Military coups in Pakistan

Military coups in Pakistan began in 1958 when military officer Muhammad Ayub Khan overthrew and exiled president Iskandar Ali Mirza.^[1]^[2] Since its creation in 1947, Pakistan has spent several decades under military rule (1958–1971, 1977–1988, 1999–2008). After their respective terms in office, each of the past five prime ministers of Pakistan has faced convictions or imprisonment. This trend highlights a significant aspect of Pakistan's political landscape: the prevailing rule that the Pakistani military exercises influence wherever it deems necessary, often persisting despite potential repercussions. Throughout Pakistani history, the military has played a prominent role in governance, with periods where it has directly ruled the country.^[3]

1953/54 constitutional coup

In 1953, the Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad dismissed the government of the Prime Minister Khawaja Nazimuddin despite it enjoying the support of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan; then in 1954 he dismissed the Constituent Assembly itself to prevent it changing the constitution to restrict the Governor-General's powers. The failure of the courts to support representative institutions in Federation of Pakistan v. Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan provided a pattern which later led to more open military intervention against elected governments to be justified using a doctrine of necessity.^[4]

1958 coup

In 1958, the first Pakistani President Major General Iskandar Ali Mirza dismissed the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and the government of Prime Minister Feroz Khan Noon, appointing army commander-in-chief Gen. Ayub Khan as the Chief Martial Law Administrator. Thirteen days later, Mirza himself was exiled by Ayub Khan, who appointed himself president.^[5]

1971 Majors and Colonels revolt

In 1971, several military officers revolted against the government, compelling the government to resign and transferring power to Z.A Bhutto.

1977 coup (Operation Fair Play)

Operation Fair Play was the code name for the coup d'etat conducted at midnight on July 4, 1977, by the military, led by Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq, against the government of then-Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. General Zia ordered the arrest of Bhutto, his ministers and other leaders of both the Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan National Alliance.^[6] In a nationally televised address, General Zia announced that the National Assembly of Pakistan and all provincial assemblies were dissolved, and that the Constitution of Pakistan was suspended.^[7]

The martial law enforced by President General Zia introduced the strict form of conservatism which promoted the nationalistic, religious and anti-sectarianist ideologies.^[8] Under Zia's dictatorship a heavy islamization of the country took place (the emblem of which were the so called Hudud Ordinances), which steered the country away from Muhammad Ali Jinnah's non-sectarian vision.

1999 coup

In October, 1999 senior officers loyal to army chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf arrested prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his ministers after thwarting the Sharif regime's attempt to dismiss Musharraf and prevent his plane from landing in Pakistan as he returned from a visit to Sri Lanka.^[9]

Indirect intervention

The death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in August 1988 led to the appointment of Ghulam Ishaq Khan as President. Khan had vast, unchecked Presidential powers and was known to be close to the Pakistani military. Khan had dismissed both Benazir Bhutto in 1990 and Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister in 1993, though the latter resulted in his own resignation and is known in Pakistan as the Waheed Kakar formula.^[10]^[11]

Unsuccessful coup attempts

1951

There have been numerous unsuccessful coup attempts in Pakistani history. The first noted attempt was the Rawalpindi conspiracy in 1951 led by Maj. Gen. Akbar Khan along with left-wing activists and sympathetic officers against the government of Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan's first prime minister.^[5] Prominent poet-intellectual Faiz Ahmed Faiz was suspected of involvement.^[12]

1973

In 1973 Brig. Ali, Major Farouk Adam Khan, Squadron Leader Ghous, Colonel Aleem Afridi and Lt. Colonel Tariq Rafi plotted a coup against the government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to establish a revolutionary military junta. However Colonel Aleem Afridi backed down and informed the government against the plot. The coup plotters were court martialed and arrested.^[13]^[14]

1980

In 1980, a plot by Maj. Gen. Tajammul Hussain Malik to assassinate Zia-ul-Haq on Pakistan Day on March 23, 1980, was exposed and thwarted.^[15]^[16]

1984

In 1984, Zia ul Haq regime faced another attempt of coup d'etat just four years after the 1980 attempt. This time the coup attempt came from leftists who wanted to overthrow Zia and establish a populist military regime in the country. The attempt was foiled by Inter Services Intelligence and all the plotters were arrested.^[17]^[18]

1995

In 1995, a coup attempt against the government of Benazir Bhutto led by Maj. Gen. Zahirul Islam Abbasi with the support of Islamic extremists failed.

References

^ "The curse that no Pakistan ruler has ever escaped". The Times of India. 26 June 2018.
^ "Pakistan - Constitutional Beginnings". www.country-data.com. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
^ "The Military Disrupts Pakistan's Democracy Once Again".
^ Pakistan - Constitutional Beginnings, Country Data
^ ^a ^b Hassan Abbas (2005). Pakistan's drift into extremism: Allah, the army, and America's war on terror. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 16–40. ISBN 978-0-7656-1496-4.
^ Hyman, Anthony; Ghayur, Muhammed; Kaushik, Naresh (1989). Pakistan, Zia and After--. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications. p. 30. ISBN 81-7017-253-5. Operation Fair Play went ahead … as the clock struck midnight [on 4 July 1977] ... [Later,] General Zia [told Bhutto] that Bhutto along with other political leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties would be taken into what he called 'protective custody'.
^ Dossani, Rafiq; Rowen, Henry S. (2005). Prospects for Peace in South Asia. Stanford University Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-8047-5085-1. Zia-ul-Haq, however, chose not to abrogate the 1973 Constitution. Rather, Zia's government suspended the operation of the Constitution and governed directly, through the promulgation of martial law regulations … Between 1977 and 1981 Pakistan did not have legislative institutions.
^ Cohen, Stephen P. (2004). The idea of Pakistan (1. paperback ed.). Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 0815715021.
^ "World: South Asia : Pakistan arm". BBC News. 12 October 1999. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
^ Service, Tribune News. "The end game". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
^ "1995 coup attempt: 15 years on, SC takes up key case". The Express Tribune. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
^ Muhammad Yusuf Abbasi (1992). Pakistani culture: a profile. National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research. ISBN 978-969-415-023-9.
^ "Men on horseback,a history of coups".
^ "fallen horses the coups that failed in Pakistan".
^ Tajammul Hussain Malik (1991). The Story Of My Struggle. Jang Publishers. pp. 220–280.
^ World Focus, Volume 2. H.S. Chhabra. 1981.
^ "Men on horseback,a history of coups".
^ "fallen horses the coups that failed in Pakistan".

[1] "The curse that no Pakistan ruler has ever escaped". The Times of India. 26 June 2018.

[2] "Pakistan - Constitutional Beginnings". www.country-data.com. Retrieved 24 January 2023.

[3] "The Military Disrupts Pakistan's Democracy Once Again".

[4] Pakistan - Constitutional Beginnings, Country Data

[OPR-5] Hassan Abbas (2005). Pakistan's drift into extremism: Allah, the army, and America's war on terror. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 16–40. ISBN 978-0-7656-1496-4.

[6] Hyman, Anthony; Ghayur, Muhammed; Kaushik, Naresh (1989). Pakistan, Zia and After--. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications. p. 30. ISBN 81-7017-253-5. Operation Fair Play went ahead … as the clock struck midnight [on 4 July 1977] ... [Later,] General Zia [told Bhutto] that Bhutto along with other political leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties would be taken into what he called 'protective custody'.

[7] Dossani, Rafiq; Rowen, Henry S. (2005). Prospects for Peace in South Asia. Stanford University Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-8047-5085-1. Zia-ul-Haq, however, chose not to abrogate the 1973 Constitution. Rather, Zia's government suspended the operation of the Constitution and governed directly, through the promulgation of martial law regulations … Between 1977 and 1981 Pakistan did not have legislative institutions.

[Brookings_Institution_Press-8] Cohen, Stephen P. (2004). The idea of Pakistan (1. paperback ed.). Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 0815715021.

[BBC-coup-9] "World: South Asia : Pakistan arm". BBC News. 12 October 1999. Retrieved 22 April 2009.

[10] Service, Tribune News. "The end game". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 11 April 2022.

[11] "1995 coup attempt: 15 years on, SC takes up key case". The Express Tribune. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2022.

[FAZ-12] Muhammad Yusuf Abbasi (1992). Pakistani culture: a profile. National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research. ISBN 978-969-415-023-9.

[13] "Men on horseback,a history of coups".

[14] "fallen horses the coups that failed in Pakistan".

[15] Tajammul Hussain Malik (1991). The Story Of My Struggle. Jang Publishers. pp. 220–280.

[B-16] World Focus, Volume 2. H.S. Chhabra. 1981.

[17] "Men on horseback,a history of coups".

[18] "fallen horses the coups that failed in Pakistan".

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v t e Government of Pakistan
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v t e Armed conflict involving the Pakistan Armed Forces
Domestic	Martial law Civil unrest in Eastern Pakistan Civil unrest in Southern Pakistan 1970s Taliban insurgency in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
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Ancient Palaeolithic Soanian culture, c. 500,000 – 250,000 BCE Neolithic Mehrgarh, c. 7000 – c. 3000 BCE Indus Valley Civilisation, c. 3300 – c. 1700 BCE Vedic Civilization, c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE Achaemenid Empire, c. 550 – c. 330 BCE Gedrosia, c. 542 – c. 330 BCE Gandhara, c. 518 – c. 330 BCE Arachosia, c. 518 – c. 330 BCE Hindush, c. 517 – c. 330 BCE Sattagydia, c. 516 – c. 330 BCE Ror dynasty, c. 489 – c. 450 BCE Macedonian Empire, c. 329 – c. 323 BCE Arachosia, c. 323 – c. 312 BCE Gedrosia, c. 323 – c. 312 BCE Paropamisadae, c. 323 – c. 312 BCE Porus, c. 323 – c. 312 BCE Taxiles, c. 323 – c. 312 BCE Mauryan Empire, c. 322 – c. 200 BCE Seleucid Empire, c. 312 – c. 63 BCE Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, c. 190 – c. 140 BCE Indo-Greek Kingdom, c. 170 – c. 50 BCE Indo-Scythian Kingdom, c. 110 BCE – c. 95 CE Apracharajas, c. 25 BCE – c. 50 CE Paratarajas, c. 120 – c. 300 CE
Classical Parthian Empire, c. 90 BCE – c. 25 CE Indo-Parthian Kingdom, c. 25 – c. 80 CE Kushan Empire, c. 60 – 345 CE Sasanian Empire, c. 250 – 655 CE Indo-Sasanians, c. 240 – 410 CE Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom, c. 240 – 410 CE Gupta Empire, c. 345 – c. 455 CE Rai dynasty, c. 415 – 644 CE Hephthalite Empire, c. 450 – 560 CE Brahman dynasty, c. 641 – 725 CE
Medieval Caliphate, c. 643 – 860 CE Rashidun Caliphate, c. 643 – 661 CE Umayyad Caliphate, c. 670 – 860 CE Pala Empire, c. 770 – 850 CE Habbari dynasty, c. 841 – 1024 CE Hindu Shahi, c. 870 – 1010 CE Samanid Empire, c. 905 – 999 CE Ghaznavids, c. 999 – 1186 CE Soomra dynasty, c. 1024 – 1351 CE Ghurid dynasty, c. 1170 – 1215 CE Delhi Sultanate, c. 1206 – c. 1526 CE Mamluk dynasty, c. 1206 – c. 1290 CE Khalji dynasty, c. 1290 – c. 1320 CE Tugluq dynasty, c. 1320 – c. 1413 CE Sayyid dynasty, c. 1414 – c. 1451 CE Lodhi dynasty, c. 1451 – c. 1526 CE Mongol Empire, c. 1221 – c. 1327 CE Chagatai Khanate, c. 1225 – c. 1485 CE Ilkhanate, c. 1256 – c. 1353 CE Raees dynasty, c. 1320 – 1620 CE Katoor dynasty, c. 1570 – c. 1947 CE Samma dynasty, c. 1351 – c. 1524 CE Arghun dynasty, c. 1520 – c. 1554 CE Mughal Empire, c. 1526 – c. 1707 CE Bombay Presidency, c. 1618 – c. 1947 CE Suri dynasty, c. 1540 – c. 1556 CE Tarkhan dynasty, c. 1554 – 1591 CE
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Modern Pakistan, c. 1947 CE – present Dominion of Pakistan, c. 1947 – 1956 CE Republican Pakistan, c. 1956 CE – present
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