President Of Pakistan

   Iskander Mirza 

(23-3-1956 to 27-10-1958)

Major-General Sahibzada Sayyid Iskander Ali Mirza,CIE, OBE (November 13, 1899 – November 12, 1969) was the last Governor-General of the Dominion of Pakistan (6 October 1955 to 23 March 1956), and the first President 

of the Republic of Pakistan (23 March 1956 to 27 October 1958

Early Life

Iskander Ali Mirza was born at Murshidabad, Bengal on 13 November 1899, the eldest son of Sahibzada Sayyid Muhammad Fateh Ali Mirza (1875–1948) and his first wife, Dilshad Begum (1879–1925). Muhammad Fateh Ali Mirza was a prince of the ruling house of Murshidabad and grandson of Nawab Mansur Ali Khan, the lastNawab of Bengal. Mirza was a descendant of Gaddar-e-Abrar Mir Jafar. He was a Shi'a Muslim, as his emblem displayed the sign of the Zulfiqar, the sword ofAli (son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad ). He grew up inBombay. After completing his early education at Elphinstone College, of the then-University of Bombay, he was educated at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, becoming the first graduate from the Indian subcontinent at the academy, and was commissioned into the British Indian Army in 1920.

He was attached to the 2nd Battalion, Cameronians 16 July 1920, and served in the Khodad Khel Operations 1921 and at Waziristan 1924. He was transferred to the 17th Poona Horse (Queen Victoria's Own) later that year, and joined the Indian Political Service in 1926. He was Assistant Commissioner at Abbottabad 1926-1928, Bannu 1928-1930, Nowshera 1930-1933, and Tank 1933, a Deputy Commissioner at Hazara 1933-1936 & at Mardan 1936-1938. He was a Political Agent Khyber 1938-1940, Deputy Commissioner Peshawar & Political Agent to the Mohmands 1940, Political Agent Orissa States 1945-1946, Joint Defence Secretary India 1946-1947 and Defence Secretary. Mirza only served in the army for six years, after which he was the first Indian to be accepted in the elite Indian Political Service, eventually becoming a joint secretary in the Ministry of Defence of British India. In this position, he was responsible for dividing the British Indian Army into the future armies of Pakistan and India.

Defence Secretary and Governor-General

Upon the formation of Pakistan, Mirza—at the time, the highest-ranking Muslim civil servant in the nation—was made the Defence Secretary of the new nation. In 1954, he was made governor of East Pakistan to bring order to the politically distressed region. This position was followed by his being appointed Minister of Interior and Frontier Regions in Muhammad Ali Bogra's cabinet. In 1955, he became acting Governor-General, before becoming the last Governor-General of Pakistan.

Mirza was also a great advocate of the One Unit scheme, and believed in the separation of state and religion. When Mirza succeeded the ailing Malik Ghulam Muhammad as Governor-General, he was married to his second wife, Nahid Mirza, an Iranian lady who had previously been the wife of the Military Attaché of Iran in Pakistan.

President Of Pakistan

In 1956, Pakistan established its first constitution, and the position of Governor-General was replaced by that of President. The two were essentially the same, but Mirza was officially elected as President by the Assembly. During his presidency, Pakistan was politically unstable, this was marked by four different prime ministers in two years. It's also reported that alcohol was widely served during his parties and he used to openly flirt with wives of other officials during these events.

Military coup d'état

In 1958, Mirza decided that the 1956 Constitution was contributing to political instability; on 7 October, he declared martial law with the view to introducing a new constitution "more suited to the genius of the Pakistani people" in November, as he believed democracy was unsuited to Pakistan "with its 15% literacy rate" (although the same problem of low literacy also existed in India which had opted for democracy). He appointed the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, Ayub Khan, as the martial law administrator, which proved his undoing.

Ayub Khan declared himself President on 27 October after a bloodless coup d'état, and Mirza fled to London.

Honours

• King George V Silver Jubilee Medal-1935
• india General Service Medal (1936)
• King George VI Coronation Medal-1937
• Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)-1939
• Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE)-1945
• Pakistan Independence Medal-1948
• Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal-1953
• Grand Collar of the Order of Pahlavi of the Empire of Iran-1956
  • Order of the Supreme Sun, 1st Class of the Kingdom of Afghanistan-1958

Death

Mirza lived in exile in London until his death. He died of a heart-attack in London on 12 November 1969, the day before his 70th birthday. It is reported that Mirza struggled financially while living in London. After Yahya Khan's military government refused to allow him to be buried in his own country, his body was flown to Tehran where the Shah of Iran gave him a State Funeral.                                                                         Muhammad Ayub Khan 

 (27-10-1958 to 25-3-1969)

 

Muhammad Ayub Khan  N.Pk., H.Pk., HJ, psc, (May 14, 1907 – April 19, 1974) was a self-appointed, first and to date, only Field Marshal in the Pakistan Army and the first military dictator of Pakistan, serving as the second President of Pakistanfrom 1958 to 1969. He became the Pakistan Army's first native Commander in Chief in 1951, and was the youngest full general and self-appointed 5 star rank Field Marshal in Pakistan's military history.

Appointed Commander in Chief after the death of several senior generals, a combination of ambition and his distate for politicians led to his increased interference in Pakistani politics. Close to President Major GeneralIskander Mirza, Khan supported the President's decision to declare martial law in 1958 but had ousted him shortly afterwards, aborgating the constitution, banning political parties and declaring himself President.

   Early Life  

Ayub Khan was born on May 14, 1907, in Haripur British India, in the village of Rehana near the Haripur District of the Northwest Frontier Province (now Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa). He ethnic origin was Pashtun  (orPathan) of the Tareen tribe. He was the first child of the second wife of Mir Dad Khan Tareen, who was aRisaldar-Major (the senior most non-commissioned rank) in Hodson's Horse, a cavalry regiment of the pre-independence Indian Army. For his basic education, he was enrolled in a school in Sarai Saleh, which was about four miles from his village and used to go to school on a mule's back. Later he was moved to a school in Haripur, where he started living with his grandmother. He enrolled at Aligarh Muslim University in 1922, but did not complete his studies there, as he was accepted into the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

            Military Career

Ayub Khan did well at Sandhurst and was given an officer's commission in the British Indian Army on 2 February 1928 and then joined the 1st Battalion of the 14th Punjab Regiment(Sherdils), later known as 5th Punjab Regiment. During World War II, he served as a Lieutenant Colonel on the Burma front for commanding 1st Battalion of 14th Punjab Regiment. Following the war, he joined the fledgling Pakistani Army as the 10th ranking senior officer (his Pakistan Army number was 10). He was promoted to Brigadier and commanded a brigade in Waziristan and then in 1948 was sent with the local rank of Major General toEast Pakistan (present day Bangladesh) as General Officer Commanding of 14th Infantry division responsible for the whole East Wing of Pakistan, for which non-combatant service he was awarded theHilal-i-Jurat (HJ). He returned to West Pakistan in November 1949 as Adjutant General of the Army and then was briefly Deputy Commander-in-Chief.

             Chief of Army Staff

Ayub Khan succeeded General Sir Douglas Gracey as Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army on January 17, 1951, cecoming the first native Pakistani general to hold that position. Therefore, he superseded two of his seniors, Maj Gen Muhammed Akbar Khan and Maj Gen N.A.M. Raza. Ayub Khan was promoted to C-in-C only due to the death of Maj Gen Iftikhar Khan, who was nominated as the first native C-in-C, but died in an air-crash en route to his C-in-C training in the UK. Iskandar Mirza, Secretary of Defence, was instrumental in Ayub's promotion, commencing a relationship in which Mirza became Governor General of the Dominion of Pakistan and later President of Pakistan, when it became a republic on March 23, 1956. The events surrounding his appointment set the precedent for a Pakistani general being promoted out of turn, ostensibly because he was the least ambitious of the Generals and the most loyal.  Three months before the end of his tenure as Commander-in-Chief, Ayub Khan deposed his mentor, Iskandar Mirza, Pakistan's President, in a military coup - after Mirza had declared martial law and made Ayub martial law commander.

        Defence Minister

He would later go on to serve in the second cabinet (1954) of Muhammad Ali Bogra as Defence Minister, and when Iskander Mirza declared martial law on October 7, 1958, Ayub Khan was made its chief martial law administrator. Azam Khan (general), Nawab Amir Mohammad Khan and Sandhurst trained General Wajid Ali Khan Burki were instrumental in Ayub Khan's Rise to power. This would be the first of many instances in the history of Pakistan of the military becoming directly involved in politics.zaib

         President Of Pakistan

As a result of his having control of the Pakistan Army, Ayub deposed Mirza on October 27 in a bloodless coup, sending Generals Wajid Burki, Azam, and Sheikh in the middle of the night to pack Mirza off to exile in England. This was actually welcomed in Pakistan, since the nation had experienced a very unstable political climate since independence.

In 1960, he held an indirect referendum of his term in power. Functioning as a kind of electoral college, close to 80,000 recently elected village councilmen were allowed to vote yes or no to the question: "Have you confidence in the President, Field Marshal Mohammed Ayub Khan?" Winning 95.6% of the vote, he used the confirmation as impetus to formalise his new system.

   Constitution Of Pakistan

Ayub moved to have a constitution created, and this was completed in 1961. A fairly secular person by nature, Ayub Khan's constitution reflected his personal views of politicians and the use of religion in politics.

In 1962, he pushed through a new constitution that while it did give due respect to Islam, it did not declare Islam the state religion of the country. It also provided for election of the President by 80,000 (later raised to 120,000) Basic Democrats—men who could theoretically make their own choice but who were essentially under his control. He justified this as analogous to the Electoral College in theUnited States and cited Thomas Jefferson as his inspiration. The government "guided" the press though his take over of key opposition papers and, while Ayub permitted a National Assembly, it had only limited powers

Legal reforms

Ayub Khan introduced the Muslim Family Laws through an Ordinance on March 2, 1961 under which unmitigated polygamy was abolished, consent of the current wife was made mandatory for a second marriage, brakes were also placed on the practice of instant divorce where men would divorce women by saying "I divorce you" three times. The Arbitration Councils set up under the law in the urban and rural areas were to deal with cases of (a) grant of sanction to a person to contract a second marriage during the subsistence of a marriage; (b) reconciliation of a dispute between a husband and a wife; (c) grant maintenance to the wife and children.

Presidential election of 1965

In 1964, Ayub confident in his apparent popularity and seeing deep divisions within the political opposition, called for Presidential elections.

He was however taken by surprise when despite a brief disagreement between the five main opposition parties ( a preference for a former close associate of Ayub Khan, General Azam Khan as candidate was dropped), the joint opposition agreed on supporting the respected and popular Fatima Jinnah, the sister of the founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Despite Jinnah's considerable popularity and public disaffection with Ayub's government, Ayub won with 64% of the vote in a bitterly contested election on January 2, 1965. The election did not conform to international standards and journalists. It is widely held, that the elections were rigged in favour of Ayub Khan using state patronage and intimidation to influence the indirectly elected electoral college. In the aftermath of the elections his son Gohar Ayub was involved in a major clash with opposition activists in their stronghold of Karachi.

Government overview

As President, Ayub Khan allied Pakistan with the global U.S. military alliance against the Soviet Union. This in turn led to major economic aid from the U.S. and European nations, and the industrial sector of Pakistan grew very rapidly, improving the economy, but the consequences of cartelization included increased inequality in the distribution of wealth. It was under Ayub Khan that the capital was moved from Karachi to Rawalpindi, in anticipation of the construction of a new capital: Islamabad. In 1960, Khan's government signed the Indus Waters Treaty with archrivalIndia to resolve disputes regarding the sharing of the waters of the six rivers in the Punjab Doab that flow between the two countries. Khan's administration also built a major network of irrigation canals, high-water dams and thermal and hydroelectric power stations.

Despite the Indus Waters Treaty, Ayub maintained icy relations with India. He established close political and military ties with socialist China, exploiting its differences with Soviet Russia and its 1962 war with India. To this day, China remains a strong economic, political and military ally of Pakistan.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

The turning point in his rule was the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, D and it ended in a settlement reached by Ayub at Tashkent, called the Tashkent Declaration. The settlement was perceived negatively by many Pakistanis and led Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to resign his post and take up opposition to Khan.According to Morrice James, "For them [Pakistanis] Ayub had betrayed the nation and had inexcusably lost face before the Indians." The war also increased opposition in East Pakistan [Now Bangladesh] where the Awami League headed by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman sought more autonomy for the province.

General Ayub Khan, who had assumed office of the commander in chief in 1951, supported Governor General Ghulam Muhammad when he dismissed the first constituent assembly on the grounds "The constituent assembly being power hungry and having a tendency of being corrupt." Moulvi Tamizuddin, the first speaker of the assembly, challenged the dismissal (he had to take a rickshaw, wear a burka and go through Sindh court backdoor to seek justice for a nation). Sindh court accepted the appeal but the Federal Court dismissed the Sindh court judgment as the "Doctrine of necessity". Later on the decision has been the basis of all autocratic adjustments in Pakistan.

These were the years when Pakistan allowed the US to establish a USAF communications monitoring facility near Peshawar at Badaber and use its air space and air bases to conduct high-altitude spy-flights over the USSR. Due to this, and the soon-to-follow U2 incident led Pakistan into an open hostility with the USSR.

Refusing to start nuclear programme

Pakistani civilian nuclear programme started in 1956 under the government of Prime Minister of Pakistan, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. When Ayub Khan imposed martial law in Pakistan, Pakistani Civilian Nuclear Programme was frozen until 1972. On December 11, 1965, President Ayub Khan had a brief meeting with Pakistani nuclear engineer Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan (late) at the Dorchester Hotelin London. The meeting was arranged by Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. In this meeting Munir Ahmad Khan told President Ayub Khan that Pakistan must acquire the necessary facilities that would give the country a nuclear deterrent capability, which were available free of safeguards and at an affordable cost. Munir Ahmad Khan also told President Ayub Khan that there were no restrictions on nuclear technology, that it was freely available, and that India and Israel were moving forward in deploying it.

Munir Ahmad Khan estimated the cost of nuclear technology at that time. Because things were less expensive, were not more than 150 million dollars. President Ayub Khan listened to him very patiently, but at the end of the meeting, Ayub Khan remained unconvinced. Ayub Khan refused Munir Ahmad Khan's offer and said that Pakistan was too poor to spend that much money. Moreover, if we ever need the bomb, we will buy it off the shelf.

Pakistani space programme

President Ayub Khan, who was very close to Dr. Abdus Salam, established Pakistan's National Space Agency, Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) on September 16, 1961. Ayub Khan also appointed Dr. Abdus Salam as its head. It was Ayub Khan's administration whenNational Aeronautics and Space Administration began training of Pakistani scientists and engineers in the NASA's headquarters. President Ayub Khan was eager to make Pakistan as space power, that is why he appointed a noted aeronautical engineer and military scientist, Air Mar. Gen. W. J. M. Turowicz, as Pakistan's Rocket Programme head. Gen. W. J. M. Turowicz efforts led Pakistan to developed ballistic missiles series by its own in the future. General W. J. M. Turowicz had led a series of Rehbar Sounding Rockets fired from Pakistani soil. However, after Ayub Khan's removal from office, the Space Programme was frozen for more than 2 decades.

Final years in office

In 1969, he opened up negotiations with the opposition alliance, except for Maulana Bhashani andZulfiqar Ali Bhutto. However under increasing pressure from Bhutto and Bhashani who were allegedly encouraged to continue the agitation by elements within the Army and in violation of his own constitution which required him to transfer power to the speaker of the assembly. Ayub turned over control of Pakistan to Commander in Chief General Yahya Khan on 25 March 1969, He was the President's most loyal lieutenant, and was promoted over seven more senior generals in 1966 to the army's top post.

Legacy

Ayub Khan's legacy is mixed, he was opposed to democracy believing like any other dictator that parliamentary democracy was not suited for the people of his country. Like many subsequent military dictators he was contemptuous of politicians and political parties. However, during his early years in office, he sided with the Americans against the Soviets, and in return received billions of dollars in aid which resulted in enormous economic growth.

He subsidized fertilizers and modernized agriculture through irrigation development, spurred industrial growth with liberal tax benefits. In the decade of his rule, gross national product rose by 45% and manufactured goods began to overtake such traditional exports as jute and cotton. It is alleged that his policies were tailored to reward the elite families and the feudal lords. During the fall of his dictatorship, just when the government was celebrating the so-called "Decade of Development", mass protests erupted due an increasingly greater divide between the rich and the poor.

He shunned prestige projects and stressed birth control in a country that has the seventh largest population in the world: 115 million. He dismissed criticism with the comment that if there was no family planning, the time would surely come when "Pakistanis eat Pakistanis." In foreign affairs, he retained his ties to the West and to the United States in particular, allowing the United States to use the Badaber and Peshawar airbase for U-2 flights over the then Soviet Union.

Criticism

Government corruption and nepotism, in addition to an environment of repression of free speech and political freedoms increased unrest. Criticisms of his sons and family's personal wealth increased, especially his son's actions after his father's election in the allegedly rigged 1965 Presidential elections against Fatima Jinnah is a subject of criticism by many writers. Gohar Ayub, it is said led a victory parade right into the heartland of Opposition territory in Karachi, in a blatantly provocative move and the civil administrations failure to stop the rally led to a fierce clashes between opposing groups with many locals being killed. Gohar Ayub also faced criticisms during that time on questions of family corruption and cronyism through his business links with his father-in-law retired Lt. GeneralHabibullah Khan Khattak. One Western commentator in 1969 estimated Gohar Ayub's personal wealth at the time at $4 million dollars, while his family's wealth was put in the range of $10–$20 million dollars.

Ayub began to lose both power and popularity. On one occasion, while visiting East Pakistan, there was a failed attempt to assassinate him, though this was not reported in the press of the day.

Ayub was persuaded by underlings to award himself the Nishan-e-Pakistan, Pakistan's highest civil award, on the grounds that to award it to other heads of state he should have it himself and also promoted himself to the rank of Field Marshal. He was to be Pakistan's second Field Marshal, if the first is regarded as Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck (1884–1981), supreme commander of military forces in India and Pakistan in the lead-up to independence in 1947.

Aggravating an already bad situation, with increasing economic disparity in the country under his rule, hoarding and manipulation by major sugar manufacturers resulted in the controlled price of 1 kg sugar to be increased by 1 rupee and the whole population took to the streets.^[18] As Ayub's popularity plummeted, he decided in 1969 to give up rule.

Death

In 1971 when war broke out, Ayub Khan was in West Pakistan and did not comment on the events of the war. He died in 1974.

Khan’s son Gohar Ayub Khan was Pakistan's Foreign Minister in the Nawaz Sharif government. Gohar’s son and Ayub’s grandson Omar Ayub Khan was Pakistan’s Minister of State for Finance. Gohar Ayub Khan and Omar Ayub Khan are politicians of Hazara. 

Yahya Khan 


(25-3-1969 to 12-20-1971) 

General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan Qizilbash,H.Pk, HJ, S.Pk, psc  February 4, 1917 – August 10, 1980) was the third President of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971, following the resignation ofAyub Khan. He had one son, Ali Yahya and one daughter, Yasmeen Khan.

  Early Life 

Yahya Khan was born in Chakwal, Pakistan, in 1917. Even if he is generally seen as a Pashtun, he was born in an ethnic Qizilbash family of Persian descent who could trace their military links to the time of Nadir Shah, and who escaped from Iran to today's Pakistanafter the latter's defeat.

Army Career

Yahya Khan, H.Pk, HJ, S.Pk, psc joined the British Army, and served in World War II as an officer in the 4th Infantry Division (India). He served in Iraq, Italy, andNorth Africa.

Yahya Khan was commissioned from Indian Military Academy Dehra Dun on 15 July 1939. An infantry officer from the 4/10 Baluch Regiment, Yahya saw action during World War II in North Africa where he was captured by the Axis Forces in June 1942 and interned in a prisoner of war camp in Italy from where he escaped in the third attempt.

Career before becoming commander-in-chief

In 1947 he was instrumental in not letting the Indian officers shift books from the famous library of the British Indian Staff College at Quetta, where Yahya was posted as the only Muslim instructor at the time of partition of India.

Yahya became a brigadier at the age of 34 and commanded the 105 Independent Brigade, which was deployed on the ceasefire line in Kashmir in 1951-52. Later Yahya, as Deputy Chief of General Staff, was selected to head the army’s planning board set up by Ayub to modernise the Pakistan Army in 1954-57. Yahya also performed the duties of Chief of General Staff from 1958 to 1962 from where he went on to command an infantry division from 1962 to 1965.

Upon the formation of Pakistan, Khan helped set up an officer's school in Quetta, and commanded an infantry division during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Immediately after the 1965 war Major General Yahya Khan who had commanded the 7th Division inOperation Grand Slam was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, appointed Deputy Army Commander in Chief and Commander in Chief designate in March 1966. At promotion, Yahya Khan superseded two of his seniors, Lt Gen Altaf Qadir and Lt Gen Bakhtiar Rana.

As commander-in-chief

Yahya energetically started reorganising the Pakistan Army in 1965. The post 1965 situation saw major organisational as well as technical changes in the Pakistan Army. Till 1965 it was thought that divisions could function effectively while getting orders directly from the army’s GHQ. This idea failed miserably in the 1965 war and the need to have intermediate corps headquarters in between the GHQ and the fighting combat divisions was recognised as a foremost operational necessity after the 1965 war. In 1965 war the Pakistan Army had only one corps headquarter (i.e. the 1st Corps Headquarters).

Soon after the war had started the U.S. had imposed an embargo on military aid on both India andPakistan. This embargo did not affect the Indian Army but produced major changes in the Pakistan Army’s technical composition. US Secretary of State Dean Rusk well summed it up when he said,"Well if you are going to fight, go ahead and fight, but we’re not going to pay for it".

Pakistan now turned to China for military aid and the Chinese tank T-59 started replacing the US M-47/48 tanks as the Pakistan Army’s MBT (Main Battle Tank) from 1966. 80 tanks, the first batch ofT-59s, a low-grade version of the Russian T-54/55 series were delivered to Pakistan in 1965-66. The first batch was displayed in the Joint Services Day Parade on 23 March 1966. The 1965 War had proved that Pakistan Army’s tank infantry ratio was lopsided and more infantry was required. Three more infantry divisions (9, 16 and 17 Divisions) largely equipped with Chinese equipment and popularly referred to by the rank and file as "The China Divisions" were raised by the beginning of 1968. Two more corps headquarters i.e. 2nd Corps Headquarters (Jhelum-Ravi Corridor) and 4th Corps Headquarters (Ravi-Sutlej Corridor) were raised.

President of Pakistan

Ayub Khan was President of Pakistan for most of the 1960s, but by the end of the decade, popular resentment had boiled over against him. Pakistan had fallen into a state of disarray, and he handed over power to Yahya Khan, who immediately imposed martial law. Once Ayub handed over power to Yahya Khan on 25 March 1969 Yahya inherited a two-decade constitutional problem of inter-provincial ethnic rivalry between the Punjabi-Pashtun-Mohajir dominated West Pakistan province and the ethnically Bengali Muslim East Pakistan province. In addition Yahya also inherited an 11 year old problem of transforming an essentially one man ruled country to a democratic country, which was the ideological basis of the anti-Ayub movement of 1968-69. As an Army Chief Yahya had all the capabilities, qualifications and potential. But Yahya inherited an extremely complex problem and was forced to perform the multiple roles of caretaker head of the country, drafter of a provisional constitution, resolving the One Unit question, satisfying the frustrations and the sense of exploitation and discrimination successively created in the East Wing by a series of government policies since 1948. All these were complex problems and the seeds of Pakistan Army’s defeat and humiliation in December 1971 lay in the fact that Yahya Khan blundered unwittingly into the thankless task of fixing the problems of Pakistan’s political and administrative system which had been accumulating for 20 years and had their actual origins in the pre-1947 British policies towards the Bengali Muslims.

The American author Ziring observed that, "Yahya Khan has been widely portrayed as a ruthless uncompromising insensitive and grossly inept leader...While Yahya cannot escape responsibility for these tragic events, it is also on record that he did not act alone...All the major actors of the period were creatures of a historic legacy and a psycho-political milieu which did not lend itself to accommodation and compromise, to bargaining and a reasonable settlement. Nurtured on conspiracy theories, they were all conditioned to act in a manner that neglected agreeable solutions and promoted violent judgements”.

Yahya Khan attempted to solve Pakistan’s constitutional and inter-provincial/regional rivalry problems once he took over power from Ayub Khan in March 1969. The tragedy of the whole affair was the fact that all actions that Yahya took, although correct in principle, were too late in timing, and served only to further intensify the political polarisation between the East and West wings.

• He dissolved the one unit restoring the pre-1955 provinces of West Pakistan
• Promised free direct, one man, one vote, fair elections on adult franchise, a basic human right which had been denied to the Pakistani people since the pre-independence 1946 elections by political inefficiency, double play and intrigue, by civilian governments, from 1947 to 1958 and by Ayub’s one man rule from 1958 to 1969.

However dissolution of one unit did not lead to the positive results that it might have led to in case "One Unit" was dissolved earlier. Yahya also made an attempt to accommodate the East Pakistanis by abolishing the principle of parity, thereby hoping that greater share in the assembly would redress their wounded ethnic regional pride and ensure the integrity of Pakistan. Instead of satisfying the Bengalis it intensified their separatism, since they felt that the west wing had politically suppressed them since 1958. Thus the rise of anti West Wing sentiment in the East Wing.

The last days of Pakistani East Bengal

Yahya announced in his broadcast to the nation on 28 July 1969, his firm intention to redress Bengali grievances, the first major step in this direction being, the doubling of Bengali quota in the defence services. Within a year he had set up a framework for elections that were held in December 1970. In East Pakistan, the Awami League (led by Mujibur Rahman) held almost all of the seats, but none inWest Pakistan. In West Pakistan, the Pakistan Peoples Party (led by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto) won the lion's share of the seats, but none in East Pakistan. Though AL had 162 seats in the National Assembly against 88 of PPP, this led to a situation where Bhutto would have to give up power and allow Sheikh Mujib to be the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The situation also increased agitation, especially in East Pakistan as it became apparent that Sheikh Mujib was being denied of his legitimate claim to be the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

As Awami League violence paralyzed state machinery in East Pakistan, Yahya Khan ordered a crack down to restore the writ of the government. "Operation Searchlight" began on 25 March 1971 and soon restored ordered. However, the gulf between the two wings now was too wide to be bridged. Agitation now transformed into a vicious insurgency as Bengali elements of Pakistani armed Forces and Police mutinied and fled to India from where they launched hit and run operations.

The total number of people killed in East Pakistan is not known with any degree of accuracy. Bangladeshi authorities claim that 3 million people were killed, while the Hamoodur Rahman Commission, an official Pakistan Government investigation, put the figure as low as 26,000 civilian casualties. The international media and reference books in English have also published figures which vary greatly from 200,000 to 2,000,000 for Bangladesh as a whole. A further eight to ten million people fled the country to seek safety in India.

The Office of the Historian of the United States Department of State held a two-day conference in late June 2005 on U.S. policy in South Asia between 1961 and 1972.^] Bangladeshi speakers at the conference stated that the official Bangladeshi figure of civilian deaths was close to 300,000, which was wrongly translated from Bengali into English as three million. Ambassador Shamsher M. Chowdhury acknowledged that Bangladesh alone cannot correct this mistake and suggested Pakistan and Bangladesh should form a joint commission to investigate the 1971 disaster and prepare a report. A 2008 study in the British Medical Journal concluded that 269,000 civilians were killed by all sides in the war.

Khan arrested Sheikh Mujibur Rahman upon Bhutto's insistence and appointed Brigadier Rahimuddin Khan (later General) to preside over a special tribunal dealing with Mujib's case. Rahimuddin awarded Mujib the death sentence,^{[citation needed]} and President Yahya put the verdict into abeyance. Yahya's crackdown, however, had led to a Bangladesh Liberation War within Pakistan, and eventually drewIndia into what would extend into the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The end result was the establishment of Bangladesh as an independent republic. Khan subsequently apologized for his mistakes and voluntarily stepped down.

The US Role

As President, Khan helped to establish the communication channel between the United States and the People's Republic of China, which would be used to set up the Nixon trip in 1972.

Pakistan was perceived in the United States as an integral bulwark against Communism in the Cold War. The United States cautiously supported Pakistan during 1971. India, with a heavily Socialistic economy, signed a formal alliance with the Soviet Union in August 1971. Both Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger felt that the atrocities committed by Pakistan in Bangladesh were greatly exaggerated for propaganda purposes. Moreover, noting that India was using the violence committed by all sides during this Pakistani civil war as a pretext for a possible military intervention, they suspected that India had aggressive intentions.

Kissinger would work to prevent sectarian conflicts in Yemen and Lebanon from devolving into regional wars under Presidents Nixon and Ford. With the Soviet Union already covertly engaged in neighboring Afghanistan, the Nixon administration used Pakistan to try and deter further Soviet encroachment in the region. The Awami League, the dominant political force in Bangladesh, was an explicitly Socialist party aligned with Moscow. The Awami League, during the civil war, was responsible for murdering 50,000 to 500,000 people in addition to those killed by Pakistani forces.

Nixon relayed messages to Yahya, urging him to restrain Pakistani forces. His objective was to prevent a war and safeguard Pakistan's interests, though he feared an Indian invasion of West Pakistan that would lead to Indian domination of the sub-continent and strengthen the position of theSoviet Union. Similarly, Yahya Khan feared that an independent Bangladesh could lead to the disintegration of Pakistan. Indian military support for Bengali guerillas led to war between India and Pakistan.

Nixon met with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and did not believe her assertion that she would not invade Pakistan; he did not trust her and once referred to her as an "old witch". Kissinger maintained that Nixon made specific proposals to Gandhi on a solution for the crisis, some of which she heard for the first time; for example, mutual withdrawal of troops from the Indo-East Pakistan borders. Nixon also expressed a wish to fix a time limit with Yahya for political accommodation in East Pakistan. Nixon asserted that India could count on US endeavors to ease the crisis within a short time. But, both Kissinger and Gandhi aide Jayakar maintained, Gandhi did not respond to these proposals. Kissinger noted that she “listened to what was in fact one of Nixon's better presentations with aloof indifference” but “took up none of the points.” Jayakar pointed out that Gandhi listened to Nixon “without a single comment, creating an impregnable space so that no real contact was possible.” She also refrained from assuring that India would follow Pakistan's suit if it withdrew from India's borders. As a result, the main agenda was “dropped altogether.”On December 3, Yahya preemptively attacked the Indian Air Force and Gandhi retaliated, pushing into East Pakistan.Nixon issued a statement blaming Pakistan for starting the conflict and blaming India for escalating it because he favored a cease-fire.The United States was secretly encouraging the shipment of military equipment from Iran, Turkey, and Jordan to Pakistan, reimbursing those countries despite Congressional objections.The US used the threat of an aid cut-off to force Pakistan to back down, while its continued military aid to Islamabad prevented India from launching incursions deeper into the country. A cease fire was reached on December 16, leading to the creation of the independent state ofBangladesh. Sheikh Mujib led the newly established People's Republic of Bangladesh as a one-party, dictatorial state.

The US remained hostile to the Mujib regime, and considered Mujib himself to be a demagogue. His government's mismanagement of food grain stocks ultimately caused a massive famine in Bangladesh from March to December 1974, leading to the death of more than one million people. During this famine, Mujib rejected food aid from the United States and exported food to Cuba. By the time Mujib agreed to end support for Cuba, and the US began shipments of food to Bangladesh, it was 'too late for famine victims'. In addition, his regime committed widespread human rights violations and tortured and executed thousands of dissidents. Nixon and Kissinger argued that these atrocities were far worse than anything Pakistan had committed in Bangladesh.

Fall from Power

Later overwhelming public anger over Pakistan's defeat by Bangladesh and the division of Pakistan into two parts boiled into street demonstrations throughout Pakistan, rumours of an impending coup d'état by younger army officers against the government of President Mohammed Agha Yahya Khan swept the country. Yahya became the highest-ranking casualty of the war: to forestall further unrest, on December 20, 1971 he handed over power to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, age 43, the ambitious leader of West Pakistan's powerful People's Party.

Shortly after Yahya stepped down, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto reversed Rahimuddin Khan's verdict, releasedSheikh Mujibur Rahman and saw him off to London. Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, in a supreme irony, ordered the house arrest of his predecessor, Agha Mohammed Yahya Khan, the man who imprisoned Mujib in the first place. Both actions produced headlines round the world.

Death

Yahya Khan died in August 1980, in Rawalpindi.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto 


(20-12-1971 to 13-8-1973)

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto  5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani politician who served as the fourth President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977. He was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan. His daughter Benazir Bhuttoalso served twice as prime minister. She wasassassinated on 27 December 2007.

Educated at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States and University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, Bhutto was noted for his economic initiatives and authoring Pakistan's nuclear programme. He was executed in 1979 after the Supreme Court of Pakistansentenced him to death for authorising the murder of apolitical opponent,in a move that many believe was done under the directives of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.

Early Life 

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was born to Khursheed Begum née Lakhi Bai and Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto. He was born in a prominent Sindhi Muslim family. Bhutto's father was a prominent political figure in the Indian colonial government. Bhutto was born in his parent's residence near Larkana in what later became the province of Sindh. He was their third child — their first one, Sikandar Ali, died from pneumonia at age seven in 1914 and the second child, Imdad Ali, died of cirrhosis at the age of 39 in 1953. His father was the prime minster of junagadh state, who enjoyed an influential relationship with the officials of the British Raj. As a young boy, Bhutto moved to Worli Seaface in Bombay (nowMumbai) to study at the Cathedral and John Connon School. During this period, he also became a student activist in the League's Pakistan Movement. In 1943, his marriage was arranged with Shireen Amir Begum (died 19 January 2003 in Karachi). He later left her, however, in order to remarry. In 1947, Bhutto was admitted to theUniversity of Southern California.

In 1949, Bhutto transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned an honours degree in political science. Here he would become interested in the theories of socialism, delivering a series of lectures on the feasibility of socialism in Islamic countries.During this time, Bhutto's father, Sir Shahnawaz, played a controversial role in the affairs of the state of Junagadh(now in Gujarat). Coming to power in a palace coup as the dewan, he secured the accession of the state to Pakistan, which was ultimately negated by Indian intervention in December 1947.^[7] In June 1950 Bhutto travelled to England to study law at Christ Church, Oxford. Upon finishing his studies, he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in the year 1953 (the same school at which Muhammad Ali Jinnah studied law) .

Bhutto married his second wife, the Iranian-KurdishBegum Nusrat Ispahani who was a Shi'a Muslim, in Karachi on 8 September 1951. Their first child, his daughter Benazir, was born in 1953. She was followed by Murtaza in 1954, a second daughter, Sanam, in 1957, and the youngest child, Shahnawaz Bhutto, in 1958. He accepted the post of lecturer at theSindh Muslim College, from where he was also awarded an honorary law degree by the then college President, Mr. Hassanally A. Rahman before establishing himself in a legal practice in Karachi. He also took over the management of his family's estate and business interests after his father's death.

Political career

In 1957, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the youngest member of Pakistan's delegation to the United Nations. He would address the United Nations Sixth Committee on Aggression on 25 October 1957 and lead Pakistan's deputation to the first United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea in 1958. In the same year, Bhutto became the youngest Pakistani cabinet minister when he was given charge of the energy ministry by President Muhammad Ayub Khan, who had seized power and declared martial law. He was subsequently promoted to head the ministries of commerce, information and industries. Bhutto became a close and trusted advisor to Ayub, rising in influence and power despite his youth and relative inexperience in politics. Bhutto aided Ayub in negotiating the Indus Water Treaty with India in 1960. In 1961, Bhutto negotiated an oil exploration agreement with the Soviet Union, which also agreed to provide economic and technical aid to Pakistan.

Foreign Minister

In 1962, he was appointed Pakistan's foreign minister. His swift rise to power also brought him national prominence and popularity.

As foreign minister, Bhutto significantly transformed Pakistan's hitherto pro-Western foreign policy. While maintaining a prominent role for Pakistan within the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization and the Central Treaty Organization, Bhutto began asserting a foreign policy course for Pakistan that was independent of U.S. influence. Bhutto criticised the U.S. for providing military aid to India during and after the Sino-Indian War of 1962, which was seen as an abrogation of Pakistan's alliance with the U.S. Bhutto worked to establish stronger relations with the People's Republic of China Bhutto visited Beijing and helped Ayub negotiate trade and military agreements with the Chinese regime, which agreed to help Pakistan in a large number of military and industrial projects. Bhutto also signed the Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement on 2 March 1963 that transferred 750 square kilometres of territory from Pakistan-administered Kashmir to Chinese control. Bhutto asserted his belief in non-alignment, making Pakistan an influential member in non-aligned organisations. Believing in pan-Islamic unity, Bhutto developed closer relations with nations such as Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states.

Bhutto advocated hardline and confrontational policies against India over the Kashmir conflict and other issues. A 17 day war broke out between Pakistan and India on 6 September 1965 known as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. This war was an aftermath of brief skirmishes that took place between March and August 1965 on the international boundaries in the Rann of Kutch, Kashmir and Punjab. Bhutto joined Ayub in Tashkent to negotiate a peace treaty with the Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. Ayub and Shastri agreed to exchange prisoners of war and withdraw respective forces to pre-war boundaries. This agreement was deeply unpopular in Pakistan, causing major political unrest against Ayub's regime. Bhutto's criticism of the final agreement caused a major rift between him and Ayub Khan. Initially denying the rumours, Bhutto resigned in June 1966 and expressed strong opposition to Ayub's regime.

Pakistan Peoples Party

Following his resignation, large crowds gathered to listen to Bhutto's speech upon his arrival in Lahore on 21 June 1967. Tapping a wave of anger and opposition against Ayub, Bhutto began travelling across the country to deliver political speeches. In a speech in October 1966 Bhutto declared the PPP's beliefs, "Islam is our faith, democracy is our policy, socialism is our economy. All power to the people." On 30 November 1967 Bhutto founded the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Lahore, establishing a strong base of political support in Punjab, Sindh and amongst the Muhajir communities. Bhutto's party became a part of the pro-democracy movement involving diverse political parties from all across Pakistan. PPP activists staged large protests and strikes in different parts of the country, increasing pressure on Ayub to resign. Bhutto's arrest on 12 November 1968 sparked greater political unrest. After his release, Bhutto attended the Round Table Conference called by Ayub in Rawalpindi, but refused to accept Ayub's continuation in office and the East Pakistani politician Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Six point movement for regional autonomy.

Following Ayub's resignation, the new president Gen. Yahya Khan promised to hold parliamentary elections on 7 December 1970. Bhutto's party won a large number of seats from constituencies in West Pakistan. However, Sheikh Mujib's Awami League won an outright majority from the constituencies located in East Pakistan. Bhutto refused to accept an Awami League government and famously promised to "break the legs" of any elected PPP member who dared to attend the inaugural session of the National Assembly of Pakistan. Capitalising on West Pakistani fears of East Pakistani separatism, Bhutto demanded that Sheikh Mujib form a coalition with the PPP.Under substantial pressure from Bhutto and other West Pakistani political parties, Yahya postponed the inaugural session of the National Assembly after talks with Sheikh Mujib failed. Amidst popular outrage in East Pakistan, Major Ziaur Rahman declared the independence of "Bangladesh" on 26 March 1971 after Mujibur was arrested by the Pakistani Army, which had been ordered by Yahya to suppress political activities. .While supportive of the army's actions and working to rally international support, Bhutto distanced himself from the Yahya regime. He refused to accept Yahya's scheme to appoint Bengali politician Nurul Amin as prime minister, with Bhutto as deputy prime minister. Indian intervention in East Pakistan led to the very bitter defeat of Pakistani forces, who surrendered on 16 December 1971. Bhutto and others condemned Yahya for failing to protect Pakistan's unity. Isolated, Yahya resigned on 20 December and transferred power to Bhutto, who became the president, army commander-in-chief as well as the first civilian chief martial law administrator.

Leader of Pakistan

As president, Bhutto addressed the nation via radio and television, saying "My dear countrymen, my dear friends, my dear students, labourers, peasants… those who fought for Pakistan… We are facing the worst crisis in our country's life, a deadly crisis. We have to pick up the pieces, very small pieces, but we will make a new Pakistan, a prosperous and progressive Pakistan." He placed Yahya under house arrest, brokered a ceasefire and ordered the release of Sheikh Mujib, who was held prisoner by the army. To implement this, Bhutto reversed the verdict of Mujib's court trial that had taken place earlier, in which the presiding Brigadier-General Rahimuddin Khan (later 4-star General) had sentenced Mujib to death. Appointing a new cabinet, Bhutto appointed Lieutenant General Gul Hasan as Chief of Army Staff. On 2 January 1972 Bhutto announced the nationalisation of all major industries, including iron and steel, heavy engineering, heavy electricals, petrochemicals, cement and public utilities.A new labour policy was announced increasing workers rights and the power of trade unions. Although he came from a feudal background himself, Bhutto announced reforms limiting land ownership and a government take-over of over a million acres (4,000 km²) to distribute to landless peasants. More than 2,000 civil servants were dismissed on charges of corruption. Bhutto also dismissed the military chiefs on 3 March after they refused orders to suppress a major police strike in Punjab. He appointed General Tikka Khan as the new Chief of the Army Staff in March 1972 as he felt the General would not interfere in political matters and would concentrate on rehabilitating the Pakistan Army. Bhutto convened the National Assembly on 14 April, rescinded martial law on 21 April and charged the legislators with writing a new constitution.

Bhutto visited India to meet Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and negotiated a formal peace agreement and the release of 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war. The two leaders signed the Shimla Agreement, which committed both nations to establish a new yet temporary Cease-fire Line in Kashmir and obligated them to resolve disputes peacefully through bilateral talks. Bhutto also promised to hold a future summit for the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute and pledged to recogniseBangladesh.^[13] Although he secured the release of Pakistani soldiers held by India, Bhutto was criticised by many in Pakistan for allegedly making too many concessions to India. It is theorised that Bhutto feared his downfall if he could not secure the release of Pakistani soldiers and the return of territory occupied by Indian forces. Bhutto established an atomic power development programme and inaugurated the first Pakistani atomic reactor, built in collaboration with Canada in Karachi on 28 November. On 30 March, 59 military officers were arrested by army troops for allegedly plotting a coup against Bhutto, who appointed then-Brigadier Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq to head a military tribunal to investigate and try the suspects. The National Assembly approved the new constitution, which Bhutto signed into effect on 12 April. The constitution proclaimed an "Islamic Republic" in Pakistan with a parliamentary form of government. On 10 August, Bhutto turned over the post of president to Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, assuming the office of prime minister instead.

Bhutto officially recognised Bangladesh in July. Making an official visit to Bangladesh, Bhutto was criticised in Pakistan for laying flowers at a memorial for Bangladeshi freedom fighters. Bhutto continued to develop closer relations with China as well as Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations. Bhutto hosted the Second Islamic Summit of Muslim nations in Lahore between 22 February and 24 February in 1974.

Bhutto, however, faced considerable pressure from Islamic religious leaders to declare the Ahmadiyacommunities as non-Muslims. Failing to restrain sectarian violence and rioting, Bhutto and the National Assembly amended the constitution to that effect. Bhutto intensified his nationalisation programme, extending government control over agricultural processing and consumer industries. Bhutto also, with advice from Admiral S.M. Ahsan, inaugurated Port Qasim, designed to expand harbour facilities near Karachi. However, the performance of the Pakistani economy declined amidst increasing bureaucracy and a decline in private sector confidence. In a surprise move in 1976, Bhutto appointed Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq to replace Gen. Tikka Khan, surpassing five generals senior to Zia.

President of Pakistan

A Pakistan International Airlines flight was sent to fetch Bhutto from New York, who at that time was presenting Pakistan's case before the United Nations Security Council on the East Pakistan Crises. Bhutto returned home on 18 December 1971. On 20 December, he was taken to the President House in Rawalpindi where he took over two positions from Yahya Khan, one as President and the other as Chief Martial Law Administrator. Thus he was the first civilian Chief Martial Law Administrator of the dismembered Pakistan.

The new President inherited a disheartened war-weary nation. In this dark hour, he addressed the nation and promised to fight back. Bhutto's intentions to restore national confidence were in several shapes. He spoke about democracy, a new Constitution, and a modified federal and parliamentary system. He reached out to opposition leaders Abdul Wali Khan andMufti Mahmud, signing an agreement regarding lifting the emergency and allowing opposition governments to be formed. He took steps to stabilise the situation by successfully negotiating the return of the 93,000 prisoners of war and a peaceful settlement with India. He took steps to ameliorate poverty and to revitalise the economy, industry and agriculture.

He gave the third Constitution to the country and established civilian authority over the armed forces in the political setup. In early 1972, Bhutto nationalised ten categories of major industries and withdrew Pakistan from the Commonwealth of Nations and S.E.A.T.O. On 1 March, he introduced extensive land reforms. On 2 July 1972, he signed the Simla Agreement with India for exchange of the occupied territories and release of Prisoners of War.

After the 1973 Constitution was promulgated, Bhutto was elected by the House to be the Prime Minister, and he was sworn in on 14 August 1973.

Father of the Nuclear program

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the founder of Pakistan's nuclear programme. In October 1965, the then-Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto visited Vienna when Munir Ahmad Khan informed him of the status of India's nuclear program and the options Pakistan had to develop its own nuclear capability. Both agreed on the need for Pakistan to develop a nuclear deterrent to meet India's nuclear capacity.

After India's nuclear test on May 1974. Bhutto sensed a great danger for Pakistan. In a press conference held on May 1974, shortly after India's nuclear test. Prime Minister Bhutto said "even if we have to eat grass, we will make nuclear bombs". On the 20 January of 1972, Prime Minister Bhutto rallied a conference of nuclear scientists andnuclear engineers at Multan. At the Multan Conference, where 283 scientists attended, Prime Minister Bhutto said:"Look, we're going to have the bomb. He asked them "Can you give it to me? And how long will it take it to make abomb?". The scientists replied: "Oh, yes, yes, You can have it." There was a lively debate on the time needed to make the bomb, and finally one scientist dared to say that maybe it could be done in five years. Prime Minister Bhutto smiled, lifted his hand, and dramatically thrust forward three fingers and said: "Three years, I want it in three years". The atmosphere suddenly became electric. It was then that one of the junior scientist-dr. S.A.Butt (a nuclear chemist), who under Munir Ahmad Khan's guiding hand would come to play a major role in making the bomb possible – jumped to his feet and clamoured for his leader's attention. Dr. S.A Butt Replied: "It can be done in three years". Prime Minister Bhutto was very much amused and he said: "Well, much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, this is a very serious political decision, which Pakistan must make, and perhaps allThird World countries must make one day, because it is coming. So can you do it?" And the scientist replied, "Yes, we can do it, given the resources and given the facilities". ”Bhutto's answer was simple, "I shall find you the resources and I shall find you the facilities". Despite Pakistan limited financial resources, Bhutto was so enthusiastic about Pakistan nuclear bomb, that he is reported to have said "Pakistanis will eat grass but make a nuclear bomb."

Its militarisation was initiated in January 1972 and, in its initial years, was implemented by General Tikka Khan. The Karachi Nuclear Power Plant was inaugurated by Bhutto during his role as President of Pakistan at the end of 1972. Long before, as Minister for Fuel, Power and National Resources, he has played a key role in setting up of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. Wanting a capable administrator, Bhutto sought Lieutenant General Rahimuddin Khan to chair the commission, which Rahimuddin declined. Instead Prime Minister Bhutto chose a U.S trained nuclear engineer Mr.Munir Ahmad Khan as chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Munir Ahmad Khanwas a close friend of his. The Kahuta facility was also established by the Bhutto Administration, and brought under nuclear scientist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan and the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers'Lieutenant General Zahid Ali Akbar Khan.

A book written by Maulana Kausar Niazi, a close confidant of Bhutto, gives a somewhat different perspective. The Atomic Energy commission officials had misguided Bhutto and he sought on a along journey to try to get Nuclear fuel reprocessing plant from France. It was on a later advice of A.Q.Khan that no fuel existed to reprocess, Bhutto tried to show he was still interested in that expensive route and was relieved when Kissinger persuaded the French to cancel the deal. By the time Bhutto was ousted little had been done and Pakistani nukes were actually made under Zia's era, under the watchful eyes of several generals including Ishaq Khan.

It has been speculated recently in the press that Qadeer Khan's uranium enrichment designs were used by the Chinese in exchange for Uranium Hexafluoride and some weapons grade uranium . Later on this weapons grade uranium was offered back to the Chinese as the Pakistanis used their own materials.

Ordering military operation in Balochistan

Following the secession of East Pakistan, calls for the independence of Balochistan by Baloch nationalists grew. Surveying the political instability, Bhutto's central government sacked two provincial governments within six months, arrested the two chief ministers, two governors and forty-four MNAs and MPAs, obtained an order from the Supreme Court banning the National Awami Party on the recommendation of Akbar Bugti, and charged everyone with high treason to be tried by a specially constituted Hyderabad tribunal of handpicked judges. In January 1973, Bhutto ordered the army to suppress a rising insurgency in the province of Balochistan and dismissed the governments in Balochistan and the North-West Frontier Province once more.Following the alleged discovery of Iraqi arms in Islamabad in February 1973, Bhutto dissolved the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan. The operation, under General Tikka Khan, soon took shape in a five-year conflict with the Baloch separatists. The sporadic fighting between the insurgency and the army started in 1973 with the largest confrontation taking place in September 1974. The Iranian military, fearing a spread of the greater Baloch resistance in Iran, also aided the Pakistani military.Among Iran's contribution were 30 Huey cobra attack helicopters and $200 million in aid.

Prime Minister of Pakistan

After the promulgation of the 1973 Constitution, the elections for the President, Prime Minister, Chairman of Senate, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly were to be undertaken. The 1973 Constitution had adopted a federal parliamentary system for the country in which the President was only a figurehead and the real power lay with the Prime Minister. Z. A. Bhutto was sworn in as the Prime Minister of the country on August 14, 1973, after he had secured 108 votes in a house of 146 members. Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry was elected as the President under the new Constitution. During his period, six amendments were carried out in the 1973 Constitution. The First Amendment led to Pakistan's recognition and diplomatic ties with Bangladesh. The Second Amendment in the constitution declared the Ahmadis as non-Muslims, and defined the term non-Muslim. The rights of the detained were limited under the Third Amendment while the powers and jurisdiction of the courts for providing relief to political opponents were curtailed under the Fourth Amendment. The Fifth Amendment passed on 15 September 1976, focused on curtailing the power and jurisdiction of the Judiciary. This amendment was highly criticised by lawyers and political leaders. The main provision of the Sixth Amendment extended the term of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and the High Courts beyond the age of retirement. This Amendment was made in the Constitution to favour the then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who was supposed to be a friend of Bhutto.

The Bhutto Government carried out a number of reforms in the industrial sector. His reforms were twofold; nationalisation, and the improvement of workers' rights. In the first phase, basic industries like steel, chemical and cement were nationalised. This was done in 1972. The next major step in nationalisation took place on 1 January 1974, when Bhutto nationalised all banks. The last step in the series was the most shocking; it was the nationalisation of all flour, rice and cotton mills throughout the country. This nationalisation process was not as successful as Bhutto expected. Most of the nationalised units were small businesses that could not be described as industrial units, hence making no sense for the step that was taken. Consequently, a considerable number of small businessmen and traders were ruined, displaced or rendered unemployed. In the concluding analysis, nationalisation caused colossal loss not only to the national treasury but also to the people of Pakistan.

During his period as the Prime Minister, a number of land reforms were also introduced. The important land reforms included the reduction of land ceilings and introducing the security of tenancy to tenant farmers. The land ceiling was fixed to 150 acres (0.61 km²) of irrigated land and 300 acres (1.2 km²) of non-irrigated land. Another step that Bhutto took was to democratise Pakistan's Civil Service.

Bhutto introduced socialist economic reforms while working to prevent any further division of the country. Absolute poverty was sharply reduced, with the percentage of the population estimated to be living in absolute poverty falling from 46.50% by the end of military rule to 30.78% by 1979–80. The land reform programme provided increased support to landless tenants, and development spending was substantially, particularly on health and education, in both rural and urban areas, and provided ‘material support’ to rural wage workers, landless peasants, and urban wage workers.

Popular unrest and military coup

Bhutto began facing considerable criticism and increasing unpopularity as his term progressed.Initially targeting leader of the opposition Abdul Wali Khan and his opposition National Awami Party(NAP). Despite the ideological similarity of the two parties the clash of egos both inside and outside the National Assembly became increasingly fierce and started with the Federal governments decision to oust the NAP provincial government in Balochistan for alleged secessionist activities and culminating in the banning of the party and arrest of much of its leadership after the death of Hayat Khan Sherpao, a close lieutenant of Bhutto, in a bomb blast in the frontier town of Peshawar.

Dissidence also increased within the PPP and the murder of dissident leader Ahmed Raza Kasuri's father led to public outrage and intra-party hostility as Bhutto was accused of masterminding the crime. Powerful PPP leaders such as Ghulam Mustafa Khar openly condemned Bhutto and called for protests against his regime. The political crisis in the NWFP and Balochistan intensified as civil liberties remained suspended and an estimated 100,000 troops deployed there were accused of human rights abuses and killing large numbers of civilians.

On 8 January 1977 many opposition political parties grouped to form the Pakistan National Alliance(PNA).Bhutto called fresh elections and the PNA participated in those elections with full force and managed to contest the elections jointly even though they had grave differences in their opinions and views. The PNA faced defeat but did not accept the results, accusing their opponents of rigging the election. They first claimed rigging on 14 seats and finally on 40 seats in the national assembly and boycotted provisional elections turn out in national elections was of highest degree. Provincial elections were held amidst low voter turnout and an opposition boycott, violent PNA declare the newly-elected Bhutto government as illegitimate. Muslim leaders such as Maulana Maududi called for the overthrow of Bhutto's regime. Intensifying political and civil disorder prompted Bhutto to hold talks with PNA leaders, which culminated in an agreement for the dissolution of the assemblies and fresh elections under a form of government of national unity. However on 5 July 1977 Bhutto and members of his cabinet were arrested by troops under the order of General Zia. It is generally believed that the coup took place on the pretext of unrest despite Bhutto having reached an agreement with the opposition.

General Zia announced that martial law had been imposed, the constitution suspended and all assemblies dissolved and promised elections within ninety days. Zia also ordered the arrest of senior PPP and PNA leaders but promised elections in October. Bhutto was released on 29 July and was received by a large crowd of supporters in his hometown of Larkana. He immediately began touring across Pakistan, delivering speeches to very large crowds and planning his political comeback. Bhutto was arrested again on 3 September before being released on bail on 13 September. Fearing yet another arrest, Bhutto named his wife, Nusrat, president of the Pakistan People's Party. Bhutto was imprisoned on 17 September and a large number of PPP leaders and activists arrested and disqualified from contesting in elections.

Trial of the Prime Minister

Bhutto's trial began on 24 October on charges of "conspiracy to murder" Ahmed Raza Kasuri. On 5 July 1977 the military, led by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, staged a coup. Zia relieved prime minister Bhutto of power, holding him in detention for a month. Zia pledged that new elections would be held in 90 days. He kept postponing the elections and publicly retorted during successive press conferences that if the elections were held in the presence of Bhutto his party would not return to power again.

Upon his release, Bhutto travelled the country amid adulatory crowds of PPP supporters. He used to take the train travelling from the south to the north and on the way, would address public meetings at different stations. Several of these trains were late, some by days, in reaching their respective destinations and as a result Bhutto was banned from travelling by train. The last visit he made to the city of Multan in the province of Punjab marked the turning point in Bhutto's political career and ultimately, his life. In spite of the administration's efforts to block the gathering, the crowd was so large that it became disorderly, providing an opportunity for the administration to declare that Bhutto had been taken into custody because the people were against him and it had become necessary to protect him from the masses for his own safety.

Re-arrest and trial

On 3 September the Army arrested Bhutto again on charges of authorising the murder of a political opponent in March 1974. A 35-year-old politician Ahmed Raza Kasuri tried to run as a PPP candidate in elections, despite having previously left the party. The Pakistan Peoples Party rebuffed him. Three years earlier, Kasuri and his family had been ambushed, leaving Kasuri's father, Nawab Mohammad Ahmad Khan, dead. Kasuri claimed that he was the actual target, accusing Bhutto of being the mastermind. Kasuri later claimed that he had been the victim of 15 assassination attempts.

Bhutto was released 10 days after his arrest due to a judge, Justice KMA Samadani, finding the evidence "contradictory and incomplete." Justice Samadani had to pay for this; he was immediately removed from the court and placed at the disposal of the law ministry. Three days later Zia arrested Bhutto again on the same charges, this time under "martial law." When the PPP organised demonstrations among Bhutto's supporters, Zia cancelled the upcoming elections.

Bhutto was arraigned before the High Court of Lahore instead of in a lower court, thus automatically depriving him of one level of appeal. The judge who had granted him bail was removed. Five new judges were appointed, headed by Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Maulvi Mushtaq Ali, who denied bail. The trial lasted five months, and Bhutto appeared in court in a dock specially built for the trial.

Proceedings began on 24 October 1977. Masood Mahmood, the director general of the Federal Security Force (since renamed the Federal Investigation Agency), testified against Bhutto. Mahmood had been arrested immediately after Zia's coup and had been imprisoned for two months prior to taking the stand. In his testimony, he claimed Bhutto had ordered Kasuri's assassination and that four members of the Federal Security Force had organised the ambush on Bhutto's orders.

The four alleged assassins were arrested and later confessed. They were brought into court as "co-accused" but one of them recanted his testimony, declaring that it had been extracted from him under torture. The following day, the witness was not present in court; the prosecution claimed that he had suddenly "fallen ill".

Bhutto's defence challenged the prosecution with proof from an army logbook the prosecution had submitted. It showed that the jeep allegedly driven during the attack on Kasuri was not even in Lahore at the time. The prosecution had the logbook disregarded as "incorrect." During the defence's cross-examination of witnesses, the bench often interrupted questioning. The 706-page official transcript contained none of the objections or inconsistencies in the evidence pointed out by the defence. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who attended the trial, wrote:

The prosecution's case was based entirely on several witnesses who were detained until they confessed, who changed and expanded their confessions and testimony with each reiteration, who contradicted themselves and each other, who, except for Masood Mahmood... were relating what others said, whose testimony led to four different theories of what happened, absolutely uncorroborated by an eyewitness, direct evidence, or physical evidence.

When Bhutto began his testimony on 25 January 1978, Chief Justice Maulvi Mustaq closed the courtroom to all observers. Bhutto responded by refusing to say any more. Bhutto demanded a retrial, accusing the Chief Justice of bias, after Mustaq allegedly insulted Bhutto's home province. The court refused his demand.

Death sentence and appeal

On 18 March 1978, Bhutto wasn't declared guilty of murder but was sentenced to death. Bhutto did not seek an appeal. While he was transferred to a cell in Rawalpindi central jail, his family appealed on his behalf, and a hearing before the Supreme Court commenced in May. Bhutto was given one week to prepare. Bhutto issued a thorough rejoinder to the charges, although Zia blocked its publication. Chief Justice S. Anwarul Haq adjourned the court until the end of July 1978, supposedly because five of the nine appeals court judges were willing to overrule the Lahore verdict. One of the pro-Bhutto judges was due to retire in July.

Chief Justice S. Anwarul Haq presided over the trial, despite being close to Zia, even serving as Acting President when Zia was out of the country. Bhutto's lawyers managed to secure Bhutto the right to conduct his own defence before the Supreme Court. On 18 December 1978, Bhutto made his appearance in public before a packed courtroom in Rawalpindi. By this time he had been on death row for 9 months and had gone without fresh water for the previous 25 days. He addressed the court for four days, speaking without notes.

The appeal was completed on 23 December 1978. On 6 February 1979, the Supreme Court issued a guilty verdict, a decision reached by a bare 4-to-3 majority. The Bhutto family had seven days in which to appeal. The court granted a stay of execution while it studied the petition. By 24 February 1979 when the next court hearing began, appeals for clemency arrived from many heads of state. Zia said that the appeals amounted to "trade union activity" among politicians.

On 24 March 1979 the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. Zia upheld the death sentence. Bhutto was hanged at Central jail, Rawalpindi, on 4 April 1979,and is buried in Village Cemetery at Garhi Khuda Baksh.

Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry  

(13-8-1973 to 16-9-1978)

 

Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry (January 1, 1904 - June 2, 1982) was the fifth President of Pakistan from August 14, 1973 until his resignation on September 16, 1978.

Early life

Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry was born in a Gujjar family in Marala village, near the city of Kharian, Gujrat District in Punjab province on January 1, 1904. He received his early education from his hometown and went to Aligarh University and later Punjab University from where he got a law degree, and went into practising law. He did his M. A. in Political Science in 1925 and took his degree of Law from the University of Punjab in 1927. After completing his education, he went back to Gujrat and started practising Law. He took part in the election of Gujrat District Board and was elected unopposed.

Political career

He joined the Muslim League in 1942. In 1945, he was elected from Gujrat as the President of Muslim League. He took part in the 1946 elections on Muslim League's ticket and played an important role in propagating the ideas of the Muslim League among the people of his area. Upon the independence of Pakistan, Chaudhry got involved in the new government, moving up to high ranking positions in the National Assembly.

Speaker of the National Assembly

After Independence, he was given the post of Parliamentary Secretary. He was later appointed Minister for Education and Health. In 1951, he contested the elections of the Punjab Legislative Assembly on the Muslim League ticket and was elected as a member of the Punjab Assembly. In 1952, he represented Pakistan in the United Nations. In the 1956 elections, he was elected as member of the Assembly and later as the Speaker of the National Assembly. He remained as Speaker till 1958. In 1962, when Ayub Khan announced the elections, he was selected as the Deputy Opposition Leader of the House on the basis of his experience and knowledge about parliamentary proceedings. He joined the Convention Muslim League, and after the 1956 elections, he was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.

President of Pakistan

He was elected as member of the National Assembly in 1970 on the ticket of the Pakistan Peoples Party and was later elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly. He ended up joining the Pakistan Peoples Party and was made President in 1973, when the head of the PPP, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was made Prime Minister.
Chaudhry was largely a figurehead, and was the first President with less power than the Prime Minister. This was due to the new constitution of 1973 that gave power to the Prime Minister; previously, the President had been the chief leader of Pakistan and had the power to appoint Prime Ministers.

Resignation

Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry remained President until 1978, when he resigned after the military took control of the government under General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. General Zia respected Chaudhry and came to visit him on his deathbed.

Death

Chaudhry died on June 2, 1982. His family since then has taken a very active role in politics.
      

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq 

(16-9-1978 to 17-8-1988)

General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq  August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was the sixth President of Pakistan from July 1977 to his death in August 1988. Distinguished by his role in the Black September in Jordan military operation in 1970, he was appointed Chief of Army Staff in 1976. After widespread civil disorder, he overthrew ruling Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in a bloodless coup d'état on 5 July 1977 and became the state's third ruler to impose martial law. He initially ruled as Chief Martial Law Administrator, but later installed himself as the President of Pakistan in September 1978.
Zia's major domestic initiatives included the consolidation of the fledgling nuclear program, which was initiated by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, denationalization and deregulation and the state's Islamization. His tenure saw the disbanding of the Baloch insurgency. His endorsement of the Pakistan Muslim League (the founding party of Pakistan) initiated its mainstream revival^{[citation needed]}. However, he is most remembered for his foreign policy; the subsidizing of the Mujahideen movement during the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan which led to the Soviet Russian withdrawal from Afghanistan. He was described by some as a "fundamentalist Sunni dictator".
Zia died along with several of his top generals and then-United States Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Lewis Raphel in a suspicious aircraft crash near Bahawalpur (Punjab) on 17 August 1988.

Early life

Zia was born in Jalandhar, British India, in 1924 as the second child of Muhammad Akbar, who worked in the Army GHQ in Delhi and Simla pre-partition.
After graduation from St Stephen's College in Delhi, Zia joined the British Indian Army in 1943. He completed his initial education in Simla and then attended St. Stephen's College, Delhi for his graduate degree.
He married Shafiqa Jahan in 1950-51.
Shafiqa Zia passed away on January 5, 1996. Zia is survived by their children, his sons, Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq, (born 1953), who went into politics and became a cabinet minister in the government of Nawaz Sharif, and Anwar-ul-Haq (born 1950) and his daughters, Zian (also Zain) (born 1972), a special needs child, and Rubina Salim, who is married to a Pakistani banker and has been living in the United States since 1980, and daughter Quratulain Zia who currently lives in London, and is married to Pakistani doctor, Adnan Majid.

 Army career

He was commissioned in the British Indian Army in a cavalry regiment on 12 May 1943 and served against Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II. After Pakistan gained its independence, Zia joined the newly formed Pakistan Army as a major. His regiment was now the Guides Cavalry Frontier Force Regiment. He trained in the United States in 1962–1964 at the US Army Command and General Staff College Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. After that, he returned to take over as Directing Staff (DS) at Command and Staff College, Quetta. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Zia was a tank commander.
Zia was stationed in Jordan from 1967 to 1970 as a Brigadier, helping in the training of Jordanian soldiers, as well as leading the training mission into battle during the Black September operations as commander of Jordanian 2nd Division, a strategy that proved crucial to King Hussein's remaining in power. By 1973, then Maj Gen Zia was commanding the 1st Armoured Division at Multan.
He was then promoted as Lt Gen and was appointed commander of the II Strike Corps at Multan in 1975. It was during this time when General Zia invited Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as the Colonel-in-Chief of the Armoured Corps at Multan, using his tailor to stitch the Blue Patrols of his size. The next day, Bhutto was requested to climb a tank and engage a target, where the target was quite obviously hit. After the function, General Zia met Bhutto, placed his hand on the Quran and said, "You are the saviour of Pakistan and we owe it to you to be totally loyal to you."
On 1 March 1976, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto approved Zia as Chief of Army, ahead of a number of more senior officers. At the time of his nominating the successor to the outgoing chief General Tikka Khan, the Lieutenant Generals in order of seniority were, Muhammad Shariff, Muhammad Akbar Khan, Aftab Ahmed Khan, Azmat Baksh Awan, Agha Ibrahim Akram, Abdul Majeed Malik, Ghulam Jilani Khan, and Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. But, Bhutto chose the most junior, superseding seven more senior generals. However, the senior most at that time, Lt Gen Mohammad Shariff, though promoted to General, was made the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, a constitutional post akin to President Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry.

Coup and martial law

Prime Minister Bhutto began facing considerable criticism and increasing unpopularity as his term progressed.Initially targeting leader of the opposition Khan Abdul Wali Khan and his opposition National Awami Party (NAP). Despite the ideological similarity of the two parties, the clash of egos both inside and outside the National Assembly became increasingly fierce, starting with the Federal governments decision to oust the NAP provincial government in Balochistan for alleged secessionist activities and culminating in the banning of the party and arrest of much of its leadership after the death of a close lieutenant of Bhutto's, Hayat Sherpao, in a bomb blast in the frontier town of Peshawar.
Dissidence also increased within the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and the murder of a leading dissident Ahmed Raza Kasuri's father led to public outrage and intra-party hostility as Bhutto was accused of masterminding the crime. Powerful PPP leaders such as Ghulam Mustafa Khar openly condemned Bhutto and called for protests against his regime. The political crisis in the NWFP (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Balochistan intensified as civil liberties remained suspended, and an estimated 100,000 troops deployed there were accused of abusing human rights and killing large numbers of civilians.
On 8 January 1977 a large number of opposition political parties grouped to form the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA). Bhutto called fresh elections, and PNA participated in those elections in full force. They managed to contest the elections jointly even though there were grave splits on opinions and views within the party. The PNA faced defeat but did not accept the results, alleging that the election was rigged. They proceeded to boycott the provincial elections. Despite this, there was high voter turn out in national elections; however, as provincial elections were held amidst low voter turnout and an opposition boycott, the PNA declared the newly-elected Bhutto government as illegitimate. All the opposition leaders called for the overthrow of Bhutto's regime. Political and civil disorder intensified, which led to more unrest. Bhutto imposed martial law in major cities including Karachi, Lahore and Haiderabad. However, a compromise agreement between Bhutto and opposition was ultimately reported. On 5 July 1977, before the announcement of any agreement, Bhutto and members of his cabinet were arrested by troops under the order of General Zia.

Postponement of elections and call for accountability

After assuming power as Chief Martial Law Administrator, General Zia promised to hold National and Provincial Assembly elections in the next 90 days and to hand over power to the representatives of the nation^[. He also stated that the Constitution of Pakistan had not been abrogated whatsoever, but had been temporarily suspended. However, in October 1977, he announced the postponement of the electoral plan and decided to start an accountability process for the politicians. Zia said that he changed his decision due to the strong public demand for the scrutiny of political leaders who had engaged in malpractice in the past but there is no evidence to this claim. Thus the "retribution first, elections later" PNA policy was adopted. This severely tainted his credibility as many saw the broken promise as malacious.
A Disqualification Tribunal was formed, and several individuals who had been Members of Parliament were charged with malpractice and disqualified from participating in politics at any level for the next seven years. A white paper document was issued, incriminating the deposed Bhutto government on several counts.

The Doctrine of Necessity

Nusrat Bhutto, the wife of the deposed Prime Minister, filed a suit against General Zia's military regime, challenging the validity of the July 1977 military coup. The Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled, in what would later be known as the Doctrine of Necessity (not to be confused with the 1954 Doctrine of necessity) that, given the dangerously unstable political situation of the time, General Zia's overthrowing of the Bhutto government was legal on the grounds of necessity. The judgement tightened the general's hold on the government.

Assumption of the post of President of Pakistan

Despite the dismissal of most of the Bhutto government, President Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry was persuaded to continue in office as a figurehead. After completing his term, and despite General Zia's insistence to accept an extension as President, Mr Chaudhry resigned, and General Zia took the office of President of Pakistan on 16 September 1978. Thus his position was cemented as the undisputed ruler of the country.
Over the next six years, Zia issued several decrees which amended the constitution and greatly expanded his power. Most significantly, the Revival of Constitution of 1973 Order granted Zia the power to dissolve the National Assembly virtually at will.

 The trial of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

On 4 April 1979, the former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged, after the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence as passed by the Lahore High Court. The Supreme Court ruled four to three in favour of execution. The High Court had given him the death sentence on charges of the murder of the father of Ahmed Raza Kasuri, a dissident PPP politician. Despite many clemency appeals from foreign leaders requesting Zia to commute Bhutto's death sentence, Zia dismissed the appeals and upheld the death sentence. The hanging of an elected prime minister by a military man was condemned by the international community and by lawyers and jurists across Pakistan

Appointment of Martial Law Governors

The Zia regime largely made use of installing high-profile military generals to carte blanche provincial administration under martial law. Zia's Guides Cavalry comrade Lieutenant General Fazle Haq was appointed Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Zia's tenure saw the influx of heroin^{[citation needed]}, sophisticated weaponry, and countless refugees in from neighbouring Afghanistan. Lieutenant General S.M. Abbasi was appointed Governor of Sindh; his tenure too saw civil disorder amid student riots. By contrast, martial law governor General Jilani of Punjab made much headway in beautifying Lahore, extending infrastructure, and muting political opposition. The ascent of Nawaz Sharif to Chief Minister of Punjab was largely due to General Jilani's sponsorship. Perhaps most crucially, General Rahimuddin Khan's appointment to the post of martial law Governor of Balochistan saw the disbanding of the Baloch insurgency, the containment of Afghan mujahideen, as well as the construction of nuclear test sites in the Chagai District.

 Reign as President of Pakistan

Formation of Majlis-e-Shoora

Main article: Majlis-e-Shoora

In the absence of a parliament, General Zia decided to set up an alternative system, Majlis-e-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. All 284 members of the Shoora were to be nominated by the President, also known as a technocracy or government of technocrats.

Referendum of 1984

General Zia eventually decided to hold elections in the country. But before handing over the power to the public representatives, he decided to secure his position as the head of state. A referendum was held on 1 December 1984, and the option was to elect or reject the General as the future President. The question asked in the referendum was whether the people of Pakistan wanted Islamic Sharia law enforced in the country
. According to the official result, more than 95% of the votes were cast in favour of Zia, thus he was elected as President for the next five years. However, they were marred by allegations of widespread irregularities and technical violations of the laws and ethics of democratic electionsAlso, despite pressure from the government to vote, only 10% of those eligible to vote did so. Zia had the overwhelming majority of the votes cast, but in reality the referendum was an embarrassing failure.

The Eighth Amendment and elections of 1985

After being elected President, Zia decided to hold elections in the country in February 1985 on a non-party basis. Most of the opposing 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 and lifting martial law, Zia got the new legislature to retroactively accept all of Zia's actions of the past eight years, including his coup of 1977^[. He also managed to get several amendments passed, most notably the Eighth Amendment, which granted "reserve powers" to the president to dissolve the National Assembly. However, this amendment considerably reduced the power he'd previously granted himself to dissolve the legislature, at least on paper. The text of the amendment permitted Zia to dissolve the Assembly only if 1 the Cabinet had been toppled by a vote of no confidence and it was obvious that no one could form a government or 2) the government could not function in a constitutional manner.

Involvement in the Soviet-Afghan War

On 25 December 1979, the Soviet Union (USSR) invaded Afghanistan. General Zia, as President of neighbouring Pakistan, was asked by several cabinet members to refrain from interfering in the war, owing to the vastly superior military power of the USSR. General Zia, however, was ideologically opposed to the idea of communism taking over a neighbouring country, supported by the fear of Soviet advancement into Pakistan, particularly Balochistan, in search of warm waters, and made no secret about his intentions of monetarily and militarily aiding the Afghan resistance (the Mujahideen) with major assistance from the United States.

Economic reform

Under Zia, the previous ruler Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's nationalisation policies were slowly reversed, and gradual privatisation took place. General Zia greatly favoured egalitarianism and industrialisation. Between 1977 and 1986, the country experienced an average annual growth in the GNP of 6.8%, one of the highest in the world at that time.

Consolidation of Pakistan's nuclear programme

Zia contributed to attaining nuclear capability for Pakistan, a program started by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. The country was made a subject of attack by international organisations for not signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Zia deftly neutralised international pressure by tagging Pakistan's nuclear programme to the nuclear designs of neighbouring India. He then drew a five-point proposal as a practical rejoinder to world pressure on Pakistan to sign the NPT; the points including the renouncing of the use of nuclear weapons. He also funded a uranium enrichment plant based at the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) in Kahuta under Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan. During General Zia's rule the nuclear plan was considered an important national issue and international pressure was difficult to counter unless several other pro-Pakistan nations were also groomed to become nuclear capable.
Dr. Khan was assigned this task and given free hand to work with some like minded nations like North Korea, Iran and Libya who also wanted to pursue their nuclear ambitions for a variety of reasons. It was envisaged that this would deflect international pressure on these countries and Pakistan would be spared the international community's wrath. Dr. Khan's dismissal from the nuclear programme in 2004 was considered a face saving exercise by the Pakistani military and political establishment under the then President Pervez Musharraf.
Zia also supported the nuclear program being run in PAEC by Munir Ahmad Khan and sanctioned the launch of the 50 MW heavy water plutonium production reactor at Khushab in 1985. General Zia had promoted Munir Ahmad Khan as his Science Advisor in 1980, a post that was left by dr. Abdus Salam in 1974. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), under the leadership of dr. Ishfaq Ahmad had carried out the first cold test of a nuclear device on 11 March 1983 which was followed by several cold tests throughout the 1980s. The test was supervised by the renowned nuclear physicist dr. Ishfaq Ahmad, and it was witnessed by high-civil and military officials belonging to the different branches of Pakistan Defense Forces.

International standing enhancement and resumption of aid

Zia's international standing greatly rose after his declaration to fight the Soviet invaders, as he went from being portrayed as just another military dictator to a champion of the free world by the Western media. Pakistan–United States relations took a much more positive turn. U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance, cut off U.S. aid to Pakistan on the grounds that Pakistan had not made sufficient progress on the nuclear issue. Then, on 25 December 1979, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, and Carter offered Pakistan $325 million in aid over three years. Zia rejected this as "peanuts."Template:The Bear Trap, Brig. Muhammad Yousuf Carter also signed the finding in 1980 that allowed less than $50 million a year to go to the Mujahideen. After Ronald Reagan came to office, defeating Carter for the US Presidency in 1980, all this changed, due to President Reagan's new priorities and the unlikely and remarkably effective effort by Congressman Charles Wilson (D-TX), aided by Joanne Herring, and CIA Afghan Desk Chief Gust Avrakotos to increase the funding for Operation Cyclone. Aid to the Afghan resistance, and to Pakistan, increased substantially, finally reaching $1 billion. The United States, faced with a rival superpower looking as if it were to create another Communist bloc, now engaged Zia to fight a US-aided war by proxy in Afghanistan against the Soviets.

Fighting the war by proxy

Zia now found himself in a position to demand billions of dollars in aid for the Mujahideen from the Western states, famously dismissing a United States proposed $325 million aid package as "peanuts". Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and Special Service Group now became actively involved in the conflict, and in cooperation with the Central Intelligence Agency and the United States Army Special Forces supported the armed struggle against the Soviets.
In 1981, Ronald Reagan succeeded Jimmy Carter as President of the United States. Reagan was completely against the Soviet Union and its Communist satellites, dubbing it "the evil empire". Reagan now increased financial aid heading for Pakistan. In 1981, the Reagan Administration sent the first of 40 F-16 jet fighters to the Pakistanis. But the Soviets kept control of the Afghan skies until the Mujahideen received Stinger missiles in 1986. From that moment on, the Mujahideen's strategic position steadily improved.
The Soviets declared a policy of national reconciliation. In January they announced that a Soviet withdrawal was no longer linked to the makeup of the Afghan government remaining behind. Pakistan, with the massive extra-governmental and covert backing from the largest operation ever mounted by the CIA and financial support of Saudi Arabia, therefore, played a large part in the eventual withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1988.

The war legacy

The war left deep scars to the Pakistani society with the menace of Kalashnikov (AK-47 assault rifle) culture spreading all over the country It is estimated that there are currently 20 million firearms in Pakistan, which has a population of about 175 million(as of July 2010) i.e., almost every ninth person has a firearm, most likely an automatic one.The rise of the illicit drug trade and its spread through Pakistan to the rest of the world increased tremendously during the Soviet-Afghan war. Afghanistan's drug industry began to take off after the Soviet invasion in 1979. Desperate for cash with which to buy weapons, various elements in the anti-Communist resistance turned to the drug trade. This was tolerated if not condoned by their American sponsors such as the CIA
Two Afghan Mujahideen groups later morphed into Jihadist outfits in the shape of Taliban and Al-Qaeda in the early 1990s. The Pakistan and US trained Arab and Afghan fighters later in 2001 initiated a 'Jihad' against US. The links of the spectacular and deadly events of September 11 were deeply rooted in the Soviet-Afghan war. Osama bin Laden invested his inherited money into the Soviet-Afghan war to fight the 'infidel communist power' and was abetted by CIA, ISI, US and Pakistani military establishments for over 10 years. To this day Pakistan is bearing the consequences of this strategy and has been dragged deeply into a war with no apparent end.

General Zia-ul-Haq's 'Islamisation

On 2 December 1978, on the occasion of the first day of the Hijra to enforce the Islamic system in Pakistan in a nationwide address, Zia accused politicians of exploiting the name of Islam: "Many a ruler did what they pleased in the name of Islam."
After assuming power, the government began a program of public commitment to enforce Nizam-e-Mustafa (Islamic System), a significant turn from Pakistan's predominantly Anglo-Saxon law, inherited from the British. As a preliminary measure to establish an Islamic society in Pakistan, General Zia announced the establishment of Sharia Benches.
Under the Offences Against Property (Hudood Ordinance) Ordinance, 1979; the punishment of imprisonment or fine, or both, as provided in the existing Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for theft, was substituted by the amputation of the right hand of the offender from the joint of the wrist by a surgeon. For robbery, the right hand of the offender from the wrist and his left foot from the ankle should be amputated by a surgeon. Hudood (حدود, also transliterated Hadud, Hudud; plural for Hadh, حد, limit, or restriction) is the word often used in Islamic social and legal literature for the bounds of acceptable behaviour. Although the punishments were imposed, the due process, witnesses and prosecution system remained un-Islamic Anglo-Saxon. As in Islamic law Hudud can only be given if four witnesses saw the crime happen, in reality hardly anyone can be punished by Islamic Hud laws as very rarely can the conditions for punishment be met.
In legal terms, (Islamic law being usually referred to as Sharia, شريعة) the term is used to describe laws that define a certain level of crime classification. Crimes classified under Hudud are the most severe of crimes, such as murder, theft, and adultery. There are minor differences in views between the four major Sunni madh'habs about sentencing and specifications for these laws. It is often argued that, since Sharia is God's law and states certain punishments for each crime, they are immutable. It has been argued by some, that the Hudud portion of Sharia is incompatible with humanism or human rights. Although the Hud punishment were imposed but the Islamic law of evidence was not implemented and remained British in origin.
Drinking of wine (i.e. all alcoholic drinks) was not a crime under the PPC. In 1977, however, the drinking and selling of wine by Muslims was banned in Pakistan and the sentence of imprisonment of six months or a fine of Rs. 5000/-, or both, was provided in that law.
Under the Zina Ordinance, the provisions relating to adultery were replaced so that the women and the man guilty will be flogged, each of them, with one hundred lashes, if unmarried. And if they are married they shall be stoned to death provided the proof required for hadd is met. That is four Muslim adult male witnesses of good repute to the act of penetration or a voluntary confession in a competent court of law. The Zina Ordinance is fraught with legal ambiguities and the major flaw in this law is the fact that no distinction is made between adultery and rape. Rape is considered no more heinous a crime than zina. The demarcation line between the two offences is so thin in practice, that when a woman comes into the court with a case of rape, she risks being convicted of zina herself, if she cannot prove the rape. The onus of providing proof in a rape case rests with the woman herself. If she is unable to prove her allegation, bringing the case to court is considered equivalent to a confession of sexual intercourse without lawful marriage. Thus this ordinance has been criticized by human rights and women rights activists, lawyers and politicians over the years and sought repealed on many occasions, but so far no attempt of repeal has been successful.
The Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) were amended, through ordinances in 1980, 1982 and 1986 to declare anything implying disrespect to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Ahl al-Bayt (family members of Muhammad), Sahaba (companions of Muhammad) and Sha'ar-i-Islam (Islamic symbols), a cognizable offence, punishable with imprisonment or fine, or with both.

Laws against Ahmadiyya community of 1984

Another addition to the laws was Ordinance XX of 1984. Under this, the Ahmadiyya were barred from calling themselves Muslims, or using Islamic terminology or practising Islamic rituals. This effectively resulted in classifying the Ahmadiyya community of Pakistan into a minority group in law. Zia was also considered anti-Shia, as Zia’s regime saw vicious persecution unleashed against the Shias, who form 20 percent of Pakistan's population in addition to the persecution levied against smaller sects such as the Ahmadiyyas. Further during his reign many Shi'a Muslims personalities and politicians were killed, most prominently the judicial killing of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
Zia promulgated Ordinance XX on 26 April 1984, banning members of the Ahmadiyya community from performing some of their religious ceremonies and prayers. He declared "This Ordinance may be called the Anti-Islamic Activities of the Ahmadis (Prohibition and Punishment) Ordinance, 1984". Although before Zia's rule, in 1974 Pakistan's National Assembly under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto it was declared that Ahmadis are classified as non-Muslims for the definition of the law. But it was not sufficient in stopping the missionary activities of the Ahmadiyya community. Article 298-C of the new law states "Any person of the Quadiani group or the Lahori group (who call themselves ‘Ahmadis’ or by any other name), who, directly or indirectly, poses himself as Muslim, or calls, or refers to his faith as Islam, or preaches or propagates his faith, or invites others to accept his faith, by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representations, or in any manner whatsoever outrages the religious feelings of Muslims, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine."
Since the military regime of Zia unleashed a wave of persecution in the 1980s, violence against the Ahmadiyya community has never really ceased. Ahmadis continue to be killed and injured, and have their homes and businesses burned down in anti-Ahmadi attacks. The authorities continue to arrest, jail and charge Ahmadis for blasphemy and other offenses because of their religious beliefs. In several instances, the police have been complicit in harassment and the framing of false charges against Ahmadis, or stood by in the face of anti-Ahmadi violence.

Lal Masjid of Islamabad

The land of Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) was awarded to the occupants by Zia ul Haq. The controversial figureheads Maulana Abdul Aziz and Abdul Rashid Ghazi of Jamia Hafsa had special relations with Zia ul Haq and those links were further enhanced by his son Ijaz ul Haq during his term as a minister of religious affairs. The former head of Lal Masjid, Maulana Abdullah who was famous for speeches on Jihad (Holy war), is said to be very close to Zia ul Haq.

 Dismissal of the Junejo government and call for new elections

As time passed, the legislature wanted to have more freedom and power and by the beginning of 1988, rumors about the differences between Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo and Zia were rife.
On 29 May 1988, General Zia dissolved the Senate and the National Assembly and removed the Prime Minister under article 58(2)b of the amended Constitution. Apart from many other reasons, Prime Minister Junejo's decision to sign the Geneva Accord against the wishes of General Zia, and his open declarations of removing any military personnel found responsible for an explosion at a munitions dump at Ojhri Camp, on the outskirts of army headquarters in Rawalpindi, earlier in the year, proved to be some of the major factors responsible for his removal.
Zia played the Islam card to defend himself and the generals against any accusations of misrule and corruption However since media in Pakistan was brutally gagged in his days  none of his corruption could be documented and brought to lime light by the print media. When accused of trying to cover-up the Ojari camp incident, on 29 May 1988, he invoked an amendment that he had recently added to the Pakistani Constitution that allowed him to dismiss the Prime Minister, dissolve the National Assembly and all provincial assemblies - basically, the entire legislative portions of the government outside of the Presidency. Zia's loyalists in the military were called to form an interim government. Zia justified his actions and diverted attention from his corruption  by focusing on how the further Islamization of Pakistan had been negligently delayed by Junejo and his government.
Zia promised to hold elections in 1988 after the dismissal of Junejo government. He said that he would hold elections within the next 90 days. The late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's daughter Benazir Bhutto had returned from exile earlier in 1986, and had announced that she would be contesting the elections. With Bhutto's popularity somewhat growing, and a decrease in international aid following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, Zia was in a repetitively difficult political situation.

Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD)

Main article: Oppression under the regime of General Zia-ul-Haq

In 1983, as a reaction to Zia's policies, the populist Movement for the Restoration of Democracy was born and soon gained popularity in Pakistan's smaller, poorer provinces, especially in Bhutto's home province, Sindh. Mrs Gandhi, Indian PM raised concerns over this brutality and violation of human rights at the hands of Pakistan's military dictatorship (Dawn 14 August 1983).^[22]

Death

Zia died in a plane crash on 17 August 1988. After witnessing a US M1 Abrams tank demonstration in Bahawalpur, Zia had left the small town in the Punjab province by C-130 Hercules aircraft. Shortly after a smooth take-off, the control tower lost contact with the aircraft. Witnesses who saw the plane in the air afterward claim it was flying erratically, then nosedived and exploded on impact. In addition to Zia, 31 others died in the plane crash, including Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Akhtar Abdur Rehman, close associate of General Zia Brigadier Siddique Salik, the American Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Raphel and General Herbert M. Wassom, the head of the U.S. Military aid mission to Pakistan. Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the Senate Chairman announced Zia's death on radio and TV. The manner of his death has given rise to many conspiracy theories. There is speculation that America, India, the Soviet Union (as retaliation for US-Pakistani supported attacks in Afghanistan) or an alliance of them and internal groups were behind the attack.
A board of inquiry was set up to investigate the crash. It concluded the most probable cause of the crash was a criminal act of sabotage perpetrated in the aircraft. It also suggested that poisonous gases were released which incapacitated the passengers and crew, which would explain why no Mayday signal was given.

Ghulam Ishaq Khan

(17-8-1988 to 7-18-1993)

 Ghulam Ishaq Khan (abbreviated as GIK) January 20, 1915 – October 27, 2006) was the seventh President of Pakistan from August 17, 1988 until July 18, 1993.

Early life

Khan was born on January 20, 1915 in a small village - Ismail Khel - in the suburbs of Bannu District located in the now Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region. He attended Peshawar University where he received his double BS in chemistry and Botany, followed by his M.S. in nuclear chemistry. Despite of his educational field, Khan joined the civil service and became a career bureaucrat. He was appointed to the prestigious Civil Service of Pakistan after independence in 1947. His son-in-law is senior politician Anwar Saifullah Khan. A grand-daughter of his is married to Omar Ayub Khan, who is the grandson of former Pakistani President Ayub Khan and son of Gohar Ayub Khan.

Chairman of Water and Power Development Authority

After holding various regional posts, including being chairman of the West Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (1961–66), he was appointed to several positions in the central government—first as secretary, Ministry of Finance (1966–70) and later as governor of State Bank of Pakistan (1971–75). In the latter position, he questioned the wisdom of a number of the economic policies of then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

Tenure as Secretary of Defence

He was subsequently moved from the bank and made secretary general at the Ministry of Defence. Although an unusual post for a senior economics expert, it proved to be fortuitous in that it brought him into close contact with the senior officers of the armed forces. Among them was General Zia, who later ousted Bhutto and turned the management of the economy over to Ishaq Khan. During the martial law period (1977–85), Ishaq Khan's titles changed, but he was responsible for all important economic decisions. Among other things, he supported the Zia government's efforts to Islamize the economy by changes in the fiscal and banking systems.

President of Pakistan

In the 1985 elections, he won a Senate seat, shortly after which he was elected as Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan. Immediately after the death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1988, Khan became acting President in accordance with the Constitutional rules of succession, and was formally elected to the position in December of that year. He held the position of President until 1993.

Appointment of Chief of Armed Forces

Khan reportedly vetoed the appointment of former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lieutenant General Hamid Gul as army chief of the Pakistan Army appointing the moderately reformist general Asif Nawaz Khan Janjua instead. Khan's presidency also saw the resignation of General Rahimuddin Khan from the post of Governor of Sindh, due to differences between the two after Khan started restricting Rahimuddin's vast amount of legislative power.

Dismissing the Governments of Bhutto and Sharif

Khan's presidency was also marked by his use of Eighth Amendment reserve powers to check the government. While the Prime Minister is the Head of Government, Khan, as President of Pakistan, was able to dismiss the governments of both prime ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif on charges of corruption, mismanagement, and nepotism, thereby triggering new elections, which the incumbent parties lost. The second dismissal of government exacerbated institutional and political opposition to Khan, leading to his resignation in 1993.

Currency crisis

During the early 1990s, Khan's administration failed to arrest the 30 per cent fall in the value of the Pakistani Rupee from 21 to 30 to the US Dollar.

Atomic program

Khan was one of the key players of Pakistan's nuclear detterence program. Khan was one of the main financial supporter of the nuclear program. He also maintained close relationship with Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan. Ghulam Ishaq Khan, as President of Pakistan, established Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology to produce manpower and to promote nuclear sciences. He also appointed Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan as the executive member of the University. After the retirement of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission's chairman Munir Ahmad Khan, Ghulam Ishaq Khan eventually become the head of Pakistan's atomic program. Under his leadership, the program periodically progressed.
When Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (late) started the Pakistan's nuclear weapon program; Khan, as then-defence minister of Pakistan, played an important and central role in Pakistan's nuclear weapon devices and the construction of nuclear test sites. He is reported to be present at the second cold test along with Lieutenant General Zahid Ali Akbar Khan General Khalid Mehmud Arif and Chairman of PAEC Munir Ahmad Khan^[1].

Retirement and death

Despite coming to an arrangement with the PPP government to be re-elected to the presidency after the 1993 elections, he was eventually dropped as a candidate in favour of Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari. He subsequently retired from politics and avoided contact with the international and national media. He died on 27 October 2006 after a bout of pneumonia.

Wasim Sajjad (Acting)

(7-18-1993 to 14-11-1993)

 Wasim Sajjad (born 30 March 1941) was interimPresident of Pakistan on two occasions, serving as interim President prior to elections. Currently, being a member of PML-Q, he is the Leader of the Opposition in Senate of Pakistan.

Early life

Sajjad Anwari was born on 30 March 1941 inJalandhar, Punjab. He spent his childhood days atArmy Burn Hall College, Abbottabad, from where he completed his O and A Levels. His father, the late Mr Justice Sajjad Ahmed Jan, served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and later as the Chief Election Commissioner. Wasim Sajjad would follow in his footsteps, becoming a lawyer, and attending Wadham College, Oxford Universityon a Rhodes Scholarship.

Education

He took a degree in Jurisprudence in 1966, and the Degree of Bachelor of Civil Law from Oxford University in 1967. He was also awarded an M. A. from the University of Oxford in 1967. He obtained first position in Administrative Law at Oxford and was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple, London. At Oxford, Wasim Sajjad was also the President of the Oxford University Islamic Society in 1966, and President of the Oxford University Pakistan Society from 1965 to 1966. He was elected President Oxford University Birkenhead Society1965-1967, and as Secretary of Wadham College, Oxford, in 1966. He later graduated in 1964.

Political career and President of Pakistan

His political career began in the 1980s when he was elected to the Pakistani Senate. He served as the Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary affairs, and also held the portfolio of the Federal Minister for Interior, under the Government of Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo. He moved up to Chairman of the Senate in 1988, and served his first term as President in 1993, following the resignation of Ghulam Ishaq Khan. As interim president, Sajjad was essentially a placeholder for the office until elections were completed. He would run in the election for President, but was defeated by Farooq Leghari. In 1997, Sajjad was again made interim President and stepped down upon the election of Muhammad Rafiq Tarar.

In 2002, Sajjad was accused of mis-use of government vehicles and phones, amounting to millions of rupees. He was ordered to pay a fine, but served no time in jail.

Sardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari

(14-11-1993 to 2-12-1997)

 

Sardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari (May 29, 1940 – October 20, 2010) was the eighth President of Pakistan from November 14, 1993 until December 2, 1997. He was the first Balouch President of Pakistan.

Early life

Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari was born in Choti Zareen, a village of Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab on May 29, 1940 during the British Raj and died on October 20, 2010 due to cardiac arrest. He was born into a political family that has been active in politics in this part of the world since the pre-colonial days. His father Sardar Muhammad Khan Leghari]] and grand father Nawab Muhmammad Jamal Khan Leghari had both been ministers. Leghari was the major landowner in the area and who owns approximately 2,500 acres (10 km²) of land.

Education

After his initial schooling at Aitchison College, Lahore (where he was the head boy and declared the Best Leaving Student of 1957) Leghari graduated with honours from the Forman Christian College, Lahore, Punjab where again he was amongst the best students. From there he went on to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Oxford University.
After returning to Pakistan he joined the Civil Service and served for some time in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). On the death of his father he resigned from service and came back to his roots to look after the tribal affairs of his tribe. He was the head (Sardar) of the Leghari tribe.

Pakistan Peoples Party

He joined the Pakistan Peoples Party, and was made leader of the party upon the imprisonment of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. He was put under house-arrest several times during the military regime of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Chief of Leghari Tribe He was 22nd Chief of leghari tribe. He became the chief of leghari after the death of his father Nawab Muhammad Khan Leghari who died in 1971. After the death of Sardar Farooq Khan leghari his son Sardar Jamal Khan leghari became the 23rd Chief of leghari tribe.

President of Pakistan

In 1993, with the express support of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Leghari ran for the office of President and won the election against Wasim Sajjad. In November 1996, utilizing his powers under Article 58 2(b) of the Constitution of Pakistan, he dismissed the Peoples' Party Government of Benazir Bhutto on charges of corruption, lawlessness and extra judicial killings.
Following the word of the Constitution of Pakistan he held elections for the National Assembly in 1997. The elections were won by the Pakistan Muslim League and Nawaz Sharif was elected Prime Minister. A decisive majority in the lower house of parliament led the Sharif Government to remove the controversial 8th amendment from the constitution of Pakistan. Leghari saw this as a threat to his power and conspired with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Sajjad Ali Shah, to sack the Sharif Government. This led to an uprising against both he and Shah and forced both men to resign.

Formation of Millat Party and coalition with PML-Q

Instead of retiring from politics, he went on to create his own political party, the Millat Party, which entered into a coalition of seven parties, known as the National Alliance, to participate in the general elections of 2002. The National Alliance, emerged as the 3rd largest group in the parliament and won 13 seats in the National Assembly. He entered in a coalition with the majority party to form the government. Thereafter his son Awais Leghari was made a federal minister for Telecom and IT and another of his deputies Yar Mohammad Rind also was made a member in the Federal cabinet. Later Mohammad Ali Durrani and his niece Sumaira Malik from his party were also inducted into the Federal Cabinet.

Part of ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Q)

With National Alliance being merged with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Q) in May 2004 to form united Pakistan Muslim League, Farooq Leghari also became the member of the newly constituted party, with his son Awais Leghari being one of its senior vice presidents.
His elder son Jamal Leghari has recently been elected to the Senate of Pakistan. His daughter Faryal Leghari is an analyst and researcher in Security & Terrorism Studies at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai.

Death

Leghari died on October 20, 2010 in Rawalpindi due to a heart related illness. He was undergoing surgery at the Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi at the time of his death. Initial reports claimed that he was ill for sometime, owing to complications with his heart.
Wasim Sajjad (Acting)
(2-12-1997 to 1-01-1998)

                                                       

Wasim Sajjad (born 30 March 1941) was interimPresident of Pakistan on two occasions, serving as interim President prior to elections. Currently, being a member of PML-Q, he is the Leader of the Opposition in Senate of Pakistan.

Early life

Sajjad Anwari was born on 30 March 1941 inJalandhar, Punjab. He spent his childhood days atArmy Burn Hall College, Abbottabad, from where he completed his O and A Levels. His father, the late Mr Justice Sajjad Ahmed Jan, served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and later as the Chief Election Commissioner. Wasim Sajjad would follow in his footsteps, becoming a lawyer, and attending Wadham College, Oxford Universityon a Rhodes Scholarship.

Education

He took a degree in Jurisprudence in 1966, and the Degree of Bachelor of Civil Law from Oxford University in 1967. He was also awarded an M. A. from the University of Oxford in 1967. He obtained first position in Administrative Law at Oxford and was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple, London. At Oxford, Wasim Sajjad was also the President of the Oxford University Islamic Society in 1966, and President of the Oxford University Pakistan Society from 1965 to 1966. He was elected President Oxford University Birkenhead Society1965-1967, and as Secretary of Wadham College, Oxford, in 1966. He later graduated in 1964.

Political career and President of Pakistan

His political career began in the 1980s when he was elected to the Pakistani Senate. He served as the Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary affairs, and also held the portfolio of the Federal Minister for Interior, under the Government of Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo. He moved up to Chairman of the Senate in 1988, and served his first term as President in 1993, following the resignation of Ghulam Ishaq Khan. As interim president, Sajjad was essentially a placeholder for the office until elections were completed. He would run in the election for President, but was defeated by Farooq Leghari. In 1997, Sajjad was again made interim President and stepped down upon the election of Muhammad Rafiq Tarar.

In 2002, Sajjad was accused of mis-use of government vehicles and phones, amounting to millions of rupees. He was ordered to pay a fine, but served no time in jail. 

Muhammad Rafiq Tarar

(01-01-1988 to 20-6-2001)

Justice (retd.) Muhammad Rafiq Tarar (born November 2, 1929) was the ninth President of Pakistan from January 1, 1998 until June 20, 2001 and before that Supreme Court of Pakistan judge and Chief Justice of Lahore High Court. During Pakistan's independence in 1947, Rafiq Tarar performed voluntary duty as a relief worker in camps set up by Muslim Students Federation for refugees, migrating from India to Pakistan.

Life

Muhammad Rafiq Tarar graduated from the Islamia College in Gujranwala, in 1949. In 1951, Mr. Tarar secured his Law Degree from Law College, Lahore.

Professional career

In 1951, he enrolled as a Pleader. He also was enrolled as an Advocate in the Lahore High Court during October 1955. After graduating, he established a practice in Gujranwala before rising to the position of Additional District and Session Judge and later District and Session Judge.In 1971 he became Chairman of the Punjab Labor Court. He was alleviated as a judge of Lahore High Court in October 1974 and later became the Chief Justice of the same court in 1989. Earlier, during his days as Judge of the Lahore High Court, he also served as member of the Pakistan Election Commission. Justice Muhammad Rafiq Tarar was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court in January 1991, from which he retired in November 1994 on attaining the age of 65 years.

President of Pakistan

He was brought out of his retirement by Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and afterwards he was elected as member of the Senate in 1997 on the PML(N) Party ticket.Later in the same year he was elected as the President of Pakistan on December 31, 1997 with record number of votes.

During his presidency, Tarar was mostly a figurehead ruler. The Presidency of Pakistan's powers had been slowly removed over the years, culminating in 1997 Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan which removed virtually all remaining reserve powers, making the office almost entirely symbolic in nature as per the true spirit of the Pakistani constitution.

Retirement

Tarar was not removed from office when Pervez Musharraf seized control of the Pakistani government in 1999. While Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was deposed, Tarar chose to remain in office until 2001, at which point Musharraf assumed the presidency in order to restructure Pakistan's model of government.

Pervez Musharraf

(20-6-2001 to 18-8-2008)

General (ret) Pervez Musharraf (born 11 August 1943),NI(M), Tamgha-e-Basalat award, is a Pakistani politician and military figure who served as the tenth President of Pakistan (2001–2008) and the Chief of Army Staffof the Pakistan Army (1998–2007).

He took power on 12 October 1999, following a nonviolent military coup d'état and subsequent ouster of the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The military-led government stated its intention to restructure the political, economic and electoral systems. On May 12, 2000, Pakistan's 12 member Supreme Court unanimously validated the October 1999 coup and granted Musharraf executive and legislative authority for 3 years from the coup date endorsing his governance.

On 18 August 2008, Pervez Musharraf resigned from the post of President under impeachment pressure from the coalition government. He was succeeded on 9 September 2008 by Asif Ali Zardari duly elected as Pakistan's 11th President.

Early life

Pervez Musharraf was born on August 11, 1943 in Nehar Wali Haveli meaning "House Next to the Canal", situated in Kacha Saad Ullah Mohallah, Daryaganj inDelhi, British India, and stems from a family of government servants. After Musharraf's grandfather, Qazi Mohtashimuddin, retired as the Deputy Collector of Revenue based in Delhi, he acquired Neharwali Haveli in the old walled city of Delhi where Musharraf was born.

The haveli, with its high roofs and arches, and is believed to have been previously the home of a "Wazir" (Minister) in the court of Bahadur Shah Zafar — the lastMughal emperor of the 19th century.

After independence of Pakistan, Musharraf's family migrated to Pakistan where his father, Syed Musharraf Uddin — a graduate of Aligarh University — joined the Pakistan Foreign Office as an Accountant, and ultimately retired as a Director.

Musharraf's mother, Zarin, received her master's degree from the University of Lucknow in 1944 and supplemented the recently immigrated family's income to support the education of her children.She recently retired from a United Nations agency in Islamabad.

He revealed in his memoirs that he was critically injured after falling from a mango tree as a teenager, and he considers this his first direct experience with death.

Musharraf attended Saint Patrick's School, Karachi, graduating in 1958, later attending Forman Christian College in Lahore and is said to have been good in mathematics during his academic life.

Family

Musharraf is married to Sehba, who is from Okara. They have a son, Bilal, who was a graduate student at Stanford Universityand currently works in Silicon Valley, and a daughter, Ayla Raza,a graduate of National College of Arts and works as an architect in Karachi.

Bilal Musharraf

Bilal Musharraf is the son of Sehba Musharraf and Pervez Musharraf. Bilal is married with two children, as is his only sibling, his sister Ayla.

In March 2005, the family was held up at a San Francisco, California, airport because security personnel detected traces of TNTin his son's diaper bag; they missed their United Airlines flight, but were cleared to depart and caught a later plane.

The articles "Evaporation Drops the Temperature," and "He had no choice!" that appeared on the web portal "Chowk" are credited to him. Bilal completed his B.S. in Actuarial Science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1994 and completed his MBA and MA in 2007 (Education) from Stanford University. He is currently working for Global Education Management Systems, an international education firm based out of Dubai and New York.In March 2005, Musharraf visited Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India with his octogenarian grandmother; the visit attracted considerable media attention.

Controversy

Recently, it was reported in the Pakistani blogosphere that Bilal Musharraf engaged in business deals of some nature with PrinceAl-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia.A picture posted with the story raised some eyebrows since it showed Shahid Karimullah, Pakistan's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, along with Bilal and the prince. In the same blog-post, a reader commented that Bilal has addressed a related issue with a mailing list at Stanford University. 

Military career

In 1961, he entered the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul, graduating 11th in his class. He was commissioned on April 19, 1964 in the Artillery Regiment. Later he joined the Special Services Group and was posted to Field Artillery Regiments. A graduate of the Command and Staff College, Quetta, and the National Defence College, Rawalpindi, Musharraf is also a graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies of the United Kingdom. Musharraf revealed in his memoirs that in 1965 he was charged with takingunauthorized leave and was about to be court-martialed for it, but was excused due to the war with India.

Indo-Pakistani wars

Musharraf participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 16 (SP) Field Artillery Regiment. His regiment saw action as part of the First Armoured Division’s offensive in the Khemkaran sector; as part of a major offensive against the Indian Army, the Pakistani army advanced 15 miles (24 km) into India and it was in the town of Khem Karan that Musharraf wrote his first letter to his mother during the war "proudly saying that I was writing from India". By all accounts the vital advance failed at the Battle of Asal Uttar, as Pakistan lost a golden opportunity to make major strategic gains; this was a turning point in the war.His regiment was later moved to the Lahore front, which was threatened by the Indian Army. According to Musharraf, "Having stabilized the Lahore front, we were ordered to move again to the Sialkot front. This was where the famous tank battles of Chawinda were fought. At the end of the war this sector was to become a graveyard of Indian tanks.". During the war Musharraf was noted for sticking to his post under shellfire. Towards the end of the war an Indian shell hit one of the artillery guns of Musharraf's unit and set it on fire. According to Musharraf, whilst everyone else took cover, he, followed by a soldier, "dashed to the blazing gun" and removed the "hot shells" one by one and "threw them to safety on the ground". For this he received an award for gallantry and was promoted to the rank of captain.

Later, in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he served as a Company Commander in the Special Service Group (SSG) Commando Battalion. Originally scheduled to be flown to East Pakistan along with other SSG troops, he was redeployed in Punjab as war broke out and all flights over India were cancelled. He later admitted that he "broke down and wept" when he heard the "disgusting" news of Pakistan's unconditional surrender to India. Later he commanded regiments of artillery, an Artillery Brigade and then an infantry division. In September 1987, he was instrumental in giving orders to a newly formed SSG at Khapalu base (Kashmir), which launched an assault and successfully captured two intermediate posts, Bilafond La in Siachen Glacier, before being pushed back.On promotion to the rank of Major General on 15 January 1991, he was assigned the command of an infantry Division. Later, on promotion to Lieutenant General on 21 October 1995 he took over command of 1 Corps, the elite strike corps. In 1998, following the resignation of General Jehangir Karamat, he was personally promoted over other senior officers by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and took over as the Army Chief of Staff and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

Role in Kargil Conflict

From May to July 1999, Pakistan and India were involved in the Kargil Conflict, an armed conflict between the two countries in the Kargil district of Kashmir. It was planned and executed during General Musharraf's term as the Pakistani Army Chief of Staff under Prime Minister Sharif.

Sharif has claimed that Musharraf was solely responsible for the Kargil attacks. On the other hand, Musharraf claims that the decision was made by Sharif, who was under United States pressure. Ex-CENTCOMCommander Anthony Zinni, and Sharif, have stated that Musharraf requested that the Prime Minister withdraw Pakistani troops from Kashmir.

Casualties on both sides had been particularly heavy in Kargil. Musharraf had good relations with Jehangir Karamat from whom he took over the command. Soon after the coup, one of the first to be appointed as minister was journalist Maleeha Lodhiwho was close to Jehangir Karamat. Also recruited was Shaukat Aziz (who served as the country's Prime Minister later) who volunteered to improve the economy. Western banks rescheduled Pakistani loans, which had been subjected to economic sanctions since Pakistan conducted atomic testing.

Pervez Musharraf resigned from the Army on 28 November 2007 in an attempt to regularize his position as President.

Presidency

Military coup d'état

Musharraf became de facto Head of Government (using the title Chief Executive and assuming extensive powers) of Pakistan following a bloodless coup d'état on 12 October 1999. That day, Sharif attempted to dismiss Musharraf and install Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director Ziauddin Butt in his place. Musharraf, who was out of the country, boarded a commercial airliner to return to Pakistan. Senior army generals refused to accept Musharraf's dismissal, which was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Sharif ordered the Karachi airport closed to prevent the landing of the airliner, which then circled the skies over Karachi. In the coup, the Generals ousted Sharif's administration and took over the airport. The plane landed, allegedly with only a few minutes of fuel to spare, and Musharraf assumed control of the government. Sharif was put under house arrest and later exiled to Saudi Arabia, where he resided until he returned again to Pakistan on 25 November 2007.

He and other leaders have subsequently been prevented from entering Pakistan. Although the disagreement between Musharraf and Sharif started from the day Nawaz Sharif ordered withdrawal of troops from Kargil it reportedly centred around the Prime Minister's desire to find a diplomatic resolution to the conflict with India in the Kashmir region.

The existing President of Pakistan, Rafiq Tarar, remained in office until June 2001. Musharraf formally appointed himself President on 20 June 2001, just days before his scheduled visit to Agra for talks with India.

Foreign policy

Support for the War on Terror

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Musharraf sided with the United States against the Taliban government in Afghanistan after an ultimatum by U.S. President George W. Bush. Musharraf agreed to give the United States the use of three airbases for Operation Enduring Freedom. United States Secretary of State Colin Powell and other Administration officials met with Musharraf. On 19 September 2001, Musharraf addressed the people of Pakistan and stated that, while he opposed military tactics against the Taliban, Pakistan risked being endangered by an alliance of India and the U.S. if it did not cooperate.In 2006, Musharraf testified that this stance was pressured by threats from the U.S., and revealed in his memoirs that he had "war-gamed" the United States as an adversary and decided that it would end in a loss for Pakistan.

The leadership in Pakistan war-gamed the USA and NATO as an enemy and realized that it was worthless committing suicide over the obstinate Taliban. Pakistan's stagnated economy had only slightly started recovering, after being put in the HIPCs category, by the IMF and World Bank, as one of the highest indebted poor countries. Galvanizing the whole nation into agreeing to fight the USA and NATO was another impossible task. Indian eagerness to join the War on Terror was an alarming condition that Pakistan could not have overlooked. Indian jets flying over Pakistan's space, with the strategic assets lying below, were a suicidal recipe. An accidental Indian bomb dropped on the Kahuta plant would have created disaster. Pakistan drew up plans to secure its NWFP border along Afghanistan. Around 80,000 troops were placed to patrol and were assigned specific targets.

Relations with India

Musharraf was Chief of Army Staff at the time of Mujahideen incursions into India from Pakistan-administered Kashmir in the summer of 1999. Although Pakistan claimed that these were Kashmiri freedom fighters based in Indian-controlled Kashmir, later developments showed that they were Pakistani paramilitary soldiers backing up the separatists on the mountain top. After fierce fighting, Pakistani soldiers were pulled back due to pressure from the international community.

However, in Battle Ready, a book co-authored by ex-CENTCOM Commander in Chief Anthony Zinni and novelist Tom Clancy, the former alleges that Musharraf was the one who pushed Sharif to withdraw the Pakistani troops after being caught in a losing scenario. According to an ex-official of the Musharraf government, Hassan Abbas, Musharraf planned the whole operation and sold the idea to Sharif. The view that Musharraf wanted to attempt the Kargil infiltrations much earlier was also revealed by Bhutto in an interview with a leading daily newspaper, where he had supposedly boasted that "he would hoist the flag of Pakistan atop the Srinagar Assembly" if his plan was executed. Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML(N)), a leading Pakistan party added that Musharraf had planned the Kargil intrusions but panicked when the conflict broke out with India and decided to alert Sharif.Since the Kargil incident occurred just after the Lahore Peace Summit earlier that year, Musharraf is often regarded with scepticism in India.

In the middle of 2004, Musharraf began a series of talks with India to solve the Kashmir dispute. Both leaders also discussed the following issues: Wullar Barrage and Kishangaga power project, Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River being built by India in Jammu and Kashmir, disputed Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch, Siachin glacier, issues of Gurdaspur and Ferozepur's status, minority rights, Indian contentions that Pakistan is sponsoring "cross-border" terrorism.

In 2007, Musharraf stated, after a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, that the current push to normalize relations between the two states is "irreversible."

2001 Gujarat Earthqauke of India

Pakistan President Pervez Mushrraf sent a plane load of relief supplies to India from Islamabad to Ahmedabad that carried 200 tents and more than 2,000 blankets. Furthermore, the President called Indian PM to express his sympathy over the loss from the earthquake.

Richard Armitage comments

During a 24 September 2006 interview with Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes, Musharraf said that then-U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitagehad called Musharraf's intelligence director shortly following the 9/11 attacks and threatened military action if Pakistan did not support the U.S.-led "war on terror". According to Musharraf, Armitage warned: "Be prepared to be bombed. Be prepared to go back to the Stone Age." Furthermore, during an interview with Jon Stewart of The Daily Show on 26 September 2006, Musharraf stated that then-Secretary of State Colin Powell also contacted him with a similar message: "You are with us or against us." Musharraf refused to elaborate further, citing the then-upcoming release of his book, In the Line of Fire: A Memoir (ISBN 0-7432-8344-9). Armitage has, however, categorically denied that he had used such harsh words to threaten Pakistan, saying instead that on 12 September 2001 he had told Pakistan's top intelligence official that Pakistan would have to decide whether it was with or against the U.S. in its efforts against al-Qaida and the Taliban. In Armitage's words, "It would be completely out of character for me to threaten the use of military force when I was not authorized to do so. I don't command aircraft and could not make good on such a threat." In a 22 September 2006 joint news conference with Musharraf, U.S. President George W. Bush said, "I don't know of any conversation that was reported in the newspaper like that."

Nuclear proliferation

As President, General Musharraf had promoted Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan as his "Science Advisor to the President". One of the most widely-reported controversies during Musharraf's administration arose as a consequence of the disclosure of nuclear proliferation by Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the metallurgical engineer known as the father of Pakistan's Gas-centrifuge program. Musharraf has denied knowledge of or participation by Pakistan's government or army in this proliferation and has faced bitter domestic criticism for singularly vilifying Khan, a former national hero. Khan has been pardoned in exchange for cooperation in the investigation, but is still under house arrest.After Musharraf's resignation, dr. Khan was released from House arrest by the executive order of Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Space Program

Musharraf was eager for the Pakistan to lead the way in the space race. He was one of the few leaders of Pakistan to authorized space-development projects in Pakistan. Musharraf also unfroze Pakistan's Space program which was last frozen in 1996. In 1999, when Dr. A. Q. Khan met with him, he quickly authorized SUPARCO to developed its first domestically build earth observational satellite. Musharraf also established a separated fund for SUPARCO to developed its high-powered HRLV,SLV, PSLV projects. According to the media, all these project will be launch from Pakistan in 2012, but the SUPARCO has not confirmed yet. In 2005, President Musharraf outlined his vision for SUPARCO by laying down a clearly defined agenda for the national space agency to pursue and deliver in minimum time. Musharraf had made it clear that:

"Pakistan would need to catch up to the world space leaders and make up for lost time and neglect in the past and future".

Musharraf had authorised renewed research and development on an indigenous launch capability that would be able to put into orbit a domestically built satellite, Paksat-1R. In his [Musharraf] book, In the Line of Fire: A Memoir, Musharraf has expressed his desired that "SUPARCO has suffered severe economic and global sanctions. Musharraf has expressed his desired that "SUPARCO has suffered severe economic and global sanctions but in future Pakistan will send its satellites from its soil".

Relations with China

Musharraf accused Western leaders and media of politicizing the 2008 Summer Olympics by criticizing China's human rights record and its policy in Tibet. He also said he would cooperate with China, which is a historical ally to Pakistan, in the fight againstterrorism.

President Musharraf was internally Pro-China and kept the strategic relations intact. During President Musharraf’s government, China for the first time allowed a Pakistani president access to one of its most advanced and secret military research facilities

Relations with Saudi Arabia

Pakistan’s relationship with Saudi Arabia continues to grow. After his coup in October 1999, Riyadh was the first foreign capital General Pervez Musharraf visited, to signify the importance he gave to PAK-Saudi relations.

King Abdullah's first visit to Pakistan in 2006 as ruler, he was welcomed at the airport by both President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shawkat Aziz, a reflection of the strong ties between the two nations. Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis lined the road from the airport to welcome the Saudi King. President Musharraf and the Saudi King, take a common stand on the war on terror and expanding trade ties, as well as international issues such as Kashmir, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iraq, Iran’s nuclear program, Afghanistan and reform of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). President Musharraf honored King Abdullah by conferring upon him Pakistan’s highest civil award, Nishan-e-Pakistan, in a colorful investiture ceremony at the presidential palace.

On 21 Jan 2007, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah conferred the King Abdul Aziz Medallion, the Kingdom’s top honor, on Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf during a ceremony at his palace in Riyadh.The first Pakistani leader ever to receive this highest Saudi honor.

Musharraf nominated for 2004 Nobel Peace Prize

In 2004, the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf was nominated in the final list of hopefuls for that year's prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, which totals 194 candidates, as annonced by the Nobel Institute. It is not the very first time that a suggestion of awarding the Noble Peace Prize to President Musharraf has been made from such an important quarter but seeing the very clear role being played by the Pakistani President in fighting terrorism against Al Qaeda and other extremist groups within Pakistan, several important figures and organisations have also begun supporting General Musharraf as the strongest entrant for the Noble Peace Prize.

Domestic issues

2002 elections

Shortly after Musharraf's takeover, several people filed court petitions challenging his assumption of power. However, he gotThe Oath of Judges Order 2000 issued. It required the judges to take a fresh oath of office swearing allegiance to military rule and to state they would make no decisions against the military. Many judges refused and resigned in protest. On 12 May 2000, the Supreme Court asked Musharraf to hold national elections by 12 October 2002; elections for local governments took place in 2001.

In an attempt to legitimize his presidency and assure its continuance after the approaching restoration of democracy, he held a referendum on 30 April 2002 to extend his term to five years after the October elections. The voter turnout was 80% by most estimates, amidst claims of irregularities. A few weeks later, Musharraf went on TV and apologized to the nation for "irregularities" in the referendum.

In August 2002, he passed the Legal Framework Order which provided for the general elections of 2002 and the revival of the 1973 Constitution, but added numerous amendments to the Constitution. The Supreme Court rejected part of the Order.

General elections were held in October 2002 and a plurality of the seats in the Parliament was won by the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q), a pro-Musharraf party. It formed a majority coalition with independents and allies such as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). However, parties opposed to Musharraf effectively paralysed the National Assembly for over a year. The following month, Musharraf handed over certain powers to the newly elected Parliament. The National Assembly elected Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali as Prime Minister, who in turn appointed his own cabinet.

In December 2003, Musharraf made a deal with Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, a six-member coalition of Islamic parties, agreeing to leave the army by 31 December 2004. With that party's support, pro-Musharraf legislators were able to muster the two-thirdssupermajority required to pass the Seventeenth Amendment, which retroactively legalized Musharraf's 1999 coup and many of his decrees. In late 2004, Musharraf went back on his agreement with the MMA and pro-Musharraf legislators in the Parliament passed a bill allowing Musharraf to keep both offices. Constitution Article 63 clause (1) paragraph (d), read with proviso to Article 41 clause (7) paragraph (b), allows the President to hold dual office.

Denunciation of extremism

On 12 January 2002, Musharraf gave a landmark speech against Islamic extremism, a few months after September 11. He unequivocally condemned all acts of terrorism and pledged to combat Islamic extremism and lawlessness within Pakistan itself. He vowed, the government was committed to root out extremism and made it clear that the banned militant organizations would not be allowed to resurface under any new name.He stressed, "the recent decision to ban extremist groups promoting militancy was taken in the national interest after thorough consultations. It was not taken under any foreign influence".

In 2002, the Musharraf-led government, took a firm stand against the jihadi organizations and groups promoting extremism, and arrested Maulana Masood Azhar, head of the Jaish-i-Mohammad, and Hafiz Saeed, chief of the Lashkar-i-Taiba, and took dozens of activists into custody. An official ban was imposed on the groups on January 12.

At the same time as banning foreign funding of Islamic educational institutions, he made it compulsory for them to teach a whole host of additional subjects such as computing. This meant that many had to close due to the halt of funds from Pakistanis working abroad resulting in not being able to teach the additional subjects that he had made compulsory. Musharraf also instituted prohibitions on foreign students' access to studying Islam within Pakistan, an effort which began as an outright ban but was later reduced to restrictions on obtaining visas.

In 2004, he proposed "Enlightened Moderation" as an alternative to Islamic fundamentalism. On 18 September 2005, Musharraf made a historic speech before a broad based audience of Jewish leadership, sponsored by the American Jewish Congress's Council for World Jewry, in New York City. In the speech, he denounced terrorism and opened the door to relationships between Pakistan and Israel, as well as between the Muslim world and Jews worldwide. He was widely criticized by Middle Eastern Arab leaders and Muslim clerics, but was met with some praise among Jewish leadership.

On 13 September 2007, 300 Pakistani troops were captured by Islamic militants. Terrorists then bombed Musharraf's own SSG unit, killing 16, and launched rocket attacks in the North-West Frontier province and Tribal areas.

Musharraf has been met by criticism. Zahid Hussain, Pakistan's correspondent for the Times of London, the Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek and political correspondent for the Karachi-based monthly Newsline said in 2007 that despite Musharraf delivering to the United States, where Al Qaeda was concerned, he did in fact do nothing to eliminate extremism from the Pakistani society or to curb the activities of the Taliban. This is very natural, he said, because since 1994 Pakistan has very actively backed the Taliban and the military itself has Taliban sympathizers. Hussain also said that Musharraf was also criticized for his contradictory statements and, through which he sought to get support from both the Western allies as well as the islamist militants. Musharraf also "never took any action against those madrassas that preached hatred" and have been involved in fueling extremism. Hussain said that Musharraf did talk a lot about it and whenever there was pressure from abroad, he would announce some measures but these were not followed by any implementation. In other words, Hussain said, he failed to understand that one can not develop a moderate Muslim society unless the root cause of extremism is completely eliminated.

Assassination attempts

In 2000 Kamram Atif, allegedly a member of Harkat-ul Mujahideen al-Alami, tried to assassinate Musharraf. Atif was sentenced to death in 2006 by an Anti Terrorism Court.

On 14 December 2003, Musharraf survived an assassination attempt when a powerful bomb went off minutes after his highly-guarded convoy crossed a bridge in Rawalpindi. It was the third such attempt during his four-year rule. On 25 December 2003, two suicide bombers tried to assassinate Musharraf, but their car bombs failed to kill him; 16 others nearby died instead.^[54]Musharraf escaped with only a cracked windscreen on his car. Militant Amjad Farooqi was apparently suspected of being the mastermind behind these attempts, and was killed by Pakistani forces in 2004 after an extensive manhunt.

On 6 July 2007, there was another attempted assassination, when an unknown group fired a 7.62 submachine gun at Musharraf's plane as it took off from a runway in Rawalpindi. Security also recovered 2 anti-aircraft guns, from which no shots had been fired. On 17 July 2007, Pakistani police detained 39 people in relation to the attempted assassination of Musharraf.^[56] They were detained at an undisclosed location by a joint team of Punjab Police, the Federal Investigation Agencyand other Pakistani intelligence agencies.

On 8 October 2007, a military helicopter escorting President Musharraf, on his visit to the earthquake-affected areas on its second anniversary, crashed near Muzaffarabad, killing four people, including a brigadier. The Puma helicopter crashed at Majohi near Garhi Dupatta in Azad Kashmir at 11:15 am due to technical fault. Those killed included Brigadier Zahoor Ahmed, Naik Ajmal, Sepoy Rashid and PTV cameraman Muhammad Farooq, while President’s Media Advisor Maj Gen (R) Rashid Qureshi sustained injuries. Twelve people were on board the helicopter.

2004 confidence vote

PML-Q led government with the help of the religious parties the MMA, secured at least two-thirds majority in the National Assembly and Senate and constitutionally validated Musharraf's election.

On 1 January 2004, Musharraf had won a confidence vote in the Electoral College of Pakistan, consisting of both houses of Parliament and the four provincial assemblies. Musharraf received 658 out of 1170 votes, a 56% majority, but many opposition and Islamic members of parliament walked out to protest the vote. As a result of this vote, according to Article 41(8) of theConstitution of Pakistan, Musharraf was "deemed to be elected" to the office of President. His term was extended to 2007.

Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali resigned on 26 June 2004, after losing the support of the PML(Q). His resignation was at least partially due to his public differences with the party chairman, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, and was rumoured to have happened at Musharraf's command, although neither man has confirmed this. Jamali had been appointed with the support of Musharraf's and the pro-Musharraf PML(Q). Most PML(Q) parliamentarians formerly belonged to the Pakistan Muslim League party led by Sharif, and most ministers of the cabinet were formerly senior members of other parties, joining the PML(Q) after the elections upon being offered powerful offices. It is believed that Musharraf replaced Jamali due to his poor performance and in his place Musharraf nominated Shaukat Aziz, the minister for finance and a former employee of Citibankand head of Citibank Private Banking as the new prime minister.

Economy

In 1999, under Nawaz Sharif, Revenue generation of around Rs.308 billion could not meet the growing expenditure requirements; with only an average of Rs.80 billion being spent on Public sector development programs (PSDP) annually, and no visible project to boast about. From this Rs.308 billion around 65% was being utilized for debt servicing. In 1988 Pakistan’s foreign debt was $18 billion, but at the end of 1999 it had accumulated to become $38 billion. A 100% increased burden on the already crippled economy. Public and external debt exceeded 300% of Foreign exchange earnings.

Musharraf then appointed Shaukat Aziz, a former Citibank executive, as finance minister. Profile: Shaukat Aziz - BBC News

• Pakistan’s economy grew by 100% — to become $ 160 billion
• Revenue grew by 100% — to become $ 11.4 billion
• Per Capita income grew by 100% — to become $ 925
• Foreign Reserves grew by 500% — to become $ 17 billion
• Exports grew by 100% — to become $ 18.5 billion
• Textile exports grew by 100% — to become $ 11.2 billion
• Karachi Stock Exchange grew by 500% — to become $ 75 billion
• Foreign Direct Investment grew by 500% — to become $ 8.4 billion
• Annual Debt servicing decreased by 35% — to become 26%
• Poverty decreased by 10% — to become 24%
• Literacy ratio grew by 10% — to become 54%
• Public development Funds grew by 100% — to become Rs 520 billion

The vision and policies helped Pakistan come out of the list of Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) while setting it on path of prosperity, growth and economic reforms. The world financial institutions like the World Bank and IMF and ADB have been praising Pakistan for its reforms, fiscal policies and macro-economic achievements.

Education

Under Musharraf's tenure, Pakistan saw exceptional setup of 47 universities, including Virtual University, under the supervision of Higher Education Commission. Most of the universities were of international standards.

Pakistan now has a total of 245,682 educational institutions in all categories, including 164,579 (i.e. 67%) in the public sector and 81,103 (i.e. 100%) in the private sector, reports the National Education Census (NEC-2005). The census — jointly conducted by the Ministry of Education, the Academy of Educational Planning and Management (AEPAM) and the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) — reveals that the number of private-sector institutions has increased from 36,096 in 1999-2000 to 81,103 in 2005, i.e. by 100%; 45,007 Educational Institutions have increased in Musharraf Era.

Women's Rights

The National Assembly voted in favor of the “Women's Protection Bill” on 15 November 2006 and the Senate approved it on 23 November 2006. President General Pervez Musharraf signed into law the “Women's Protection Bill”, on 1 December 2006. The bill places rape laws under the penal code and allegedly does away with harsh conditions that previously required victims to produce four male witnesses and exposed the victims to prosecution for adultery, if they were unable to prove the crime.However, the Women's Protection bill has been criticized heavily by many for paying continued lip service and failing to address the actual problem by its' roots: repealing the Hudood Ordinance. In this context, Musharraf has also been criticized by women and human rights activists for not following up his words by action. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said that "The so-called Women's Protection Bill is a farcical attempt at making Hudood Ordinances palatable" outlining the issues of the bill and the continued impact on women.

His government increased reserved seats for women in assemblies, to increase women's representation and make their presence more effective. Compared with 1988 seats in the National Assembly were increased from 20 to 60. In provincial assemblies 128 seats were reserved for women. This situation has brought out increase participation of women for 1988 and 2008 elections.

Rape victims and comments

In March 2005, a couple of months after the rape of a Pakistani physician, Dr. Shazia Khalid, working on a government gas plant in the remote Baluchistan province, Musharraf was criticised for pronouncing, Captain Hammad, a fellow military man and the accused in the case, innocent before the judicial enquiry was completed. Following the rape, riots erupted in the local Bugti clan of the province, where the rape took place. They saw a rape in their heartland as being a breach of their code of honour and attacked the gas plant. In an uncomprimising response Musharraf sent tanks, helicopters and an extra 4,500 soldiers to guard the installation. If the tribesmen failed to stop shooting, he warned on television, "they will not know what hit them".Shazia was later forced and threatened by the government to leave the country.

In an interview to the Washington Post in September 2005 Musharraf said that Pakistani women, who were the victims of rape, treated rape as a "moneymaking concern" and were only interested in the publicity in order to make money and get a Canadian visa. He subsequently denied making these comments, but the Washington Post made available an audio recording of the interview, in which Musharraf could be heard making the quoted remarks.Musharraf also denied Mukhtaran Mai, a Pakistani rape victim, the right to travel abroad, until pressured by US State Department. The remarks made by Musharraf sparked outrage and protests both internationally and in Pakistan by various groups i.e. women groups, activists.In a rally, held close to the presidential palace and Pakistan's parliament, hundreds of women demonstrated in Pakistan demanding Musharraf apologize for the controversial remarks about female rape victims.

S.M. Naseem, a columnist in the Pakistani daily, Dawn, wrote 'What has enraged most Pakistani women, as well as public opinion, is governmental and judicial apathy and the attempt by people at the highest level to hush these cases. When such attempts are exposed, the government's first reaction is to pretend to be puzzled, then to deny its involvement and claim it has been misquoted or misinterpreted, and finally to denounce these critics as unpatriotic and having agendas.' Dawn, rounded on General Musharraf in an editorial headlined "Wrong thing to say".International reactions included the Canadian Prime Minister, Paul Martin, who condemned the remarks. Amnesty International said 'This callous and insulting statement requires a public apology from President Musharraf to the women of Pakistan and especially to victims of rape, sexual assault and other forms of violence that are rampant with impunity in Pakistan. His statement is an offence to women all over the world.MP and president of Policy Planning for the Pakistan Peoples Party, Sherry Rehman said it was shocking that Musharraf 'had publicly aired his low opinion of women'Kamran Shafi, a retired army officer and a trenchant critic of a medieval and militarised Pakistan, condemned the remarks in an angry column headlined 'Do you want a Canadian visa?' 

Ethnic Minorities Rights

General Pervez Musharraf upon assuming power promised protection of the rights of religious minorities and an end to the culture of religious intolerance. A Christian, Derick Cyprian, was appointed as a federal minister and the government undertook to repeal all discriminatory laws. There have been some positive developments in according basic rights to religious minorities, although in real terms their impact has been nullified by the growth of extremism and intolerance within the fabric of the society. General Musharraf has continued with his promise that religious minorities will be protected, and there are limited signs that Christians, Hindus (and, to a lesser extent, the Ahmaddiyas) are not being overtly discriminated against with regard to public positions. In August 2005, Justice Rana Bhagwandas (a Hindu) was sworn in as acting Chief Justice. Among noticeable positive steps taken by the military government are the declaration of the abolition of separate electorates, apparent curbs on extremist and sectarian groups, and a sense of inclusivity of all religious communities. The thaw in the relations with India allowed greater influx of Hindu and Sikh pilgrims and, during 2004-5, the Punjab government allocated funds to renovate the Krishna Mandir temple in Lahore. In addition, the Pakistani Constitution reserves 10 national assembly seats for religious minorities.

Corruption issues

When Musharraf came to power in 1999, he claimed that the corruption in the government bureaucracy would be cleaned up.

In 2001, according to a survey conducted by Transparency International, Pakistan was ranked as the world's 11th most corrupt nation. However, by 2002 Pakistan's rating had improved 13 places within the year, to be ranked 24th.By 2007, Pakistan was ranked 138th out of 179 countries, placing it as the 41st most corrupt country in 2007. Overall, under Musharraf's regime, Pakistan's rating improved by 30 places.

Suspension and reinstatement of the Chief Justice

On 9 March 2007, Musharraf suspended the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, pressing corruption charges against him and filed a reference against the Chief Justice, in the Supreme Judicial Council according to Article 209(2) and Article 209(5)(b) of the Constitution of Pakistan. Thus on 13 March 2007, when the Supreme Judicial Council met, it was headed by Acting Chief Justice Javed Iqbal.

against Chief Justice included:

1- There are complaints of orders being verbally announced in open court in favour of one party and subsequently a written order at variance from the order announced in court being delivered. Two such cases have acquired particular notoriety. In one of these two cases it is alleged that amounts as large as Rs.55million may have been involved.

2- Chief Justice had intimidated civil servants, including pressuring an administrator, to influence by his position to gain undue advantage by "insisting" on an increase and enhancement in his entitlements or in securing the relaxation of the rules in that respect.

3- Chief Justice influenced government offices to promote his son's career. On 22 June 2005 Dr. Arsalan Iftikhar was appointed as Medical Officer/Demonstrator in the Institute of Public Health, Quetta.

4- Chief Justice Chaudhry had received hundreds of thousands of rupees for reimbursement of gasoline for his car. The receipts he submitted were for a pump that only sold diesel fuel. Chief Justice had claimed reimbursement for airfare for his wife and children when he was not entitled to claim it.

5- Chief Justice had arranged for the allotment of a plot of land in Karachi to which he was not entitled.

Musharraf's moves sparked protests among Pakistani lawyers. On 12 March 2007, lawyers started Judicial Activism across Pakistan and began boycotting all court procedures in protest against the suspension. In Islamabad, as well as other cities such as Lahore, Karachi and Quetta, hundreds of lawyers dressed in black suits attended rallies, condemning the suspension as unconstitutional. Slowly the expressions of support for the ousted Chief Justice gathered momentum and by May, protesters and opposition parties took out huge rallies against Musharraf and his tenure as army chief was also challenged in the courts

On 20 July, the Supreme Court reinstated Chaudhry. Delivering the court's verdict, presiding Judge Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday said: "The reference [against Mr Chaudhry] has been set aside and the chief justice has been reinstated."

"The president respects the decision of the Supreme Court," Gen Musharraf's spokesman was quoted as saying by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan. "The president has stated earlier that any judgement the Supreme Court arrives at will be honoured, respected and adhered to," the spokesman said.

“I would like to emphasise that we must all accept the verdict with grace and dignity reflective of a mature nation" Shaukat Aziz accepted Supreme Court verdict. All Federal ministers and senior Pakistan Muslim League leaders said the government had accepted the Supreme Court’s verdict to reinstate the chief justice of Pakistan.

PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari also has reportedly refused to reinstate the sacked chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, apparently due to the fear that the latter, if reinstated, might reopen for adjudication cases on the National Reconciliation Order. During a meeting of leaders of the ruling coalition in Lahore on 23 July 2008, Zardari repeatedly insisted on not reinstating Chaudhry, reported the Daily Times.

Lal Masjid siege

The Musharraf government was forced to act against the Lal Masjid militants, after they formally announced the establishment of a parallel judicial system. The pro-Taliban Lal Masjid administration vowed to enforce Islamic laws in the federal capital and threatened to unleash a wave of suicide bombers if the government took any action to counter it. “Our youth will commit suicide attacks, if the government impedes the enforcement of the Sharia and attacks Lal Masjid and its sister seminaries,” Maulana Abdul Aziz, the in-charge of the mosque said in his Friday sermon.

The standoff between the Pakistani government and the clerics of the Lal Masjid in Islamabad finally broke down on the morning of 8 July 2007, when the official government delegation led by Shujaat Hussain declared that the negotiations with the militants holed up in the mosque have reached an agreement. However, the clerics refused to release the hostages as promised by them in the agreement. Musharraf had given the militants some six months to lay down arms and abide the law of country.

The government managed to recover 1,300 men, women and children during the operation. Some of these women, who were recovered safely on the last day of the operation, had their written death wishes with them.Six hundred suicide bombers are present in Karachi revealed Qasim Toori and Danish alias Talha during interrogations by law-enforcement agencies. Most of the suicide bombers are also former students of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid

Relations with Benazir Bhutto

Also on 8 August 2007, Benazir Bhutto spoke about her secret meeting with Musharraf on 27 July, in an interview on theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation.

On 14 September 2007, Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim stated that Bhutto won't be deported, but must face corruption suits against her. He clarified Sharif's and Bhutto's right to return to Pakistan: "Nawaz Sharif's case was different. He went back to Saudi Arabia because of an undertaking he had with the Saudi government; She (Bhutto) was always allowed to come back." Pakistan People's Party Farhatullah Babar said that Benazir Bhutto will forthwith declare the exact date of her return: "We are announcing the date of the return for Benazir Bhutto to Pakistan at 5:00 p.m. (1200 GMT)" (Makhdoom Amin Fahim will publish it at a news conference in Islamabad." Musharraf faced a rising militant violence, with a suicide bombing killing 15 elite commandos on 13 September. Bhutto declared her return from eight years exile on 18 October. Makhdoom Amin Faheem, vice chair of Pakistan Peoples Party said that "Benazir Bhutto will be landing in Karachi on 18 October."

On 17 September 2007, Bhutto accused Musharraf's allies of pushing Pakistan to crisis by refusal to restore democracy and share power. Sheikh Rashid Ahmed stated that officials had agreed to grant Benazir Bhutto amnesty in pending corruption charges

Musharraf called for a three day mourning period after Bhutto's assassination on 27 December 2007

Resignation from the Army

On 2 October 2007, Musharraf named Lt. Gen. Ashfaq Kayani as vice chief of the army starting 8 October. When Musharraf resigned from military on 28 November 2007, Kayani became Chief of Army Staff.^[103]

Return of Nawaz Sharif

Sharif returned to Pakistan in September 2007, and was immediately arrested and taken into custody at the airport.

Saudi intelligence chief Muqran bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and Lebanese politician Saad Hariri arrived separately in Islamabad on 8 September 2007, the former with a message from Saudi King Abdullah and the latter after a meeting with Nawaz Sharif in London. After meeting President General Pervez Musharraf for two-and-a-half hours, Prince Muqrin and Hariri addressed an unprecedented joint press conference at Army House, telling journalists that "Nawaz was bound under the agreement not to return to Pakistan before ten years in exile. We sincerely hope that Nawaz Sharif honours this agreement,” Prince Muqrin said. Asked about the details of the agreement, Prince Muqrin waved a copy of the agreement to the media and said: “It is here and signed.

On arrival in Saudi Arabia, Nawaz Sharif was received by Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, the Saudi intelligence chief, who had met Musharraf in Islamabad the previous day. That meeting had been followed by a rare press conference, at which he had warned that Sharif should not violate the terms of King Abdullah's agreement of staying out of politics for 10 years.

2007 presidential elections

In a March 2007 interview, Musharraf said that he intended to stay in the office for another five years

A nine-member panel of Supreme Court judges deliberated on six petitions (including Jamaat-e-Islami's, Pakistan's largest Islamic group) for disqualification of Musharraf as presidential candidate. Bhutto stated that her party may join other opposition groups, including Sharif's. Attorney-general Malik Mohammed Qayyum stated that, pendente lite, the Election Commission was "reluctant" to announce the schedule for the presidential vote.

On 24 September 2007, the president of the Supreme Court bar association, Munir Malik, announced that former Supreme Court judge Wajihuddin Ahmed would challenge Musharraf in Pakistan's October presidential election. Ahmad had little chance of defeating Musharraf (since the president is elected by parliament and provincial assemblies).

On 28 September 2007, in a 6-3 vote, the court presided by Judge Rana Bhagwandas ruled: "These petitions are held to be non-maintainable." The judgment removed obstacles to Musharraf's election bid.

1- PML-Q government passed a constitutional amendment in National Assembly, with 2/3 majority, also approved by Senate that allowed President Musharraf to hold dual offices.

2- Constitution of Pakistan - Article 63 clause (1) paragraph (d), read with proviso to Article 41 clause (7) paragraph (b), allows the President to hold dual office.

3- Supreme Court of Pakistan on 28 September 2007, allowed President Musharraf to stand for elections in October 2007.

4- President Musharraf was elected President of Pakistan, on 6 October 2007, by a combined electoral of the Senate, National Assembly and the FOUR Provincial Assembles.

5- President Musharraf won by 58% votes declared in November 2007, as the constitutional President of Pakistan!

Emergency declared in Pakistan

On 3 November 2007 Musharraf declared emergency rule across Pakistan. He suspended the Constitution, imposed State of Emergency, and fired the chief justice of the Supreme Court. While addressing the nation on State Television, Musharraf declared that the state of emergency was imposed in the country. In Islamabad, troops entered the Supreme Court building, arrested the judges and kept them under detention in their homes. Troops were deployed inside state-run TV and radio stations, while independent channels went off air.

Pakistani general election, 2008

On 23 March 2008, President Musharraf said an "era of democracy" has begun in Pakistan. He has put the country "on the track of development and progress." On 22 March, the Pakistan Peoples Party named former parliament speaker Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani as its candidate for the country's next prime minister, to lead a coalition government united against him. A confirmation vote is scheduled for 24 March 2008 in parliament, and the prime minister would be sworn in by Musharraf 25 March 2008.

The statistics of the Election Commission, showed party position as follows, in the February 2008 elecions.

The PML-Q and its allies: 10,844,233 votes. (40%)

The PPP-P: 10,055,491 votes. (37%)

PML-N: 6,240,343 votes. (23%)

Total votes cast: 27.14 million 

Impeachment movement and resignation

On 7 August 2008, the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (N) agreed to force Musharraf to step down and begin his impeachment. Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif announced sending a formal request or joint charge sheet that he step down, and impeach him through parliamentary process upon refusal. Musharraf, however, said: “I will defeat those who try to push me to the wall. If they use their right to oust me, I have the right to defend myself. Musharraf, accordingly delayed his departure for the Beijing Olympics, by a day.A senior coalition official told Reuters: "Yes, we have agreed in principle to impeach him."The draft of the ruling coalition’s joint statement had been finalized by the draft Committee, and Musharraf would have to obtain vote of confidence from the National Assembly and 4 provincial assemblies.The government summoned the national assembly, or lower house of parliament, to sit on 11 August.Capt. Wasif Syed, spokesman for the Pakistan People's Party—confirmed: "A decision has been made that he has to go now, and all the parties have agreed on this point." It is speculated that Pervez Musharraf would have had to face corruption and even murder charges if he had kept refusing a graceful exit from the president house.

On Monday, 18 August 2008, in a speech defending his record, Musharraf announced that he had resigned. 

When announcing his resignation, Musharraf, 65, said: "After viewing the situation and consulting legal advisers and political allies, with their advice I have decided to resign. I leave my future in the hands of people. Not a single charge in the impeachment can stand against me. No charge can be proved against me because I never did anything for myself, it was all for Pakistan. On the map of the world, Pakistan is now an important country, by the grace of Allah. Whether I win or lose the impeachment, the nation will lose. They don’t realize they can succeed against me but the country will undergo irreparable damage. My resignation will go to the speaker of the National Assembly today.” In an emotional one-hour speech, Musharraf raised his clenched fists to chest height, and said, “Long live Pakistan!”  and 

"Nonetheless, despite his mistakes, he has been that rare phenomenon in Pakistani politics — an honest man with good intentions who tried to serve his country to the best of his abilities. In a country that has suffered so much over the years from corrupt and self-serving politicians, there have been too few figures like him"

Approval ratings

In early 2007, Musharraf was extremely popular. According to a US survey, IRI President General Pervez Musharraf was more popular in Pakistan than opposition leaders Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. Around 37 percent of the respondents were of the view that Musharraf's supported PML-Q deserved to be re-elected

However, by August 2007, after the lawyers Judicial Activism started, Musharraf became slightly unpopular in Pakistan due to persistent media efforts and anti-Musharraf talk shows. An International Republican Institute survey, taken of 3000 people, showed that 64 percent of the population did not want another term to be granted to Musharraf as the president of Pakistan

Musharraf's popularity grew after his resignation and several pro-Musharraf websites and groups on Facebook emerged.

In the most recent interview with Musharraf, Daphne Barak admits that she receives mails and people have started missing Musharraf: "Many emails are relatively flattering to you. I even have emails from PPP members who say that they never thought they will miss you, but they do. Especially young people!" 

Life after Presidency

After resignation, Musharraf went for an expected pilgrimage to Mecca. It was thought he might also continue his travelling on a lucrative speaking tour through Middle East, Europe and United States. Chicago-based Embark LLC was one of the international public-relations firms trying to land Musharraf as a highly paid keynote speaker.According to Embark President David B. Wheeler, the speaking fee for Musharraf would be in the $150,000-200,000 range for a day plus jet and other V.I.P. arrangements on the ground.

Musharraf disclosed that he planned to jump back into full time politics but not until he had moved into his newly constructed house in Chak Shahzad in Rawalpindi/Islamabad as he did not want to misuse the army house for political purposes.

His speech at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in January 2009 marked his first U.S. appearance since he left office in 2008, as he was embarking on an international speaking tour. The former president pleaded for understanding in his country's fight against terrorism, in a region deemed central to the outcome of that battle. "Pakistan has confronted terrorism and extremism for more than two decades now," Pervez Musharraf said in a speech to about 500 people at the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan event.

Regarding the Lahore attack on Sri Lankan players, Musharraf criticized the police commandos' inability to kill any of the gunmen, saying "If this was the elite force I would expect them to have shot down those people who attacked them, the reaction, their training should be on a level that if anyone shoots toward the company they are guarding, in less than three seconds they should shoot the man down.

Article 6 trial

The PML Nawaz have tried to get Pervez Musharraf to stand trial in an article 6 trial for treason in relation to the emergency on November 3, 2007,which Musharraf signed as Chief of Army Staff instead of in his position as President of Pakistan,yet revoked it as the President of Pakistan, also revoking the PCO of 3 November.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousaf Raza Gilani has said a consensus resolution is required in national assembly for an article 6 trial of Pervez Musharraf “I have no love lost for Musharraf ... if parliament decides to try him, I will be with parliament. Article 6 cannot be applied to one individual ... those who supported him are today in my cabinet and some of them have also joined the PML-N ... the MMA, the MQM and the PML-Q supported him ... this is why I have said that it is not doable,” said the Prime Minister while informally talking to editors and also replying to questions by journalists at an Iftar-dinner he had hosted for them.

Meanwhile, Proclamation of Emergency and Revocation is the constitutional right of the President of Pakistan, according to the constitution of Pakistan, Article 232 and Article 236.On 15 February 2008, the Supreme Court has delivered detailed judgement to validate the Proclamation of Emergency on 3 November 2007, the Provisional Constitution Order No 1 of 2007 and the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007.

Saudi Arabia have agreements in place to stop any article 6 trial in Pakistan in relation to Pervez Musharraf according to the newspapers due to Saudi Arabia's long standing friendship with all of the political parties in Pakistan. Sharif is under tremendous pressure from Saudi Arabia to shun his demand for Musharraf’s trial under the Article Six of the Constitution

The President of PML-Q, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said that those vying for article 6 against Musharraf to suffer and would themselves get embroiled in trouble.Secretary General of PML-Q Mushahid Hussain Sayed, also ruled out Musharraf’s trial under Article-6 of the Constitution.

Cases

Abbottabad's district and sessions judge in a missing person's case passed judgment asking the authorities to declare Pervez Musharraf a proclaimed offender.

Legacy

Musharraf characterizes himself as a moderate leader with liberal, progressive ideas, and has expressed admiration for Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish RepublicPresident Musharraf led a team of economists and professionals along with ex-PM Shaukat Aziz, to mark their achievements. The economic achievements caused Pakistan to emerge as a geo-strategic important country with a 100% better economy. In 2006, Pakistan was the 3rd fastest growing economy of the world and world’s preferred destination for Investment. His vision and policies helped Pakistan come out of the list of Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) while setting it on path of prosperity, growth and economic reforms. His era ushered in multi-national corporations].

President Musharraf moved aggressively to privatize the economy, reduce poverty and Pakistan's foreign debt, and allow the press more freedom.Statements issued by the government suggest significant improvement in the economy. Pakistan's Economy boomed from a mere worth of $75 billion in 1999 to become $170 billion in 2008. Debt servicing in ratio to GDP also decreased significantly.

The business and finance side thrived under his strong-armed stewardship. Pakistan won approval of global capital markets, with highlights being the $800 million Regulation S Rule 144A sovereign bond, including a 30 year tranche, and a ground breaking GDR from Muslim Commercial Bank

It was under Musharraf's liberal policies that led to freedom of media and from one state run television PTV, above 50 channelsList of Pakistani television stations were given license to operate. Pakistan saw an era of huge influx of television and radio channels.

Dr. Mahjabeen Islam says, "The vibrancy of Pakistan’s press is proven by the fact that many an expatriate obtains their news from Pakistan’s news sources rather than the post-9/11 throttled and slanted media bytes that one gets in the United States. And to give credit where it’s due, media freedom will remain as General Musharraf’s positive legacy".

Xenia Dormandy, Executive Director for Research at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, says Pervez Musharraf is in a difficult situation, given Pakistan's political turmoil, its war on terror and its relations with its neighbors and the United States. "He is squeezed between his relationship with the U.S. and our desires, the improving relationship with India, the historical relationship with Afghanistan and, at the same time, domestic political constraints, and the long-term tribal interests of much of his population," says Dormandy. Some experts who view the General in a sympathetic light agree. Among them is analyst Michael Krepon, co-founder of the non-profit Henry L. Stimson Center in Washington, who adds that the complexities of Pakistani society must be taken into account when looking at Pervez Musharraf.

Dr Shirin M Mazari, an Islamabad-based analyst says, "Musharraf has done a lot for women. He has increased their representation in Parliament. He has given a wider public space to women. He will not leave behind the negative legacy that Zia left." 

The Brookings Institution's Steven Cohen says, "He's going to have a difficult time leaving a permanent imprint on Pakistan, partly because the material he is dealing with is so intractable. He'd like to get an agreement on Kashmir. But India is not into compromising much more, if at all, even though Musharraf has come a long way in terms of Pakistan's position. He'd like to reform Pakistani politics and the Pakistan economy. But that's very, very hard to do, in part, because politics can't be reformed from the top and, in part, because the economy has been so badly abused over the decades and it's in a really serious shape."Even those who would like to see Pervez Musharraf's "enlightened" vision for Pakistan succeed warn that there is no telling what next year's election may bring.

"He's a man who has a very high opinion of himself based on his performance in the Army and his professional education and his training. He believes - - and I think others would agree - - because Pakistan has a shortage of civilian leaders, that's why the military has to be involved. He once compared himself to Atatürk [i.e., Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey] and said Atatürk was his role model. But clearly, he's a man who has a larger vision of things and believes that he can do great things for Pakistan and for the world," says Cohen.

After Musharraf left office of the President, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice offered "deep gratitude" for his original decision to join the U.S.-led fight against extremists. She called Musharraf "one of the world's most committed partners in the war against terrorism."

By most accounts, General Pervez Musharraf had a grand vision for Pakistan, one that sought to put it on a path of what he called "Enlightened Moderation." 

Return to politics and a new military coup

Since quitting politics in 2008, Musharraf has been residing in London, the U.K in a self-imposed exile. In late September 2010, speaking at a debate, Musharraf confirmed that he would be launching a new political party in October to contest the upcomingelections in Pakistan in 2013 but refused to say, when he would return to Pakistan, where he could face treason charges. He also warned of a new military coup and said the military must play a bigger role in order to gain stability in Pakistan.

On October 1, 2010 in a packed press conference of cheering supporters in Westminister, Musharraf officially launched his political comeback and his new party as a President of the party, All Pakistan Muslim League saying that the current Pakistani leadership had failed.

Muhammad Mian Soomro

(18-8-2008 to 9-09-2008)

Muhammad Mian Soomro  (born August 19, 1950) is a Pakistani politician who has been the Chairman of the Senate of Pakistansince 2003. He is the grandson of Khan Bahadur Haji Moula Bux Soomro. He was the 16th Prime Minister of Pakistan from November 16, 2007 to March 25, 2008 and became the President of Pakistan upon the resignation of Pervez Musharraf on August 18, 2008.

Banker

An internationally recognized professional banker, Soomro held various top positions both at home and abroad in national and international organizations.

He has also worked in important positions for major banks:

• Bank of America
• General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of International Bank ofYemen
• Faysal Islamic Bank of Bahrain
• Muslim Commercial Bank
• Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan
• Federal Bank of Cooperatives
• National Bank of Pakistan

Soomro earned great recognition for his achievements during his time with these organizations. He was also instrumental in the establishment of microcredit banking in Pakistan.

He also held a position at the board of directors of Shell Pakistan Ltd.

Governorship

Soomro's public service role started with his appointment as the Governor of Sindh on 25 May 2000.

Chairman of the Senate

Soomro resigned from the office of Sindh Governor on 26 December 2002 to contest the Senate elections. He was elected as a Senator on 23 February 2003 and was subsequently elected as Chairman of the Senate on 12 March 2003.

Caretaker Prime Minister

Soomro was appointed as caretaker prime minister on 15 November 2007, at the expiration of the term of the previous prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, ahead of a new parliamentary election.On 16 November, Soomro was sworn in as prime minister by President Pervez Musharraf.His term ended on 25 March 2008, when Syed Yousaf Raza Gilan

 was sworn in as prime minister.

President of Pakistan

As required by the constitution, Soomro (in his position as Chairman of the Senate) automatically became President on 18 August 2008, upon the resignation of Musharraf.The constitution also required that a new President be elected by Parliament within 30 days.

Asif Ali Zardari was elected President and subsequently sworn in on 9 September 2008, succeeding Soomro.

Asif Ali Zardari

(9-09-2008 to------------)

Asif Ali Zardariborn 26 July 1955) is the 11th and current President of Pakistan and the Co-Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party  Zardari is the widower of Benazir Bhutto, who twice served as Prime Minister of Pakistan. When his wife wasassassinated in December 2007, he became the leader of the PPP. It has been claimed that Zardari is among the five richest men in Pakistan with an estimated net worth of US$1.8 billion (2005)

Early life and education

Asif Ali Zardari is a Sindhi of Baloch origin from Sindh.He was born inKarachi and is the son of Hakim Ali Zardari, head of one of the Sindhi tribes, who chose urban life over rustic surroundings. His mother is from the family of Khan Bahadur Hassan Ali, who was among the founders of the first educational institution in Sindh, "Sindh Madarsa-tul-Islam Karachi".

Zardari received his primary education from Karachi Grammar School and his secondary education from Cadet College, Petaro. Zardari also attended St Patrick's High School, Karachi. While a candidate for parliament, a position for which a 2002 rule requires a college degree, Zardari claimed to have graduated from a college in London called the London School of Economics and Business (LSEB) The 2002 rule was overturned by Pakistan's Supreme Court in April 2008.

Early political career

Zardari married Benazir Bhutto on 18 December 1987. In the 1988 elections, Bhutto led the Pakistan Peoples Party to victory; she became Prime Minister, and Zardari became a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan. He served as investment and environment minister in Bhutto's governments. It was during this time that Zardari's opponents began using the nickname, "Mr 10%", in reference to the charges of corruption against him. This nickname referred to kickbacks he was alleged to have received during his wife's premiership.

Bhutto's government lost in the 1990 elections. Zardari soon came under investigation in Switzerland over alleged receipts of kickbacks from two Swiss-based companies.Zardari claimed the charges were political in nature, and in 2008 Switzerland closed the case and released Zardari's frozen assets. The chief prosecutor said he had no evidence to bring Zardari to trial.

When Bhutto returned to office in 1993, Zardari was released from jail and became a government minister. In 1996, after a change of government, Zardari was again arrested. From 1997 to 2004, Zardari was kept in jail on various corruption charges and accusations of murder. Pakistani investigators accused Zardari and his wife Benazir for embezzling as much as US$1.5 billion from government accounts.He was also accused of allegedly plotting the murder of Murtaza Bhutto, the brother of his wife Benazir Bhutto. He was later cleared.Another allegation involved an estate in Surreywhich Pakistani press speculated was purchased by Zardari. Zardari was similarly accused of purchasing 307 acres (1.24 km²) of land in Islamabad at "below the prevailing market price" in 1994 through an intermediary. In March 2009, a company owned by Zardari and his son Bilawal purchased the land for Rs 62 million. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) valued adjacent land at Rs 850,000 per kanal (Rs 6.8 million per acre); if the 307 acres (1.24 km²) of land were valued on a similar rate, it would be valued around Rs 2 billion.Zardari's financial history was one case study in a 1999 US Senate report on various vulnerabilities in banking procedures.

A New York psychiatrist found in March 2007 that Zardari's time in jail left him with memory impairments. Zardari claims to have been tortured. In response to media reports when Zardari stood for the Pakistani presidency in 2008, the Pakistani Ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, said that Zardari had no current mental condition requiring psychiatric help or medication.

In October 2007, the president of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, issued the National Reconciliation Ordinance which granted amnesty to politicians in office from 1986 to 1999. That closed corruption cases facing Zardari. In December 2009, theSupreme Court of Pakistan declared the amnesty unconstitutional and ordered the government to reopen criminal cases closed under the amnesty.

Co-chairman of the PPP

After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Zardari reaffirmed his lack of interest in the prime ministershipChairman Zardari and Mian Nawaz Sharif, leader of the PML-N, along with some smaller political parties, joined forces in an electoral coalition that won a heavy majority in the elections and unseated Musharraf's ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q). After the election, he called for a government of national unity, and divided cabinet portfolios among coalition partners on proportionate basis. Asif Ali Zardari and former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on 21 February 2008 that their parties would work together in the national parliament after scoring big wins in the election.Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on 27 December 2007, shortly after returning to Pakistan from exile. On 30 December 2007, Asif Ali Zardari became the co-chairman of the PPP, along with his sonBilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is currently studying at Oxford. Bilawal is intended to fully assume the post when he completes his education.

On 5 March 2008, Zardari was cleared of five corruption charges as part of a court ruling which "abolished the cases against all public office holders" under the National Reconciliation Ordinance. He had another trial on the remaining charges on 14 April 2008, when he was cleared under the same NRO.

On 19 April 2008, Zardari announced in a press conference in London that he and his sister, Faryal Talpur, would participate in the by-elections taking place on 3 June and that, if necessary, he would contest to become the country's next Prime Minister, even though his party voted by a 2/3 majority to announce that Yousaf Raza Gillani would be the PM for a five year term.

Presidential candidacy

Zardari, in alliance with Nawaz Sharif, was preparing to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, and a charge-sheet and draft of impeachment had already been prepared, when Musharraf, in accordance with his advisors, resigned from the presidency on 18 August 2008. Chairman Zardari was confirmed by the Central Executive Committee of the PPP and was endorsed by the rival ethnic party Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) as candidate for the post of President of Pakistan.There was nevertheless strong disagreement among the current coalition partners, and Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) party was threatening to leave the coalition as a result. According to the Constitution, elections must be held within 30 days of the previous president stepping down. The electoral college is composed of the Senate, the National Assembly, and the four provincial assemblies.

Pakistan's Election Commission on 22 August announced that a presidential election would be held on 6 September, and the nomination papers could be filed from 26 August.

The New York Times reported that Zalmay Khalilzad, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, had been unofficially advising Asif Ali Zardari.^[40] Khalilzad, an Afghan native, had been rumored to be flirting with the possibility of returning home to challenge President Hamid Karzai when his first term expired in 2009.

President of Pakistan

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, US Vice President Joe Biden, US President Barack Obama and Zardari after the Afghanistan-USA-Pakistan trilateral meeting in 2009

Zardari was elected president of Pakistan, as Chief election commissioner Qazi Mohammad Farooq announced that "Asif Ali Zardari secured 281 votes out of the 426 valid votes polled in the parliament." In Sindh, Zardari had 62 of the 65 electoral votes while his two main opponents got zero votes; in North West Frontier Province Zardari got 56 votes against 5 by Siddiqui and one by Hussain; in Balochistan, 59 votes while Siddiqui and Hussain got 2 each. However, Zardari did not win the majority in the nation's biggest province, Punjab, where the PML-N's Siddiqui got a clear majority. BBC reported that Zardari "won 481 votes, far more than the 352 votes that would have guaranteed him victory."New York Timessaid that Zardari would be sworn in "as soon as Saturday night or as late as Monday or Tuesday, diplomats and officials said."

Zardari was challenged by Justice (Retired) Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, a former judge nominated by Nawaz Sharif's PML-N, and Mushahid Hussain Sayed, who was nominated by the PML-Q, which backed Musharraf. According to the Constitution of 1973 presently in vogue (but declared for major amendments by Zardari) the President of Pakistan, who must be a Muslim, is elected by an electoral college composed of members of the two houses of parliament - the 342 seat lower house National Assembly and the 100 member upper house Senate, as well as members of the four provincial assemblies - Sindh, Punjab, North West Frontier and Balochistan. The assemblies have total of 1170 seats, but the number of electoral college votes is 702 since provincial assembly votes are counted on a proportional basis. The new president, who obtains the largest number of votes, will serve for five years as Pakistan's 11th president since 1956, when the country became an Islamic Republic, excluding acting presidents and Chief Martial Law Administrators during times of military ruleVoting was in progress at the Parliament House, while the Senate members finished casting their votes.

Zardari was sworn in by Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar in a ceremony at the presidential palace on September 9, 2008. He addressed the parliament for the first time on September 20, 2008, but the event was overshadowed by the suicide bomb blast which destroyed the Marriott Hotel, Islamabad. Although Asif Ali Zardari was elected constitutionally, he was administered the oath of office by Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar who took oath as Chief Justice of Pakistan under theProvisional Constitutional Order.Earlier, a supreme court ruling by a 7-member bench of the SC had overturned the PCO. The ruling by the 7-member bench stated: "Appointment of the chief justice or judges of the Supreme Court or chief justices of the high courts under the new PCO would be unlawful and without jurisdiction."

Shafqat Mahmood, a former associate of Ms Bhutto, has said: "Mr Zardari has an image problem, because of a lingering reputation of corruption, despite not having been convicted of any wrongdoing. He will need to change this image.

Constitutional reform

In 2009, President Zardari told the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) that he wished to repeal the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan Article 58 2(b) of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan to limit the powers of the President of Pakistan that had been expanded by previous administrations.^[52] Zardari ceded several of his most important powers, including the chairmanship of the agency that oversees Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, to Prime Minister Gillani.

Relationships with world leaders

Zardari (right) with president Barack Obama(center) and president Hamid Karzai (left) during a US-Afghan-Pakistan Trilateral meeting

Zardari picked China for first state visit after being elected in September 2008. Chinese President Hu Jintao has pledged to work with Zardari to build a stronger political and economic partnership between the two countries.

Zardari attended the United Nations General Assembly on 25 September 2008 and 25 September 2009 respectively, and gave his trademark speech with a framed picture of his assassinated wife, the late Benazir Bhutto nearby to remind the world that he's her husband.

On September 24, 2008 while in the United States, Zardari met the U.S. Republican Party's Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin. His tongue-in-cheek comments to Palin, while shaking hands, that "I might hug you", created controversy and was the cause for a (non-violent) 'fatwa' against him because his "praise of a non-Muslim lady wearing a short skirt" was un-Islamic.

A leaked March 2009 U.S. diplomatic cable described Saudi perceptions of Zardari as "strained because the Saudis don't trust Zardari and see him and other leading Pakistani politicians as corrupt", noting that his November 2008 trip to Saudi Arabia did not lead to "Saudi assistance or other commitments" Another cable reported that "King Abdullah firmly believes that Asif Zardari is the primary obstacle to the government's ability to move unequivocally to end terrorist safe havens there ("when the head is rotten, it affects the whole body")."

Zardari met with U.S. President Barack Obama and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai at the White House in May 2009 to discuss security issues in the region.

Upon the re-election of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Asif Ali Zardari phoned Dr. Singh and offered his congratulations and an offer to work with the Indian government to address challenges in the region.

In October 2009, he met with Pope Benedict XVI in order to discuss the situation of Pakistani Christians in context of blasphemy law.