Role of military in pakistan politics

Role of military in pakistan politicsSubmitted to: Miss RaheelaSubmitted by: Sidra AwanRoll # 9311Introduction The current assignment looks into the history of Pakistan in relation to the role played by the military in it. It discusses the ambitious generals' psyche, their arrogance and a smug belief in their ability to do things better than civilians. They took it upon themselves to 'sort out' the mess created by politicians and become the nation's 'saviours'. It is divided into sections roughly corresponding to military eras in chronological order - how an image-building process took place and from the small but fully-disciplined elite of the colonial era, the military emerged as a 'sacred cow' answerable to none. How many military coups has Pakistan undergone?Military coups in Pakistan began in 1958 and number three successfulattempts. There have also been numerous unsuccessful attempts since1949. Since its independence in 1947, Pakistan has spent several decades under military rule (1958-1971, 1977-1988, 1999-2008).1958 CoupIn 1958, the first Pakistani President Major General Sikander Mirzadismissed the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and the governmentof Prime Minister Feroz Khan Noon, appointing army commander-inchiefGen. Ayub Khan as the Chief Martial Law Administrator. Thirteendays later, Mirza himself was deposed by Ayub Khan, who appointedhimself president. Operation Fair PlayOperation Fair Play was the code-name for the coup detat conductedat midnight on July 4, 1977 by the Pakistani military led by army chiefGeneral Zia-ul-Haq against the government of then Pakistani PrimeMinister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.1999 CoupIn 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.Unsuccessful Coup Attempts:There have been numerous unsuccessful coup attempts in Pakistanihistory. The first noted attempt was the Rawalpindi Conspiracy in 1949 ledby Maj. Gen. Akbar Khan along with left-wing activists and sympatheticofficers against the government of Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan's first primeminister. In 1980, a plot by Maj. Gen. Tajammul Hussain Malik toassassinate Zia-ul-Haq on Pakistan Day on March 23, 1980 was exposedand thwarted. In 1995, a coup attempt against the government of BenazirBhutto led by Maj. Gen. Zahirul Islam Abbasi with the support of Islamicextremists was failed.What is the importance of Military in Pakistan?

The Pakistan Army is the best organized group in the country, and apolitical force unto itself with the gradual destruction or diminution ofinstitutions: the judiciary, the constitution, the bureaucracy, and thelegislature, and the transmogrification of a parliamentary system ofgovernment into a highly personalized presidential system. The army is also engaged in extensive economic activities. Most ofthese enterprises, such as stud and dairy farms, are for the army'sown use, but others perform functions beneficial to the local civilianeconomy. Army factories produced such goods as sugar, fertilizer, andbrass castings and sell them to civilian consumers.

During natural disasters apart from providing relief supplies andconducting rescue operations the Army also takes on the civilresponsibility of reconstruction and rehabilitation.Example: Officially, the Pak military operations in the SWAT valleyended in the summer of 2009, but the Army stayed back to carry onthe reconstruction. By some estimates the Military has carried out 90percent of the building and the rebuilding projects, something theGovernment ought to have done. Therefore both in SWAT and SouthWaziristan there is a widely felt apprehension about the quickwithdrawal of military forces from the area, thus underscoring thevast importance of the military in the nation.

Pakistans Military EconomyAccording to a 2007 study , the Pakistani military's private businessempire could be worth as much as 10bn. Retired and serving officersrun secretive industrial conglomerates, manufacture everything fromcement to cornflakes, and own 12m acres [4.8m hectares] of publicland. Five giant conglomerates, known as "welfare foundations", runthousands of businesses, ranging from street corner petrol pumps tosprawling industrial plants. The main street of any Pakistani townbears testament to their economic power, with military-ownedbakeries, banks, insurance companies and universities, usually fronted by civilian employees. The military controls an estimated one-third of all heavy manufacturing and up to 7% of private assets. This feeds directly into the militarys political power.What measures have been taken to control the power of the Military in Pakistan?On 8 April, 2010, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistanwas passed by the National Assembly. In particular, the 18th Amendment undoes the impacts of the 8thAmendment (enacted by Gen. Zia ul Haq) which had altered over 90Articles of the Constitution, and the 17th Amendment (enacted byGen. Pervez Musharraf) which had altered 26 Articles of theConstitution. The famed article 58 (2) (b), which had first been inserted into theConstitution by Gen. Zia ul Haq and allows the President to dissolveParliament, and which was re-enacted by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, hasbeen removed from the Constitution in the draft. Thus a historical step has been taken in curbing the power of the Pak-Military. However, the rising stature of General Kayani and hisobvious control over Paks policy framework (he prevented ISI chiefPasha from coming to India post 26/11) has shown that no matterwho appears to be in charge in Pakistan, the reins of governance liefirmly with its Military.Currently Raheel sharif is the army chief of Pakistan who has positive attitude towards democracy.. Many incidents happened that led to martial law but he showed fully support to current government.