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20-586: The PCO acts as a temporary order while the constitution is held in abeyance or suspension. These orders have mostly been enforced during times of martial law imposed by the armed forces of the country against the civilian governments. Soon after the martial law went into effect in 1977, the Constitution of Pakistan was suspended. The first Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) was declared on March 24, 1981, by then- President and Chief of Army Staff General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq . Under this new order,

40-607: A pattern which later led to more open military intervention against elected governments to be justified using a doctrine of necessity . In 1958, the first Pakistani President Major General Iskandar Ali Mirza dismissed the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and the government of Prime Minister Feroz Khan Noon , appointing army commander-in-chief Gen. Ayub Khan as the Chief Martial Law Administrator . Thirteen days later, Mirza himself

60-492: A plot by Maj. Gen. Tajammul Hussain Malik to assassinate Zia-ul-Haq on Pakistan Day on March 23, 1980, was exposed and thwarted. In 1984, Zia ul Haq regime faced another attempt of coup d'etat just four years after the 1980 attempt . This time the coup attempt came from leftists who wanted to overthrow Zia and establish a populist military regime in the country. The attempt was foiled by Inter Services Intelligence and all

80-552: A significant aspect of Pakistan's political landscape: the prevailing rule that the Pakistani military exercises influence wherever it deems necessary, often persisting despite potential repercussions. Throughout Pakistani history , the military has played a prominent role in governance, with periods where it has directly ruled the country. In 1953, the Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad dismissed

100-489: The Constitution after introducing the Provisional Order. Nearly all senior justices were required to take an oath of office under this new order, and concerns were raised that this would "erode the independence of the judiciary". In 2007, another Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) was issued by General Pervez Musharraf . The PCO was issued on November 3, 2007, and was later amended on November 15, 2007. It

120-629: The senior justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan were asked to take an oath of office under the provisions set by the PCO. In March 1981, President Zia terminated 19 senior justices of the Supreme Court when they refused to take the oath. Chief Justice Dorab Patel and Senior Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim declined to take the oath, thus opting for retirement. Senior Justice Sheikh Anwarul Haq also resigned after refusing to take

140-574: The Crown held office at the pleasure of the governor-general. The governor-general of Pakistan was also exempted from any proceedings against him in any Pakistani court. The governor-general of Pakistan was required to take an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of Pakistan and the Pakistani monarch before being permitted to assume his seat. The oath of allegiance taken by Mohammad Ali Jinnah,

160-692: The Parliament of Pakistan. All executive powers of Pakistan rested with the sovereign. All laws in Pakistan were enacted only with royal assent , granted by the governor-general on behalf of the sovereign. The governor-general was also responsible for summoning, proroguing , and dissolving the Federal Legislature. The governor-general chose and appointed the Council of Ministers and dismissed them at his discretion. All Pakistani ministers of

180-558: 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 . The death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in August 1988 led to the appointment of Ghulam Ishaq Khan as President. Khan had vast, unchecked Presidential powers and was known to be close to the Pakistani military. Khan had dismissed both Benazir Bhutto in 1990 and Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister in 1993, though

200-656: The arrest of Bhutto, his ministers and other leaders of both the Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan National Alliance . In a nationally televised address, General Zia announced that the National Assembly of Pakistan and all provincial assemblies were dissolved, and that the Constitution of Pakistan was suspended. The martial law enforced by President General Zia introduced the strict form of conservatism which promoted

220-740: The government of the Prime Minister Khawaja Nazimuddin despite it enjoying the support of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan ; then in 1954 he dismissed the Constituent Assembly itself to prevent it changing the constitution to restrict the Governor-General's powers. The failure of the courts to support representative institutions in Federation of Pakistan v. Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan provided

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240-569: The latter resulted in his own resignation and is known in Pakistan as the Waheed Kakar formula . There have been numerous unsuccessful coup attempts in Pakistani history. The first noted attempt was the Rawalpindi conspiracy in 1951 led by Maj. Gen. Akbar Khan along with left-wing activists and sympathetic officers against the government of Liaquat Ali Khan , Pakistan's first prime minister. Prominent poet-intellectual Faiz Ahmed Faiz

260-432: The nationalistic, religious and anti-sectarianist ideologies. Under Zia's dictatorship a heavy islamization of the country took place (the emblem of which were the so called Hudud Ordinances ), which steered the country away from Muhammad Ali Jinnah 's non-sectarian vision. In October, 1999 senior officers loyal to army chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf arrested prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his ministers after thwarting

280-408: The oath, while Senior Justice Maulvi Mushtaq Hussain , who was willing to take the oath, was not asked to do so. Senior Justices Hussain and Haq had previously approved Zulfikar Ali Bhutto 's hanging and were reportedly restrained from taking the oath under the secretive directives issued by President Zia. All of these senior justices were asked to tender their resignation, which they did. In

300-592: The plotters were arrested. In 1995, a coup attempt against the government of Benazir Bhutto led by Maj. Gen. Zahirul Islam Abbasi with the support of Islamic extremists failed. Governor-General of Pakistan The governor-general of Pakistan ( Urdu : گورنر جنرل پاکستان ) was the representative of the Pakistani monarch in the Dominion of Pakistan , established by the Indian Independence Act 1947 . The office of governor-general

320-414: The wake of political tensions arising after the border incidents with India that nearly pushed the two countries to the brink of war, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf imposed martial law against the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on October 12, 1999. General Musharraf effectively imposed a state of emergency and suspended

340-494: Was abolished when Pakistan became an Islamic republic in 1956. Pakistan was one of the realms of the Commonwealth of Nations that shared the same person as sovereign and head of state. The Pakistani monarch was represented in the dominion by the governor-general of Pakistan, whom the monarch appointed on the advice of the Pakistani government. The Pakistani monarch and the Federal Legislature of Pakistan constituted

360-464: Was exiled by Ayub Khan, who appointed himself president. In 1971, several military officers revolted against the government , compelling the government to resign and transferring power to Z.A Bhutto . Operation Fair Play was the code name for the coup d'etat conducted at midnight on July 4, 1977, by the military, led by Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq , against the government of then-Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto . General Zia ordered

380-609: Was lifted on December 16, 2007. Military coups in Pakistan Military coups in Pakistan began in 1958 when military officer Muhammad Ayub Khan overthrew and exiled president Iskandar Ali Mirza . Since its creation in 1947, Pakistan has spent several decades under military rule (1958–1971, 1977–1988, 1999–2008). After their respective terms in office, each of the past five prime ministers of Pakistan has faced convictions or imprisonment. This trend highlights

400-407: Was suspected of involvement. In 1973 Brig. Ali, Major Farouk Adam Khan, Squadron Leader Ghous, Colonel Aleem Afridi and Lt. Colonel Tariq Rafi plotted a coup against the government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to establish a revolutionary military junta. However Colonel Aleem Afridi backed down and informed the government against the plot. The coup plotters were court martialed and arrested. In 1980,

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