Will Pakistan lose its democratic status?

Diksha Praveen Gupta

With deepening political crisis in Pakistan, will Pakistan lose its status of a democracy again, is a million dollar question today.

Military rule in Pakistan is more like its destiny which has prevented the country from becoming a full-fleged democratic nation.

Pak army chief Gen Kayani has signalled army take over on democracy, which is not new for Pakistan.

A little over a year after the return of democracy to Pakistan, the legacy of crises left behind by the Musharraf regime has taken on an even more ominous character. The two major political parties, the PPP and the PML(N), that were returned to power in the elections of February 2008 have yet again shown an inability to look at politics as other than a zero-sum game.

The politics of compromise that attended the start of the new dispensation, with power being shared between the two parties at the centre as well as in Punjab, has given way to rapid confrontations.

It remains to be seen whether Pakistan is heading back to army rule as the civilian government appears incapable of stopping the country's slide into chaos.

The history of army rule in Pakistan dates back to 1958. After Pakistan formally became a republic in 1956 under President Mirza, it faced an array of serious threats to its stability. Its conflict with India over Kashmir remained unresolved, relations with Afghanistan were poor, and the country suffered continuing economic difficulties, frequent cabinet crises, and widespread political corruption.

In October 1958, President Mirza abrogated the constitution and granted power to the army under General Muhammad Ayub Khan, who subsequently assumed presidential powers.

The office of the prime minister was abolished and rule by decree introduced.
Ayub Khan's autocratic rule lasted until 1969, when he was forced to resign following serious unrest.

He in turn was replaced by General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, the commander-in-chief of the army, who reimposed martial law. He stepped down following the civil war which resulted in independence for Bangladesh - fomerly East Pakistan - and military rule came to an end - temporarily.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the new president, introducing a new constitution which came into effect in 1973.
But after elections in 1977, Bhutto's victory was challenged by the opposition, and widespread riots ensued.

Failure to reach a reconciliation prompted the army chief of staff, General Mohammed Zia ul-Haq, to depose Bhutto in a military coup and declare martial law.

This remained in force until 1985.

After the tenure of Gen Zia ul-Haq, Pakistan had a fair chance to experience democracy till Gen Parvez Musharraf took over in 1999. After mass opposition rallies and protests calling for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to step down, Washington had warned that it did not want to see any extraconstitutional change in Pakistan.

The warning was symptomatic of fears for the stability of a country where the military has a long history of intervening at times of political upheaval. Following a chaotic political condition in the country,

Pakistan's then army chief, General Pervez Musharraf announced that military had seized power after several months of rumours of a possible military coup.

It has been observed that despite the subsequent return to civilian government, the politics of Pakistan have remained closely linked to the military.