past and future emergencies in the state of pakistan

Past and Future Emergencies in the State of Pakistan

Manan AhmedJan 17, 2008

manan@uchicago.eduwww.chapatimystery.com

military powermilitary power

feudal structuresfeudal structurescivil bureaucracycivil bureaucracy

A Very Brief Long History of Pakistan

Pakistan on the Globe.

A Very Brief Long History of Pakistan

British Colonial Rule in South Asia 1757-1947

A Very Brief Long History of Pakistan

After WWII, Britain withdrew from South Asia, creating the nation-states of India and Pakistan in

1947Pakistan comprised of East and West Pakistan.

Over 400,000 people were killed during migration riots.

A Very Brief Long History of Pakistan

Seldom has a new state been created under such contradictory pressures or with such a load of full-

grown problems. Control of the government is vested in a few top officials, supported by a

powerful bureaucracy, but Britain has a say in matters of defense, finance, and foreign policy. Already the government is shot through with

corruption and nepotism. Social life is dominated by Mohammedan concepts, including the

subjection of women. The structure of the state, however, has not yet had time to harden, and

internal strains may reshape it in another image. - The Nation, 1947

A Very Brief Long History of Pakistan

East Pakistan seceded to become Bangladesh in 1971.

A Very Brief Long History of Pakistan

The 60 years of post-colonial period in Pakistan has been evenly divided between military dictatorships and military-backed civilian

governments.

Ayub Khan (1958-Ayub Khan (1958-1969)1969) Yahya Khan (1969-1971)Yahya Khan (1969-1971) Zia ul Haq (1977-1988)Zia ul Haq (1977-1988) Pervez Musharraf (1999 Pervez Musharraf (1999

- )- )

Liaqat Ali Khan (1947-1951)Liaqat Ali Khan (1947-1951) Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (1973-Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (1973-1977)1977)

Benazir Bhutto (1988-1990) Benazir Bhutto (1988-1990) & (1993-1996)& (1993-1996)

Nawaz Sharif (1990-1993) & Nawaz Sharif (1990-1993) & (1997-1999)(1997-1999)

Iskander Mirza (1956-1958)Iskander Mirza (1956-1958)

United States & Pakistan:Friends in Need

US - PakistanA growing number of top American planners came to believe that the

participation of Pakistani troops in an area defense plan could help resolve the West’s strategic dilemma in the

Middle East. Acting on that assumption, early in 1954 the administration of Dwight D.

Eisenhower agreed to provide Pakistan with military assistance in return for Pakistan’s promise to partake in a

regional defense pact that was to be centered on the northern tier states of

Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan.

- Robert J. McMahon, 1988

US - Pakistan

In 1979, U.S.S.R invaded Afghanistan. In 1983, United States began a covert, and then overt, supply of weapons, training and money to the

Afghan resistance “Mujahideen”. General Zia ul Haq (r. 1977-1988) was put in

charge of the fight against Communism.

US - Pakistan

In October 2001, United States responded to the September 11, 2001 attacks by launching a

military campaign against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

General Pervez Musharraf (r. 1999 - ) was put in charge of the fight against Terrorism.

US-Pakistan

Nuclear Proliferation. Extremism. Two paradigms that dominate US policy towards

Pakistan.

A Very Brief Long History of Pakistan

Our fear is an Islamic Nuclear Bomb used against United States.

Three Emergencies

Emergency:1951

The Assassination of Liaqat Ali Khan

- First Prime Minister - Member of All India Muslim League - a largely feudal organization - Assassinated by gunman in Rawalpindi, 1951. - Judicial, Constitutional, and Political crisis - First Martial Law

Emergency:1979

The Hanging of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto - First elected Prime Minister - feudal background - Founder of Pakistan People’s Party - a populist organization - Built Pakistan along patrimonial lines - Overthrown by General Zia ul Haq - Judicial, Constitutional, and Political crisis - Third Martial Law

Emergency: 2007

The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto

- First elected woman Prime Minister in a Muslim state - Corruption charges - Political deals with Islamist parties - Brokered return from exile

Praetorianism remains a prominent features of Pakistani politics, both in the narrower sense of

military political involvement and rule, but also more broadly as the direct engagement of social forces and

groups in uninstitutionalized political action: once having seized power for avowedly limited purposes,

the generals have not been able to disentangle themselves and return the reins of government to

civilians. - William Richter, 1978

The Musharraf Effect:

Dismantling of Civil BureaucracyRe-trenchment of Landed Elite

Development of Military into the largest bureaucracy and land holding entity in the

country

The Musharraf Effect:SubNationalist or Islamist Movements

why should we support democracy

in Pakistan?

On November 3rd, 2007 General Pervez Musharraf suspended the

Constitution, imprisoned the Supreme Court, banned the media, and declared Pakistan to be

in a State of EmergencyAcross the country, Lawyers and Students took to streets - fighting for restoration of civil and

human rights.

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Further Readings on Pakistan