Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and General Musharraf, 1988 to 1999

Last time

Before we start: last time, in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Zia-ul-Haq, 1971 to 1988, you learned these points. Here they are again on one card. Keep them in mind, because today builds on them.

A decade of democracy

After Zia's death, Pakistan returned to elected government. For eleven years, power passed back and forth between Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. In 1999 the army took over again, under General Pervez Musharraf.

Benazir Bhutto's first government

In 1988 Benazir Bhutto became the first woman to lead a Muslim country. But she faced a hostile President, a strong opposition, and limited power over the army. In 1990 President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed her government, using the Eighth Amendment, accusing it of corruption.

Nawaz Sharif's first government

Nawaz Sharif became Prime Minister in 1990, promoting privatisation, deregulation and building projects such as the motorway. He too clashed with the President, and was dismissed in 1993. The Supreme Court restored him, but in the deadlock both he and the President resigned.

Benazir's second government

Benazir returned in 1993, with her own party's choice, Farooq Leghari, as President. Her government faced violence in Karachi, a weak economy, and charges of corruption. In 1996 President Leghari dismissed her too.

Nawaz Sharif's second government

Nawaz returned in 1997 with a large majority, and removed the President's power to dismiss governments with the Thirteenth Amendment. In May 1998, after India's nuclear tests, Pakistan tested its own nuclear weapons. Sanctions followed. In 1999 he signed the Lahore Declaration with India, but the Kargil conflict followed, and relations with the army broke down.

Common problems

Presidents used the Eighth Amendment to dismiss governments, so none completed its term. Corruption charges, economic difficulty, debt, and tension with the army weakened every government. The two main parties spent much effort fighting each other.

Musharraf takes power

Nawaz Sharif tried to dismiss General Musharraf, the army chief, while he was abroad, and his plane was refused permission to land. On 12 October 1999 the army took over, Nawaz was arrested, and Musharraf became Chief Executive. He suspended the constitution and the assemblies.

Reactions to the takeover

Many Pakistanis welcomed it, tired of corruption, economic crisis and political quarrels. Abroad there was criticism: the Commonwealth suspended Pakistan, and Western governments called for a return to democracy. The Supreme Court later accepted the takeover, but required elections within a set time.

Four governments

The four elected governments of 1988 to 1999.

Did Nawaz overcome the challenges?

Successes: economic projects like the motorway, the Thirteenth Amendment, and the nuclear tests that showed strength. Failures: debt and sanctions after the tests, Kargil, and the clash with the army that ended his rule. Weigh them and judge.

Mistakes that lose marks

Mistake one: getting the order of the four governments wrong. Mistake two: saying the Eighth Amendment was passed in the 1990s. It was Zia's, in 1985. Mistake three: describing reactions to Musharraf only inside Pakistan. The fix: the order, the amendment, and both reactions.

The full-marks tip

The full-marks tip: learn the order: Benazir 1988, Nawaz 1990, Benazir 1993, Nawaz 1997, Musharraf 1999. For reactions to 1999, give the domestic welcome and the foreign criticism.

On one card

So, on one card: 1988 to 1999. Keep it for revision.