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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Pakistan
Index
The developing relationship with the United States was
only
one of the dramatic experiences that the military
underwent in
the late 1950s. The political system had been performing
very
poorly, especially since the assassination of Prime
Minister
Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951
(see Constitutional and Political Inheritance
, ch. 4). There was increasing public
disillusionment
with the system and little respect for political leaders,
who
were seen as incompetent and corrupt. In fact,
decision-making
power had been moving inexorably away from the leaders of
the
political parties and into the hands of the two national
institutions that were seen as competent and honest--the
bureaucracy and the army.
On October 7, 1958, President Iskander Mirza annulled
the
1956 constitution by proclamation, dissolved the national
and
provincial assemblies, and banned political parties.
Asserting
that if Pakistan were to be saved, the army would have to
assume
political control. Mirza then declared martial law and
appointed
General Ayub Khan chief martial law administrator. Twenty
days
later, Ayub moved against Mirza, sending him into exile,
and
assumed the office of president himself. Thus began the
second
role of the military--self-appointed guardian of domestic
affairs
of state as well as defender against external enemies. The
results were mixed, both for Pakistan and for its
soldiers. The
military continued to enjoy preferred access to resources
in
Pakistan, and an elaborate system of quasi-governmental
bodies
provided economic opportunities for military personnel,
especially after retirement. The country as a whole
welcomed army
rule, which brought a period of stability and rapid
economic
growth and vigorously attacked the corruption that beset
the
country. The army ruled with a firm but light hand,
retaining
ultimate control but working largely through the
bureaucracy.
Economic gains, however, were so badly distributed that
they
seemed hollow for many Pakistanis. The involvement of
military
personnel in governing detracted from their primary
mission.
Although the military remained popular, it became
associated with
the political divisions of the country and was no longer
solely
the symbol of national unity. Opposition began to develop,
especially among intellectuals and politicians.
Ayub Khan lifted martial law in 1962, replacing it with
an
authoritarian constitution under which he was elected
president
(see Basic Democracies
, ch. 1;
Ayub Khan, 1958-69
, ch. 4).
While
the new system had some constructive features, it failed
to gain
public support, and even though the army was no longer
governing
the country, Ayub Khan and his system were seen as
unpopular
manifestations of military rule.
Data as of April 1994
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