a cedar
known as the deodar are found at lower elevations.
Animal life abounds in Pakistan, including deer, boar, bear, crocodile, and
waterfowl. In the freshwater and saltwater areas, fish of many varieties are
found. Marine life includes herring, mackerel, sharks, and shellfish.
[Top]
Population
The ethnological background of the population of Pakistan is extremely varied,
largely because the country lies in an area that was invaded repeatedly during
its long history. The people come from such ethnic stocks as the Dravidian,
Indo-Aryan, Greek, Scythian, Hun, Arab, Mongol, Persian, and Afghan.
[Top]
Population
Characteristics
The population of Pakistan (1996 estimate) is about 129,275,660, yielding an
average population density of about 162 persons per sq km (about 421 per sq mi).
The country's population was increasing in the mid-1990s at a rate of
approximately 2.7 percent a year. Only about 35 percent of the people live in
urban areas. [Top]
Political Divisions
For administrative purposes, Pakistan is divided into four provinces (Baluchistan,
North-West Frontier Province, Punjab, and Sind); the Federal Capital Territory,
which consists of the capital city of Islamabad; and six federally administered
tribal areas. [Top]
Principal Cities
Pakistan's largest city is Karachi. Other significant urban centers are Lahore,
an industrial center; Faisalabad, a center of the cotton industry; Rawalpindi,
an industrial city; Hyderabad, a manufacturing center; Multan; and Peshawar, a
hub of trade with Afghanistan. Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan.
[Top]
Religion
The leading religion of Pakistan is Islam, which is the faith of about 97
percent of the people. About four-fifths of the Muslims are Sunnite, and about
one-fifth are Shiite. Hinduism and Christianity form the leading minority
religions; other religious groups include the Sikhs, the Parsees, and a small
number of Buddhists. The constitution defines Pakistan as an Islamic nation, but
guarantees freedom of religion. [Top]
Languages
The official language of Pakistan is Urdu, but less than one-tenth of the people
use it as their first language. Punjabi is spoken by about one-half of all
households, and Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, and Baluchi are also spoken by many
people. In addition, English is extensively used by people in government, the
military, and higher education. [Top]
Education
Only about 35 percent of adult Pakistanis are literate. Although the
constitution prescribes free primary education, less than half of all children
actually receive it. Five years has been established as the period of primary
school attendance.
In the early 1990s about 14.1 million pupils were enrolled in preprimary and
primary schools, and about 4.8 million students attended secondary schools. In
addition, about 812,600 students attended institutions of higher education.
Among Pakistan's leading universities are the University of Karachi (1951), the
University of the Punjab (1882), in Lahore; the University of Peshawar (1950);
the University of Sind (1947), in Dadu; and the University of Agriculture
(1909), in Faisalabad. [Top]
Libraries and Museums
Karachi is the seat of some of the most important libraries in Pakistan; these
include the Liaquat Memorial Library (1950), the Central Secretariat Library
(1950), and the University of Karachi library. Also of note are the National
Archives of Pakistan, in Islamabad, and the Punjab Public Library (1884), in
Lahore. The National Museum of Pakistan (1950), in Karachi, contains important
materials from the Indus Valley civilizations, as well as Buddhist and Islamic
artifacts. Cultural materials also are displayed in the Lahore Museum (1864) and
the Peshawar Museum (1906). The Industrial and Commercial Museum, in Lahore,
contains exhibits on the manufactures of Pakistan. [Top]
Economy
The economy of Pakistan grew by 5.1 percent annually during the period from 1965
to 1980 and by about 6 percent during the 1980s and early 1990s. Nevertheless,
in the early 1990s, the majority of the nation's citizens remained poor and
heavily dependent on the agricultural sector for employment. This was largely a
result of the country's high rate of population increase, but political factors,
such as the war of secession waged successfully by East Pakistan (now
Bangladesh) in 1971 and a coup d'état in 1977 (see "History," below), also
slowed economic growth and modernization. In 1994 Pakistan's gross domestic
product (GDP) was $52 billion.
The government of Pakistan is deeply involved in directing the country's
economy, and most major industries have been nationalized. A government economic
plan for 1978 to 1983, however, recommended that private capital be given a
greater role in the industrial sector; the plan for 1983 to 1988 emphasized
investment in hydroelectric power and rural development. A plan implemented in
1988 to liberalize internal and external trade and privatize more sectors of the
economy had produced increases in the GDP growth rate, export revenues, and
domestic and foreign investment by the early 1990s. In 1993 the government moved
to reduce the nation's deficit and lessen its reliance on foreign aid and loans,
by introducing, among other measures, a national sales tax and increases in fuel
taxes. The annual budget in the early 1990s included an estimated $9.4 billion
in revenues and an estimated $10.9 billion in expenditures. Pakistan receives
considerable economic assistance from foreign countries and from international
organizations. The United States, which had imposed economic sanctions against
Pakistan in 1990 in order to protest Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, lifted
the sanctions in January 1996, clearing the way for economic assistance.
[Top]
Agriculture
About 26 percent of Pakistan's total land area is considered arable. Agriculture
and related activities engage about half of the workforce and provide nearly
one-fourth of GDP. By the late 1970s an intensive land-reform effort had
resulted in the expropriation of some 1.2 million hectares (some 3 million
acres) from landlords, the distribution of almost half of this to tenants, and
the limitation of individual holdings to 40 hectares (100 acres) of irrigated or
81 hectares (200 acres) of nonirrigated land. Formerly an importer of wheat,
Pakistan achieved self-sufficiency in the grain by the mid-1970s. Chief cash
crops are cotton (textile yarn and fabrics produce more than one-half of export
earnings) and rice. Principal crops in the early 1990s (with output in metric
tons) included sugarcane, 38.9 million; wheat, 15.7 million; rice, 4.6 million;
cotton lint, 1.6 million; and corn, 1.3 million. The livestock population
included about 36 million cattle and water buffalo, 27 million sheep, 39 million
goats, and 164 million chickens. [Top]
Forestry and Fishing
About 4 percent of Pakistan is forested. Most of the 27.2 million cu m (961
million cu ft) of roundwood harvested annually in the early 1990s was used as
fuel.
Fishing resources, although underdeveloped, are extensive. In the early 1990s
the annual catch was about 515,500 metric tons, three-quarters of it obtained
from the Indian Ocean. Types of fish caught include sardines, sharks, and
anchovies; shrimp are also an important part of the industry.
[Top]
Mining
In the early 1990s the most important minerals (with annual production in metric
tons) included coal and lignite (3 million), gypsum (532,000), rock salt
(895,000), limestone (8.8 million), and silica sand (154,000). Crude petroleum
production reached about 21.9 million barrels, and production of natural gas was
about 15.6 billion cu m (about 551 billion cu ft). [Top]
Manufacturing
The manufacturing capacity of Pakistan is still small, but production has been
steadily expanding. In the early 1990s manufacturing accounted for about 18
percent of GDP, as compared with 14 percent in 1965. Important products include
processed foods, cotton textiles, silk and rayon cloth, refined petroleum,
cement, fertilizers, sugar, cigarettes, and chemicals. Many handicrafts, such as
pottery and carpets, also are produced. [Top]
Currency and Banking
The basic monetary unit is the Pakistani rupee, consisting of 100 paisa (39.79
rupees equal U.S.$1; 1997). The State Bank of Pakistan, established in 1948,
issues banknotes; manages currency and credit, the public debt, and exchange
controls; and supervises the commercial banks. Pakistani banks were nationalized
in 1974, but in the early 1990s the country transferred two banks to private
ownership and issued licenses for ten new commercial banks. A number of major
foreign banks maintain offices in the country. In conformity with Islamic
doctrine, domestic banks in Pakistan have abandoned the payment and collection
of interest. Investment partnerships between the bank and the customer have
replaced loans at interest. [Top]
Energy
In the early 1990s about 56 percent of Pakistan's electricity was produced in
thermal installations, and most of the rest was generated in hydroelectric
facilities, including the large Tarbela project on the Indus River. A nuclear
power plant is situated near Karachi. Pakistan's annual output of electricity in
the early 1990s was 43 billion kilowatt-hours, based on an installed
generating-capacity of 10 million kilowatts. [Top]
Foreign Trade
The foreign trade of Pakistan consists largely of the export of raw materials
and basic products such as cotton yarn, and the import of manufactured products.
In the early 1990s annual exports earned about $6.8 billion and imports cost
about $9.1 billion. The chief exports were cotton textiles, cotton yarn and
thread, clothing, raw cotton, rice, carpets and rugs, leather, fish, and
petroleum products; the main imports were machinery, electrical equipment,
petroleum products, transportation equipment, metal and metal products,
fertilizer, and foodstuffs. Pakistan's chief trading partners for exports are
the United States, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Hong Kong, the United Arab
Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and France; chief sources of imports are the United
States, Japan, Germany, Malaysia, Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, China, and
France. [Top]
Transportation
The lack of modern transportation facilities is a major hindrance to the
development of Pakistan. Its terrain, laced with rivers and mountains, presents
formidable obstacles to internal overland transportation.
The country has about 110,700 km (about 68,800 mi) of roads, of which about 53
percent are paved. The railroad network totals about 12,625 km (about 7845 mi).
Karachi is the principal port; a second major port, Muhammad bin Qasim, was
opened in the early 1980s.
Pakistan International Airlines, in large part government owned, provides
overseas service to a number of countries. In the early 1990s the government
ended a monopoly held by Pakistan Airlines. Four private carriers have since
begun domestic operations. The country's main international airports serve
Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi. [Top]
Communications
In the early 1990s Pakistan had about 1 million telephones, 11 million radios,
and 2.2 million television sets. Television broadcasting began in Lahore in 1964
and in Karachi in 1966. Newspapers are mainly printed in Urdu and English.
Pakistan has about 237 daily newspapers, most with small circulations. The major
dailies are concentrated in Lahore and Karachi. [Top]
Government
Pakistan adopted a constitution in 1973, which was subsequently amended.
Following a military coup d'état in 1977, however, a system of martial law was
put into effect, and most aspects of the 1973 constitution were suspended. In
1985 parliamentary government was reestablished, the constitution restored, and
martial law ended. Legislation enacted in 1991 made Sharia, or Islamic law, the
supreme law of the land. [Top]
Executive
According to the 1973 constitution, as amended, Pakistan's head of state is a
president, elected to a five-year term by the legislature. The chief executive
official is a prime minister, who is responsible to the legislature.
[Top]
Legislature
Legislative power is vested in the bicameral Federal Legislature. The National
Assembly consists of 217 members elected directly by universal suffrage for
terms of up to five years. The Senate, consisting of 87 members, is elected
indirectly by the provincial legislatures; senators serve six-year terms.
[Top]
Judiciary
The highest court in Pakistan is the Supreme Court. The judicial system in each
province is headed by a high court. There is also a federal Sharia Court, which
administers Islamic law. [Top]
Local Government
Under the 1973 constitution the four provinces of Pakistan, headed by governors
appointed by the president, are subdivided into divisions, districts, and
agencies. Political agents responsible to the federal government administer the
tribal areas. [Top]
Political Parties
Severely limited in July 1977 and banned outright in October 1979, political
organizations were allowed to resume their activities in December 1985. The main
political parties are the Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan Muslim
League. [Top]
Health and Welfare
Health services in Pakistan are limited by a lack of facilities. In the early
1990s the country had about 51,900 physicians and about 71,900 hospital beds. In
1976 an old-age pension system was inaugurated, but it covers relatively few
Pakistanis. [Top]
Defense
Military service in Pakistan is voluntary. In the early 1990s the country's
armed forces had about 575,000 members, including 45,000 in the air force and
20,000 in the navy. Another 275,000 were in paramilitary units.
[Top]
History
For the early history of the region now known as Pakistan, see Indus Valley
Civilization; India: History.
The British ruled the Indian subcontinent for nearly 200 years-from 1756 to
1947. After the revolt in 1857, the British initiated political reforms,
allowing the formation of political parties. The Indian National Congress,
representing the overwhelming majority of Hindus, was created in 1885. The
Muslim League was formed in 1906 to represent the Muslim minority. When the
British introduced constitutional reforms in 1909, the Muslims demanded and
acquired separate electoral rolls. This guaranteed Muslims representation in the
provincial as well as the national legislatures until independence was granted
in 1947.
By 1940, however, the Muslim League had resolved to seek the partitioning of the
subcontinent and the creation of a separate Muslim state-Pakistan. During pre
independence talks in 1946, therefore, the British government found that the
stand of the Muslim League on separation and that of the Congress on the
territorial unity of India were irreconcilable. The British then decided on
partition and on August 15, 1947, transferred power to both India and Pakistan.
The latter, however, came into existence in two parts: West Pakistan,
coextensive with the country's present boundaries, and East Pakistan, now known
as Bangladesh. The two were separated by 1600 km (1000 mi) of Indian territory.
[Top]
Problems of
Partition
The division of the subcontinent caused tremendous dislocation of populations.
Some 3.5 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from Pakistan into India, and about 5
million Muslims migrated from India to Pakistan. The demographic shift caused an
initial bitterness between the two countries that was further intensified by
each country's accession of a portion of the princely states. Nearly all of
these 562 widely scattered polities joined either India or Pakistan; the princes
of Hyderabad, Junagadh, and Kashmėr, however, chose not to join either country.
On August 15, 1947, these three states became technically independent, but when
the Muslim ruler of Junagadh, with its predominantly Hindu population, joined
Pakistan a month later, India annexed his territory. Hyderabad's Muslim prince,
ruling over a mostly Hindu population, tried to postpone any decision
indefinitely, but in September 1948 that issue was also settled by Indian arms.
The Hindu ruler of Kashmėr, whose subjects were 85 percent Muslim, decided to
join India. Pakistan, however, questioned his right to do so, and a war broke
out between India and Pakistan. Although the United Nations (UN) subsequently
resolved that a plebiscite be held under UN auspices to determine the future of
Kashmėr, India continued to occupy about two-thirds of the state and refused to
hold a plebiscite. This deadlock, which still persists, has intensified
suspicion and antagonism between the two countries.
Prerepublican Era
The first government of Pakistan was headed by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan,
with Muhammad Ali Jinnah as governor-general, and it chose Karachi as its
capital. From 1947 to 1951 the country functioned under chaotic conditions. The
government endeavored to create a new national capital, organize the bureaucracy
and the armed forces, resettle refugees, and contend with provincial politicians
who often defied its authority. Failing to offer any program of economic and
social reform, however, it did not gain popular support.
In foreign policy, Liaquat established friendly relations with the United States
when he visited President Harry S. Truman in 1950, but he overlooked the
geographical closeness of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to
Pakistan and the implications of that fact for the future security of the
country. The visit to the United States injected bitterness into
Soviet-Pakistani relations because Liaquat had previously accepted an invitation
from Moscow that never materialized in a visit. The United States gave no
substantial aid to Pakistan until three years later.
After Liaquat was assassinated in 1951, Khwaja Nazimuddin, an East Pakistani who
had been governor-general since Jinnah's death in 1948, became prime minister.
Unable to prevent the erosion of the Muslim League's popularity in East
Pakistan, however, he was forced to yield to another East Pakistani, Muhammad
Ali Bogra, in 1953. When the Muslim League was nevertheless routed in East
Pakistani elections in 1954, the governor-general dissolved the constituent
assembly as no longer representative. The new assembly that met in 1955 was not
dominated by the Muslim League. Muhammad Ali Bogra was then replaced by Chaudhri
Mohammad Ali, a West Pakistani. At the same time, General Iskander Mirza became
governor-general.
The new constituent assembly enacted a bill, which became effective in October
1955, integrating the four West Pakistani provinces into one political and
administrative unit. The assembly also produced a new constitution, which was
adopted on March 2, 1956. It declared Pakistan an Islamic republic. Mirza was
elected provisional president. [Top]
Cabinet Shifts
The new charter notwithstanding, political instability continued because no
stable majority party emerged in the National Assembly. Prime Minister Ali
remained in office only until September 1956, when he was succeeded by Huseyn
Shaheed Suhrawardy, leader of the Awami League of East Pakistan. His tenure
lasted for slightly more than a year. When President Mirza discovered that
Suhrawardy was planning an alliance between East and West Pakistani political
forces by supporting Firoz Khan Noon, leader of the Republican Party, for the
presidency, Mirza forced Suhrawardy to resign. The succeeding coalition
government, headed by Ismail Ibrahim Chundrigar, lasted only two months before
it was replaced by a Republican Party cabinet under Noon. President Mirza,
however, found that his influence among the Republicans was diminishing and that
the new prime minister had come to an understanding with Suhrawardy. Against
such a coalition Mirza had no chance of being reelected president. Dissatisfied
with parliamentary democracy, he proclaimed martial law on October 7, 1958,
dismissed Noon's government, and dissolved the National Assembly.
The president was supported by General Muhammad Ayub Khan, commander in chief of
the armed forces, who was named chief martial-law administrator. Twenty days
later Ayub forced the president to resign and assumed the presidency himself.
[Top]
The Ayub Years
Ayub ruled Pakistan almost absolutely for more than ten years, and his regime
made some notable achievements, although it did not eliminate the basic problems
of Pakistani society. A land reforms commission appointed by Ayub distributed
some 900,000 hectares (about 2.2 million acres) of land among 150,000 tenants.
The reforms, however, did not erase feudal relationships in the countryside;
about 6000 landlords still retained an area three times larger than that given
to the 150,000 tenants. Ayub's regime also increased developmental funds to East
Pakistan more than threefold. This had a noticeable effect on the economy of the
eastern part, but the disparity between the two sectors of Pakistan was not
eliminated.
Perhaps the most pervasive of Ayub's changes was his system of Basic
Democracies. It created 80,000 basic democrats, or union councillors, who were
rural influentials or leaders of urban areas around the country. They
constituted the electoral college for presidential elections and for elections
to the national and provincial legislatures created under the constitution
promulgated by Ayub in 1962. The Basic Democratic System had four tiers of
government from the national to the local level, and each tier was assigned
certain responsibilities in administering the rural and urban areas, such as
maintenance of elementary schools, public roads, and bridges.
Ayub also promulgated an Islamic marriage and family laws ordinance in 1961,
imposing restrictions on polygamy and divorce and reinforcing the inheritance
rights of women and minors.
For a long time Ayub maintained cordial relations with the United States,
stimulating substantial economic and military aid to Pakistan. This relationship
deteriorated, however, in 1965, when another war with India broke out over
Kashmėr. The United States then suspended military and economic aid to both
countries, thus denying Pakistan badly needed weapons. The USSR intervened to
mediate the conflict, inviting Ayub and Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri of
India to Toshkent. By the terms of the so-called Toshkent Agreement of January
1966 the two countries withdrew their forces to prewar positions and restored
diplomatic, economic, and trade relations. Exchange programs were initiated, and
the flow of capital goods to Pakistan increased greatly.
The Toshkent Agreement and the Kashmėr war, however, generated frustration among
the people and resentment against President Ayub. Foreign Minister Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto resigned his position and agitated against Ayub's dictatorship and the
loss of Kashmėr. Ayub tried unsuccessfully to make amends, and in March 1969 he
resigned. Instead of transferring power to the speaker of the National Assembly,
as the constitution dictated, he handed it over to the commander in chief of the
army, General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan. Yahya assumed the presidential office
and declared martial law. [Top]
Civil War
In an attempt to make his martial-law regime more acceptable, Yahya dismissed
almost 300 senior civil servants and identified 30 families that were said to
control about half of Pakistan's gross national product. To curb their power
Yahya issued an ordinance against monopolies and restrictive trade practices in
1970. He also made commitments to transfer power to civilian authorities, but in
the process of making this shift, his intended reforms broke down.
The greatest challenge to Pakistan's unity, however, was presented by East
Pakistan, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, leader of the Awami League, who insisted
on a federation under which East Pakistan would be virtually independent. He
envisaged a federal government that would deal with defense and foreign affairs
only; even the currencies would be different, although freely convertible. His
program had great appeal for many East Pakistanis, and in the election of
December 1970 called by Yahya, Mujib, as he was generally called, won by a
landslide in East Pakistan, capturing a clear majority in the National Assembly.
Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) emerged as the largest in West Pakistan.
Suspecting Mujib of secessionist politics, Yahya in March 1971 postponed
indefinitely the convening of the National Assembly. Mujib in return accused
Yahya of collusion with Bhutto and established a virtually independent
government in East Pakistan. Yahya opened negotiations with Mujib in Dhaka in
mid-March, but the effort soon failed. Mujib was arrested and brought to West
Pakistan to be tried for treason. Meanwhile Pakistan's army went into action
against Mujib's civilian followers, who demanded that East Pakistan become
independent as the nation of Bangladesh.
There were a great many casualties during the ensuing military operations in
East Pakistan, as the Pakistani army attacked the poorly armed population. India
claimed that nearly 10 million Bengali refugees crossed its borders, and stories
of West Pakistani atrocities abounded. The Awami League leaders took refuge in
Calcutta and established a government in exile. India finally intervened on
December 3, 1971, and the Pakistani army surrendered 13 days later. On December
20, Yahya relinquished power to Bhutto, and in January 1972 Bangladesh
established an independent government. When the Commonwealth of Nations admitted
Bangladesh later that year, Pakistan withdrew its membership, not to return
until 1989. However, the Bhutto government gave diplomatic recognition to
Bangladesh in 1974. [Top]
The Bhutto Government
Under Bhutto's leadership a diminished Pakistan began to rearrange its national
life. Bhutto nationalized the basic industries, insurance companies,
domestically owned banks, and schools and colleges. He also instituted land
reforms that benefited tenants and middle-class farmers. He removed the armed
forces from the process of decision making, but to placate the generals he
allocated about 6 percent of the gross national product to defense. In 1973 the
National Assembly adopted the country's fifth constitution. Bhutto became prime
minister, and Fazal Elahi Chaudry replaced him as president.
Although discontented, the military remained silent for some time. Bhutto's
nationalization programs and land reforms further earned him the enmity of the
entrepreneurial and capitalist class, and the religious elements saw in his
socialism an enemy of Islam. His decisive flaw, however, was his inability to
deal constructively with the opposition. His rule grew heavy-handed. In general
elections in March 1977 nine opposition parties united in the Pakistan National
Alliance (PNA) to run against Bhutto's PPP. Losing in three of the four
provinces, the PNA alleged that Bhutto had rigged the vote. The PNA boycotted
the provincial elections a few days later and organized demonstrations
throughout the country that lasted for six weeks. [Top]
Zia Regime
When the situation seemed to be deadlocked, the army chief of staff, General
Muhammad Zia Ul-Haq, staged a coup on July 5, 1977, and imposed another
martial-law regime. Bhutto was tried for political murder and found guilty; he
was hanged on April 4, 1979.
Zia formally assumed the presidency in 1978 and established the Sharia (Islamic
law) as the law of the land. The constitution of 1973 was amended accordingly in
1979, and benches were constituted at the courts to exercise Islamic judicial
review. Interest-free banking was initiated, and maximum penalties were provided
for adultery, defamation, theft, and consumption of alcohol.
On March 24, 1981, Zia issued an order for a provisional constitution, operative
until the lifting of martial law in the future. It envisaged the appointment of
two vice presidents and allowed political parties approved by the election
commission before September 30, 1979 to function. All other parties, including
the PPP, now led by Bhutto's widow and daughter, were dissolved.
Pakistan was greatly affected by the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in
December 1979; by 1984 some 3 million Afghan refugees were living along
Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, supported by the government and by
international relief agencies. In September 1981 Zia accepted a six-year
economic and military aid package (worth $3.2 billion) from the United States.
After a referendum in December 1984 endorsed Zia's Islamic-law policies and the
extension of his presidency until 1990, Zia permitted elections for parliament
in February 1985. A civilian cabinet took office in April, and martial law ended
in December. Zia was dissatisfied, however, and in May 1988 he dissolved the
government and ordered new elections. Three months later he was killed in an
airplane crash, and a caretaker regime took power. [Top]
Recent Developments
A civil servant, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, was appointed president, and Benazir Bhutto
became prime minister after her PPP won the general elections in November 1988.
She was the first woman to head a modern Islamic state. In August 1990 President
Ishaq Khan dismissed her government, charging misconduct, and declared a state
of emergency. Bhutto and the PPP lost the October elections after she was
arrested for corruption and abuse of power. The new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif,
head of the Islamic Democratic Alliance, introduced a program of privatizing
state enterprises and encouraging foreign investment. He also promised to bring
the country back to Islamic law and to ease continuing tensions with India over
Kashmėr. The charges against Bhutto were resolved, and she returned to lead the
opposition.
In April 1993 Ishaq Khan once again used his presidential power, this time to
dismiss Sharif and to dissolve parliament. However, Sharif appealed to the
Supreme Court of Pakistan, and in May the court stated that Khan's actions were
unconstitutional, and the court reinstated Sharif as prime minister. Sharif and
Khan subsequently became embroiled in a power struggle that paralyzed the
Pakistani government. In an agreement designed to end the stalemate, Sharif and
Khan resigned together in July 1993, and elections were held in October of that
year. Bhutto's PPP won a plurality in the parliamentary elections, and Bhutto
was again named prime minister.
During the early and mid-1990s, relations between India and Pakistan became more
tense. Diplomatic talks between the two countries broke down in January 1994
over the disputed Jammu and Kashmėr territory. In February Bhutto organized a
nationwide strike to show support for the militant Muslim rebels in Indian
Kashmėr involved in sporadic fighting against the Indian army. She also
announced that Pakistan would continue with its nuclear weapons development
program, raising concerns that a nuclear arms race could start between Pakistan
and India, which has had nuclear weapons since the 1970s. Although tensions
continued, talks between India and Pakistan eventually resumed in 1997. In
January 1996, despite some controversy, the United States lifted economic and
some military sanctions imposed against Pakistan since 1990. The sanctions,
originally created to protest Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, were lifted in
order to allow U.S. companies to fulfill contracts with Pakistan and to help
foster diplomatic relations between the two countries. Pakistan was beset by
domestic unrest in the mid-1990s. Violence between rival political, religious,
and ethnic groups erupted frequently within Sind Province, particularly in
Karachi. More than 650 people were killed in 1994 as a result of the violence.
In 1996 Bhutto's government was dismissed by President Farooq Leghari amid
allegations of corruption. New elections in February brought Nawaz Sharif to
power in a clear victory for the Pakistan Muslim League. One of Sharif's first
actions as prime minister was to lead the National Assembly in passing a
constitutional amendment stripping the president of the power to dismiss
parliament. [Top]
Data
Collected By
Muhammad
Jahangir |
