Government in Pakistan from 1988-1990

In 1988, President Zia-

ul-Haq dissolved the

Junejo Government and

announced that fresh

elections would be held

in November 1988. But

on August 17, 1988, he

was killed in a C-130

plane crash in

Bhawalpur, along with

five senior Generals and

the American

Ambassador. The cause

of the crash has never been ascertained and still remains a riddle.

After the death of General Zia, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Chairman of the Senate, took over as acting

President. Elections for the National and Provincial Assemblies were held on November 16 and

19, 1988, respectively. The Revival of the Constitutional Order had amended the Constitution,

which empowered the President to appoint, at his discretion, any member of the National

Assembly as Prime Minister. Ghulam Ishaq Khan appointed Benazir Bhutto as Prime Minister of

Pakistan on the condition that she would offer full support to him in the forthcoming presidential

elections.

According to the deal between Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan Peoples Party

voted for Ghulam Ishaq Khan. Ghulam Ishaq Khan was also the consensus candidate of Islami

Jamuhri Ittehad. Four candidates took part in the elections, with Ghulam Ishaq Khan winning

and securing the highest 608 votes. Constitutional Amendments made by the R. C. O. and the

Eighth Amendment, that had given the President a great deal of power, inevitably led the

Benazir Bhutto taking oath as the first woman Prime Minister of

Pakistan

President and the Prime Minister into conflict. The conflict between the President and the Prime

Minister arose in two areas; the appointment of the Military Chiefs and the Superior Court

Judges.

In the 1988 elections, Pakistan Peoples Party won 94 seats in the National Assembly without

forming any alliance. With the cooperation of 8 M. Q. M. members and 13 members of the

Federally Administered tribal Area, the P. P. P. showed a clear majority. Benazir Bhutto,

daughter of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, was sworn in as the Prime Minister, the first woman to govern

an Islamic State.

Soon after taking oath, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto announced that the ban on Student Unions

and Trade Unions would be lifted. The P. P. P. Government hosted the fourth S. A. A. R. C.

Summit Conference in December 1988. As a result of the Conference, Pakistan and India

finalized three peace agreements.

But soon, Benazir's Government started facing problems on the political front. A. N. P. deserted

the Pakistan People Party and on November 1, 1989, a no-confidence motion was moved against

the Prime Minister by the opposition. Benazir was barely able to pull through with 12 votes to

her advantage. M. Q. M., which had formed an alliance with the P. P. P. also broke away and

started creating trouble in Sindh.

Serious conceptual differences arose between the P. P. P. Government and the Establishment.

Less than two years later, on August 6, 1990, her Government was accused of corruption and

dismissed by the President, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, who exercised his power through the

controversial Eighth Amendment of the Constitution.

The conflict between the President and the Prime Minister had its drop scene on August 6, 1990,

when the President dissolved the National Assembly and Benazir Bhutto was dismissed from

power. The dissolution of the National Assembly was soon followed by the dissolution of the

Provincial Assemblies. Fresh elections were scheduled on October 24, 1990. President Ghulam

Ishaq Khan appointed Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi as the caretaker Prime Minister.

Caretaker government from October 24,1990 to November 1, 1990

As a result of the changes made in the Constitution by the R. C.

O. and the Eighth Amendment, the President had the power to

appoint a caretaker Prime Minister and a caretaker Cabinet at

the Federal as well at Provincial level. Using these powers,

President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dissolved the National and

Provincial Assemblies on August 6, 1990, and declared a state

of emergency in the country. Elections were scheduled to be

held on October 24, 1990.

Ghulam Ishaq Khan did not appoint a neutral or non-partisan

caretaker Cabinet or Prime Minister. He chose the leader of the

opposition in the former National Assembly, Ghulam Mustafa

Jatoi, as the new caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan.

1 st era of Nawaz Sharif government

Elections for the National and Provincial Assemblies were held on October 24 and 27, 1990,

respectively. Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was elected as Prime Minister on November 1,

1990. Nawaz Sharif's Government remained in power till April 19, 1993. President Ghulam

Ishaq Khan again dissolved the National Assembly, exercising his power once again through the

Eighth Amendment, and appointed Mir Balakh Sher Khan Mazari as the caretaker Prime

Minister. General Elections were scheduled to be held on July 14, 1993, but were canceled when

the Supreme Court quashed the Presidential Order and reinstated Nawaz Sharif as the Prime

Minister.

Differences between Nawaz Sharif and Ghulam Ishaq Khan arose once again. This time they

deepened to such an extent that they led to the resignation of both President Ghulam Ishaq Khan

Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi

and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on July 18, 1993. The National and Provincial Assemblies

were also dissolved. Moin Qureshi was appointed as the caretaker Prime Minister, and Ghulam

Ishaq Khan was appointed the caretaker President. Fresh elections for the National and

Provincial Assemblies were held. Benazir Bhutto returned to power for the second time and

Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari was elected as the new President of Pakistan.

This brought to an end the presidency of Ghulam Ishaq Khan, which brought about the dismissal

of two elected governments. It followed the unhealthy tradition of removing elected governments

through the use of the controversial Eighth Amendment. The next President followed the same

tradition and created continuous instability in the country.

During his tenure as the Prime Minister,

Nawaz Sharif made efforts to strengthen the

industrial sector with the help of the private

sector. Projects like Ghazi Brotha and the

Gawadar miniport were initiated. Land was

distributed among landless peasants in Sindh.

A massive uplift of Murree and Kahuta was

done during his term as Chief Minister of

Punjab. Relations with the Central Asian

Muslim republics were strengthened and E. C. O. was given a boost.

In an attempt to end the Afghan crisis, the "Islamabad Accord" was reached between various

Afghan factions. His most important contribution was economic progress despite U. S. sanctions

on Pakistan through the Pressler Amendment on sanctions. The stupendous Motorway project

was initiated that was completed during his second tenure. Nawaz Sharif's Government remained

in power till April 18 1993, when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dissolved the National

Assembly, once again exercising his power through the Eighth Amendment.

Caretaker government from April 19, 1993

Nawaz Sharif addressing the parliament

President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dissolved the National and

Provincial Assemblies on April 19, 1993, and appointed Mir

Balakh Sher Khan Mazari as the Caretaker Prime Minister.

General Elections were scheduled to be held on July 14, 1993.

Balakh Sher Mazari's tenure as Caretaker Prime Minister ended

on May 26, 1993, when the Supreme Court revoked the

Presidential Order and reinstated Nawaz Sharif as the Prime

Minister.

Another caretaker government after an order from SC

On May 26, 1993, the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared the

Presidential Order of the Assemblies' dissolution as

unconstitutional and ruled for restoring the Nawaz Government

and the National Assembly. However, because of the serious

differences between the President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and the

Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, both resigned

from their offices on July 18, 1993, along with the dissolution of

the Central and Provincial Assemblies.

Moin Qureshi, a top World Bank official, was appointed as the Caretaker Prime Minister and

Ghulam Ishaq Khan was appointed as the caretaker President. At the time of his appointment,

Balakh Sher Mazari

Moin Qureshi

Moin Qureshi was totally unknown in Pakistan; it was, however, felt that as he was a political

outsider, he would remain neutral.

Despite the fact the Moin Qureshi was new to the economic and political environment of

Pakistan, he made his presence felt during his short tenure of 90 days. During this time he

undertook numerous steps, which were appreciated by the general public. One of the steps

included his effort to expose the misdeeds of the previous governments by publishing the lists of

defaulters of bank loans and taxpayers. These lists exposed a number of affluent persons who

were involved in abusing the banking system and dodging the tax collectors. Moin Qureshi made

the State Bank of Pakistan an autonomous body with an effort to keep out political interference

in the working of the bank. He took numerous other steps including the imposition of a nominal

tax on agriculture, making Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan autonomous, downsizing of

the administrative machinery and abolishing the discretionary power of the Prime Minster and

the Chief Ministers of allotting residential plots to their favorites. It goes to his credit that he

undertook various endeavors in a short period of time and made a serious effort to recover

Government dues.

The only blot on Moin Qureshi's tenure as Prime Minister was that, in his last days, he made a

large number of promotions and other administrative decisions in favor of his relatives.

Second era of Benazir Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto returned to

power for the second time in

1993 after the resignation of both

President Ghulam Ishaq Khan

and Prime Minister Nawaz

Sharif on July 18, 1993. The

resignation led to the

announcement of fresh elections

for the National and Provincial

Assemblies. The elections were

held on October 6 and 9, 1993,

respectively.

The elections were boycotted by

the M. Q. M. No party emerged with an absolute majority in the elections. As a result the P. P. P.

formed the new government with the help of alliances. Benazir Bhutto took oath as Prime

Minister on October 19, 1993. The Presidential election was held on November 13. Farooq

Ahmad Khan Leghari, the P. P. P. candidate, won by 274 to 168 votes against the then acting

President Wasim Sajjad.

During her second tenure, Benazir again faced trouble from the opposition. In the autumn of

1994, Nawaz Sharif led a "train march" from Karachi to Peshawar. This was followed by general

strike on September 20. Two weeks later Nawaz Sharif called a "wheel jam" strike on October

11.

The second tenure of Benazir Bhutto was, however, highlighted by the visit of the U. S. first

Lady Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea in 1995. Hillary's visit considerably changed the

world's perceptions about Pakistan and highlighted Pakistan as a liberal, modern and forward-

looking country. In April 1994, Benazir visited the U. S., and projected Pakistan's stance on the

F-16 fighter planes withheld by the U. S. despite payments. Her visit resulted in the passing of

the Brown Amendment by the U. S. Senate on September 21, 1995, easing restrictions on

Benazir Bhutto taking oath as Prime Minister for the second

time, in 1993

Pakistan. It also helped in attracting foreign investors. On the domestic front she continued

facing problems with M. Q. M. In spite of all her political endeavors, a smooth relationship could

not be established between the Government and M. Q. M.

Benazir Bhutto's brother, Mir Murtaza Bhutto, was assassinated under mysterious circumstances

in a police ambush on September 20, 1996. The high-profile killing of her brother in her tenure

damaged her political career.

Things were not going well between the President and Benazir's Government. Differences soon

appeared and the Government felt that there was interference in the political matters of the

Government by the President. President Farooq Leghari dismissed Benazir Bhutto's Government

on charges of corruption and mismanagement on November 5, 1996, under the Article 58(2) b of

the Eighth Amendment.