Pakistan History: Ayub Khan to Bangladesh Liberation

Pakistan's Political History

• General Ayub Khan took over Pakistan's administration after the country's first constitution was framed and later got himself elected as President.
• Due to popular dissatisfaction, Ayub Khan had to give up office, leading to a military takeover by General Yahya Khan.
• During Yahya's rule, Pakistan faced the Bangladesh crisis, resulting in East Pakistan breaking away and becoming an independent country called Bangladesh in 1971.
• After Yahya, an elected government led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto came to power in Pakistan from 1971 to 1977.

Military Interventions

• The Bhutto government was removed by General Zia ul-Haq in 1977, who then faced a pro-democracy movement from 1982 onwards.
• An elected democratic government was established in 1988 under the leadership of Benazir Bhutto.
• The army intervened again in 1999, and General Pervez Musharraf removed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and later got himself elected as President in 2001.

Democratic Rule and Military Dominance

• Pakistan continued to be ruled by the army, although some elections were held to give their rule a democratic image.
• Since 2008, democratically elected leaders have been ruling Pakistan, but social dominance of the military, clergy, and landowning aristocracy has led to frequent military interventions.
• Pakistan's conflict with India has made pro-military groups more powerful, who argue that democracy is flawed and the army's stay in power is justified.

Democracy and Human Rights

• Despite challenges, Pakistan has a strong pro-democracy sentiment, a courageous and relatively free press, and a strong human rights movement.
• The lack of genuine international support for democratic rule in Pakistan has further encouraged the military's dominance.
• Western countries have encouraged the military's authoritarian rule in the past, due to their fear of "global Islamic terrorism" and the threat of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal falling into the wrong hands.