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
Benazir Bhutto taking oath as the first woman Prime Minister of
the American
Pakistan
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
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
Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi
Jatoi, as the new caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan.

1st 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
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

Nawaz Sharif addressing the parliament 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

 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.

Balakh Sher Mazari

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
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,
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,
Benazir Bhutto taking oath as Prime Minister for the second respectively.
time, in 1993
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
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.