Part ofa series on the
History of modern Pakistan
Pre-independence
Battle of Miani 1843 Battle of Hyderabad 1843 Battle of Ramnagar 1848 Siege of Multan 1848-1849 Battle of Chillianwala 1849 Battle of Gujrat 1849 War of Independence 1857–1858 British Raj 1858–1947 Aligarh Movement 1859 Urdu Movement 1867 Muslim League Foundation 1906 Fourteen Points of Jinnah 1929 Pakistan Declaration 1933 Lahore Resolution 1940 Independence 1947
Dominion Era
Indo-Pakistani War 1947 Attempted coup d'état 1951 Bengali language movement 1952 Lahore riots 1952 Constitutional coup 1954
Republic era
Coup d'état 1958 Indo-Pakistani war 1965 Bangladesh Liberation War 1971 Operation in Balochistan 1973 Military coup 1977 Operation Clean-up 1992-1994 Coup d'état 1999 Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 2004-present Political unrest 2022-2024
See also
History of Pakistan Economic history of Pakistan
Pakistan portal
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Thehistory of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan began on 14 August 1947 when the country came into being in the form of theDominion of Pakistan within theBritish Commonwealth as the result of thePakistan Movement and thepartition of India. While the history of thePakistani nation according to thePakistan government's official chronology started with theIslamic rule over Indian subcontinent byMuhammad ibn al-Qasim which reached its zenith duringMughal era.^[1] In 1947, Pakistan consisted ofWest Pakistan (today's Pakistan) andEast Pakistan (today'sBangladesh). The President ofAll-India Muslim League and later thePakistan Muslim League,Muhammad Ali Jinnah becameGovernor-General while the secretary general of the Muslim League,Liaquat Ali Khan becamePrime Minister. Theconstitution of 1956 made Pakistan anIslamic democratic country.

Pakistan faced acivil war andIndian military intervention in 1971 resulting in the secession ofEast Pakistan as the new country ofBangladesh. The country has alsounresolved territorial disputes withIndia, resulting infour conflicts. Pakistan was closely tied to theUnited States in theCold War. In theAfghan–Soviet War, it supported theAfghan mujahideen and played a vital role in the defeat ofSoviet Forces and forced themto withdraw from Afghanistan. The country continues to face challenging problems includingterrorism,poverty,illiteracy,corruption and political instability. Terrorism due towar on terror damaged thecountry's economy andinfrastructure to a great extent from 2001 to 2009 but Pakistan is once again developing.

Pakistan is anuclear power as well as a declarednuclear-weapon state, having conductedsix nuclear tests in response tofive nuclear tests of their rivalRepublic of India in May 1998. Thefirst five tests were conducted on 28 May and thesixth one on 30 May. With this status, Pakistan is seventh in world, second inSouth Asia and the only country in theIslamic World. Pakistan also has thesixth-largest standing armed forces in the world and is spending a major amount ofits budget ondefense. Pakistan is the founding member of theOIC, theSAARC and theIslamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition as well as a member of many international organisations including theUN, theShanghai Cooperation Organisation, theCommonwealth of Nations, theARF, theEconomic Cooperation Organization andmany more.

Pakistan is amiddle power which is ranked among the emerging and growth-leading economies of the world and is backed by one of the world's largest and fastest-growing middle class. It has asemi-industrializedeconomy with a well-integratedagriculture sector. It is identified as one of theNext Eleven, a group of eleven countries that, along with theBRICs, have a high potential to become the world's largest economies in the 21st century. Although Pakistan faced a severeeconomic crisis from 2022 to 2024, geographically Pakistan is an important country and a source of contact betweenMiddle East,Central Asia,South Asia andEast Asia.

Important leaders in theMuslim League highlighted that Pakistan would be a "New Madinah", in other words the second Islamic state established after theProphet Muhammad's creation of anIslamic state of Madinah which was later developed intoRashidun Caliphate. Pakistan was popularly envisaged as an Islamic utopia, a successor to the defunctIslamic Caliphate and a leader and protector of the entireIslamic world. Islamic scholars debated over whether it was possible for the proposed Pakistan to truly become an Islamic state.^[2][3]

Another motive and reason behind the Pakistan Movement andTwo Nation Theory is the ideology of pre-partition Muslims and leaders of Muslim League includingMuhammad Ali Jinnah andAllama Iqbal is that, to re-establish theMuslim rule in South Asia. Once Jinnah said in his speech:

The Pakistan Movement started when the first Muslim (Muhammad bin Qasim) put his foot on the soil ofSindh, the gateway of Islam in India.^[4][5]

That is why Jinnah is considered the "great Muslim ruler" in theIndian subcontinent afterEmperorAurangzeb byPakistanis.^[6] This is also the reason that thePakistani government's official chronology declares that the foundation of Pakistan was laid in 712 CE^[1] by Muhammad bin Qasim afterIslamic conquest of Sindh and that these conquests at their zenith conquered the entire Indian subcontinent duringMuslim Mughal Era.

While theIndian National Congress's (Congress) top leadership had been imprisoned following the 1942Quit India Movement, there was intense debate among Muslims over the creation of a separate homeland.^[3] TheAll India Azad Muslim Conference represented nationalist Muslims who, in April 1940, gathered inDelhi to voice theirsupport for a united India.^[7] Its members included several Islamic organisations in India, as well as 1400 nationalist Muslim delegates.^[8][9] TheDeobandis and theirulema, who were led byHussain Ahmad Madani, wereopposed to the creation of Pakistan and the two-nation theory, instead promulgatingcomposite nationalism andHindu-Muslim unity. According to them Muslims and Hindus could be one nation and Muslims were only a nation of themselves in the religious sense and not in the territorial sense.^[10][11][12] Some Deobandis such asAshraf Ali Thanwi,Mufti Muhammad Shafi andShabbir Ahmad Usmani dissented from the position ofJamiat Ulema-e-Hind and were supportive of the Muslim League's demand to create a separate homeland for Muslims.^[13][14] ManyBarelvis and their ulema,^[15] though not all Barelvis and Barelvi ulema,^[16] supported the creation of Pakistan.^[17] The pro-separatist Muslim League mobilizedpirs andSunni scholars to demonstrate that their view that India's Muslim masses wanted a separate country was in the majority, in their eyes.^[14] Those Barelvis who supported the creation of a separate Muslim homeland in colonial India believed that any co-operation with Hindus would be counter productive.^[18]

Muslims who were living in provinces where they were demographically a minority, such as theUnited Provinces where the Muslim League enjoyed popular support,^[19] were assured by Jinnah that they could remain in India, migrate to Pakistan or continue living in India but as Pakistani citizens. The Muslim League had also proposed the hostage population theory. According to this theory the safety of India's Muslim minority would be ensured by turning the Hindu minority in the proposed Pakistan into a 'hostage' population who would be visited by retributive violence if Muslims in India were harmed.^[3][20]

The Pakistani demand resulted in the Muslim League becoming pitted against both the Congress and the British.^[21] In theConstituent Assembly elections of 1946, the Muslim League won 425 out of 496 seats reserved for Muslims, polling 89.2% of the total votes.^[22] Congress had hitherto refused to acknowledge the Muslim League's claim of being the representative of Indian Muslims but finally recognised to the League's claim after the results of this election. The Muslim League's demand for the creation of Pakistan had received overwhelming popular support from India's Muslims, especially those Muslims who were living in provinces where they were a minority. The1946 election in British India was essentially a plebiscite among Indian Muslims over the creation of Pakistan.^[23][24][25]

The British, while not approving of a separate Muslim homeland, appreciated the simplicity of a single voice to speak on behalf of India's Muslims.^[26] To preserve India's unity the British arranged theCabinet Mission Plan.^[27] According to this plan India would be kept united but would be heavily decentralised with separate groupings of autonomous Hindu and Muslim majority provinces. The Muslim League accepted this plan as it contained the 'essence' of Pakistan but the Congress rejected it.^[28] After the failure of the Cabinet Mission Plan, Jinnah called for Muslims to observeDirect Action Day to demand the creation of a separate Pakistan, which morphed into violent riots between Hindus and Muslims in Calcutta. These riots were followed by violence elsewhere, resulting in large-scale displacement inNoakhali (where Muslims attacked Hindus) andBihar (where Hindus attacked Muslims) in October, and inRawalpindi (where Muslimsattacked and drove out Sikhs and Hindus) in March 1947.^[29]

The British Prime Minister Attlee appointedLord Louis Mountbatten as India's last viceroy, who was given the task to oversee British India's independence by June 1948, with the emphasis ofpreserving a United India, but with adaptational authority to ensure a British withdrawal with minimal setbacks.^{[30][31][32][33]} British leaders including Mountbatten did not support the creation of Pakistan but failed to convince Jinnah.^[34][35] Mountbatten later confessed that he would most probably have sabotaged the creation of Pakistan had he known that Jinnah was dying of tuberculosis.^[36]

Soon after he arrived, Mountbatten concluded that the situation was too volatile for even that short a wait. Although his advisers favoured a gradual transfer of independence, Mountbatten decided the only way forward was a quick and orderly transfer of independence before 1947 was out. In his view, any longer would mean civil war.^[37] The Viceroy also hurried so he could return to his senior technical Navy courses.^[38][39] In a meeting in June, Nehru andAbul Kalam Azad representing the Congress, Jinnah representing the Muslim League,B. R. Ambedkar representing theUntouchable community, andMaster Tara Singh representing theSikhs, agreed to partition India along religious lines.

On 14 August 1947(27th ofRamadan in 1366 of theIslamic Calendar) Pakistan gained independence. India gained independence the following day. Two of the provinces ofBritish India,Punjab andBengal, were divided along religious lines by theRadcliffe Commission.Lord Mountbatten is alleged to have influenced the Radcliffe Commission to draw the lines in India's favour.^[40][41][42] Punjab's mostly Muslimwestern part went to Pakistan and its mostly Hindu and Sikheastern part went to India, but there were significant Muslim minorities in Punjab's eastern section and light Hindus and Sikhs minorities living in Punjab's western areas.

There was no conception that population transfers would be necessary because of the partitioning. Religious minorities were expected to stay put in the states they found themselves residing in. However, an exception was made for Punjab which did not apply to other provinces.^[43][44] Intense communal rioting in the Punjab forced the governments of India and Pakistan to agree to a forced population exchange of Muslim and Hindu/Sikh minorities living in Punjab. After this population exchange only a few thousand low-caste Hindus remained in Pakistani Punjab and only a tiny Muslim population remained in the town of Malerkotla in India's part of Punjab.^[45] Political scientist Ishtiaq Ahmed says that although Muslims started the violence in Punjab, by the end of 1947 more Muslims had been killed by Hindus and Sikhs in East Punjab than the number of Hindus and Sikhs who had been killed by Muslims in West Punjab.^[46][47][48]Nehru wrote toGandhi on 22 August that up to then, twice as many Muslims had been killed in East Punjab than Hindus and Sikhs in West Punjab.^[49]

More than ten million people migrated across the new borders and between 200,000 and 2,000,000^{[50][51][52][53]} people died in the spate of communal violence in the Punjab in what some scholars have described as a 'retributive genocide' between the religions.^[54] The Pakistani government claimed that 50,000 Muslim women were abducted and raped by Hindu and Sikh men and similarly the Indian government claimed that Muslims abducted and raped 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women.^[55][56][57] The two governments agreed to repatriate abducted women and thousands of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim women were repatriated to their families in the 1950s. The dispute over Kashmir escalated into thefirst war betweenIndia andPakistan. With the assistance of theUnited Nations (UN) the war was ended but it became theKashmir dispute, unresolved as of 2023^[update].

In 1947, thefounding fathers of Pakistan agreed to appoint Liaquat Ali Khan as the country'sfirstprime minister, with Muhammad Ali Jinnah as both firstgovernor-general andspeaker of theState Parliament.^[58] Mountbatten had offered to serve as Governor-general of both India and Pakistan but Jinnah refused this offer.^[59] When Jinnah died of tuberculosis in 1948,^[60] Islamic scholarMaulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani described Jinnah as the greatest Muslim after the Mughal EmperorAurangzeb.

Usmani asked Pakistanis to remember Jinnah's message of "Unity, Faith and Discipline" and work to fulfil his dream:

to create a solid bloc of allMuslim states fromKarachi toAnkara, fromPakistan toMorocco. He [Jinnah] wanted to see theMuslims of the world united under the banner ofIslam as an effective check against the aggressive designs of their enemies.^[61]

The first formal step to transform Pakistan into an ideological Islamic state was taken in March 1949 when Liaquat Ali Khan introduced theObjectives Resolution in theConstituent Assembly. The Objectives Resolution declared that sovereignty over the entire universe belongs toAllah Almighty. Support for the Objectives Resolution and the transformation of Pakistan into an Islamic state was led by Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, a respectedDeobandi alim (scholar) who occupied the position ofShaykh al-Islam in Pakistan in 1949, andMaulana Mawdudi ofJamaat-i Islami.^[62][63]

Indian Muslims from theUnited Provinces,Bombay Province,Central Provinces and other areas of India continued migrating to Pakistan throughout the 1950 and 1960s and settled mainly in urbanSindh, particularly in the new country's first capital,Karachi.^[45] Prime Minister Ali Khan established a strong government and had to face challenges soon after gaining the office.^[58] His Finance SecretaryVictor Turner announced the country's first monetary policy by establishing theState Bank, theFederal Bureau of Statistics and theFederal Board of Revenue to improve statistical knowledge, finance, taxation, and revenue collection in the country.^[64] There were also problems because India cut off water supply to Pakistan from two canal headworks in its side ofPunjab on 1 April 1948 and also withheld delivering Pakistan its share of the assets and funds of United India, which theIndian government released afterGandhi's pressurisation.^[65]Territorial problems arose with neighbouringAfghanistan over thePakistan–Afghanistan border in 1949, and withIndia over theLine of Control inKashmir.^[58] Diplomatic recognition became a problem when theSoviet Union led byJoseph Stalin did not welcome the partition which established Pakistan and India.Imperial State of Iran was the first country to recognise Pakistan in 1947.^[66] In 1948,Ben-Gurion ofIsrael sent a secret courier to Jinnah to establish thediplomatic relations, but Jinnah did not give any response to Ben-Gurion.

After gaining Independence, Pakistan vigorously pursued bilateral relations with other Muslim countries^[67] and made a wholehearted bid for leadership of theMuslim world, or at least for leadership in achieving its unity.^[68] TheAli brothers had sought to project Pakistan as the natural leader of the Islamic world, in large part due to itslarge population andmilitary strength.^[69] A top ranking Muslim League leader,Khaliquzzaman, declared that Pakistan would bring together all Muslim countries intoIslamistan – a pan-Islamic entity.^[70] The USA, which did not approve of Pakistan's creation, was against this idea and British Prime MinisterClement Attlee voiced international opinion at the time by stating that he wished that India and Pakistan would re-unite, fearingunity of the Muslim World.^[71] Since most of theArab world was undergoing a nationalist awakening at the time, there was little attraction in Pakistan's pan-Islamic aspirations.^[72] Some of the Arab countries saw the 'Islamistan' project as a Pakistani attempt to dominate other Muslim states.^[73] Pakistan vigorously championed the right of self-determination for Muslims around the world. Pakistan's efforts for the independence movements ofIndonesia,Algeria,Tunisia,Morocco andEritrea were significant and initially led to close ties between these countries and Pakistan.^[74]

In a 1948 speech, Jinnah declared that "Urdu alone would be the state language and thelingua franca of the Pakistan state", although at the same time he called for theBengali language to be the official language of theBengal province.^[75] Nonetheless, tensions began to grow inEast Bengal.^[75] Jinnah's health further deteriorated and he died in 1948. Bengali leader, SirKhawaja Nazimuddin succeeded as the governor general of Pakistan.^[76]

During a massive political rally in 1951, Prime Minister Ali Khan wasassassinated, and Nazimuddin became the second prime minister.^[58] Tensions inEast Pakistan reached a climax in 1952, when the East Pakistani police opened fire on students protesting for the Bengali language to receive equal status with Urdu. The situation was controlled by Nazimuddin who issued a waiver granting the Bengali language equal status, a right codified in the 1956 constitution. In 1953 at the instigation of religious parties, anti-Ahmadiyya riots erupted, which led to many Ahmadi deaths.^[77] The riots were investigated by a two-member court of inquiry in 1954,^[78] which was criticised by theJamaat-e-Islami, one of the parties accused of inciting the riots.^[79] This event led to the first instance of martial law in the country and began the history of military intervention into the politics and civilian affairs of the country.^[80] In 1954 the controversialOne Unit Program was imposed by the lastPakistan Muslim League (PML) Prime ministerAli Bogra dividing Pakistan on theGermangeopolitical model.^[81] The same year the first legislative elections were held in Pakistan, which saw thecommunists gaining control of East Pakistan.^[82] The 1954 election results clarified the differences in ideology between West and East Pakistan, with East Pakistan under the influence of the Communist Party allying with theShramik Krishak Samajbadi Dal (Workers Party) and theAwami League.^[82] The pro-AmericanRepublican Party gained a majority in West Pakistan, ousting the PML government.^[82] After a vote of confidence in Parliament and the promulgation of the1956 constitution, which confirmed Pakistan as anIslamic republic, two notable figures became prime minister and president, as the first Bengali leaders of the country.Huseyn Suhrawardy became the prime minister leading acommunist-socialist alliance, andIskander Mirza became thefirstpresident of Pakistan.^[83]

Suhrawardy'sforeign policy was directed towards improving the fracturedrelations with the Soviet Union and strengtheningrelations with the United States andChina after paying first a state visit to each country.^[84] Announcing a new self-reliance program, Suhrawardy began building a massive military and launched anuclear power program in the west in an attempt to legitimise his mandate in West Pakistan.^[85] Suhrawardy's efforts led to an Americantraining program for the country'sarmed forces which met with great opposition in East Pakistan. His party in theEast Pakistan Parliament threatened to leave the state of Pakistan. Suhrawardy also verbally authorised the leasing theInter-Services Intelligence's (ISI) secret installation atPeshawar Air Station to the CIA to conduct operations in the Soviet Union.^[85]

Differences in East Pakistan further encouragedBaloch separatism, and in an attempt to intimidate the communists in East Pakistan President Mirza initiated massive arrests of communists and party workers of the Awami League, which damaged the image of West Pakistan in the east.^[85] The western contingent's lawmakers determinately followed the idea of awesternisedParliamentary form of democracy, while East Pakistan opted for becoming a socialist state. The One Unit Program and thecentralisation of the national economy on the Soviet model was met with great hostility and resistance in West Pakistan. The eastern contingent'seconomy was rapidly centralised by Suhrawardy's government.^[84] Personal problems grew between the two Bengali leaders, further damaging the unity of the country and causing Suhrawardy to lose his authority in hisown party to the growing influence of clericMaulana Bhashani.^[84] Resigning under a threat of dismissal by Mirza, Suhrawardy was succeeded byI. I. Chundrigar in 1957.^[84] Within two months Chundrigar was dismissed. He was followed bySir Feroz Noon, who proved to be an incapable prime minister. Public support for the Muslim League led byNurul Amin began to threaten President Mirza who was becoming unpopular, especially in West Pakistan.^[82] In less than two years, Mirza dismissed four elected prime ministers, and was increasingly under pressure to call new elections in 1958.^[86]

After theindependence,Liaquat Ali Khan became the firstprime minister andJinnah became the firstGovernor-General. Pakistan consisted of two wings, West-Pakistan and East-Pakistan. The Liaquat government, along with all subsequent governments during that first decade after independence faced serious difficulties in effectively governing both East and West Pakistan, eventually leading to the military coup of 1958.^[87] TheIndo-Pakistani War of 1947 began to take place in Kashmir region in 1947. Both Liaquat and Jinnah were determined to stop the riots and refugee problems and to set up an effective administrative system for the country. Liaquat Ali Khan did the groundbreaking work for the Foreign Policy of Pakistan while taking initiatives towards the formulation of the constitution. He presented theObjectives Resolution, a prelude to future constitutions, in the Legislative Assembly. The house passed it on 12 March 1949.^[88] It has been described as the "Magna Carta" of Pakistan's constitutional history. Both United States and Soviet Union sent invitation to Liaquat Ali Khan. However, Khan chose to pay a goodwill visit to United States first. This was perceived as a rebuff to Moscow, and has been traced to profound adverse consequences. Khan had wanted Pakistan to remain neutral in theCold War, as declared three days after Pakistan's independence when he declared that Pakistan would take no sides in the conflict of ideologies between the nations. Khan later tried to visit Soviet Union but the dates for goodwill visit were not materialized by Soviet Union.

The same year, Jinnah declaredUrdu as official language of Pakistan.^[89] It sparked protests inEast Pakistan (formerlyEast Bengal), whereBengali was spoken by most of the population. Jinnah also faced problems with Pakistan Army's Commander-in-Chief General SirDouglas Gracey who refused to obey the orders of Jinnah. General Gracey argued that Jinnah as Governor-General represented the British Crown of which he himself was an appointee. Therefore, he did not send troops toKashmir region. Jinnah also faced problems with Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force Air Vice-MarshalRichard Atcherley and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Rear AdmiralJames Wilfred Jefford who also refused to obey standing orders given by Jinnah.

During Khan's tenure, India and Pakistan agreed to resolve the dispute of Kashmir in a peaceful manner through the efforts of the United Nations. This agreement was termed as 'Karachi Agreement' and a ceasefire was effected in Kashmir on 1 January 1949. It was decided that a free and impartial plebiscite would be held under the supervision of the UN.^[90]

In 1948, Jinnah died,^[91] and a major problem of religious minorities flared during late 1949 and early 1950. Militants fromJamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan began to attack the minorities in West-Pakistan, which later slipped to India. Sensing another war with India, Khan met Indian Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru to sign theLiaquat-Nehru Pact in 1950. The pact was an effort to improve relations and reduce tension between India and Pakistan, and to protect the religious minorities on both sides of the borders.

InEast Pakistan, theBengali language movement reached its peak on 21 February 1952, when the police and soldiers opened fire on students near theDhaka Medical College protesting for Bengali to receive equal status with Urdu. Several protesters were killed, and the movement gained further support throughout East Pakistan. Later, the Government agreed to provide equal status to Bengali as a state language of Pakistan, a right later codified in the 1956 constitution.

In 1951, theMilitary Intelligence (MI) director-generalMajor-GeneralSyed Shahid Hamid foiled an attemptedcoup d'état, planned by Major-GeneralAkbar Khan, then Chief of General's Staff of the Generals Headquarter (GHQ) was arrested along with a number of officers from Pakistan Army. It was the first conspiracy against the elected government. Eleven military (army) officers and four civilians were involved in the conspiracy. The conspirator includedFaiz Ahmad Faiz, a notable poet and intellectual, also connected with theCommunist Party of Pakistan. In the meantime, Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army General Ayub Khan andDefense ministerIskandar Mirza remained loyal to Liaquat Ali Khan. After an 18-month trial conducted in secrecy, Major-General Khan and Faiz Ahmed Faiz were both convicted and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. Their defense lawyer was the notable Bengali Muslim politician Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. When Suhrawardy became the Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1957, he obtained a reprieve for most of the conspirators

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The government in response to the riots eventually asked the military for help and in response Corp Commander of Lahore General Muhammad Azam Khan enacted the first martial law in parts of the country.

This was a turning point in the country's history and even though the riots were eventually quashed by force but the seeds of intolerance were sown in the Pakistani society, and only got stronger over time.

In 1962, Pakistan had witnessed theSino-Indian War, withChina emerging victorious.

TheInter-Services Intelligence's Joint Intelligence North and Military Intelligence's Northern Areas Assessment directorate began to formulate the plan to infiltrate in Kashmir. In 1965, assuming that a weakened Indian Military would not respond, Pakistan chose to send in "mujahideens" and Pakistan Army regulars into the Indian-controlled part of Jammu and Kashmir. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto backed the plan, and Pakistan Army'sSS Group was told to begin an operation, under codenameOperation Gibraltar. However, even after the careful analysis the airborne operation failed, and major war broke out between India and Pakistan. Ayub Khan blamed Bhutto for starting the conflict, while the armed forces became increasingly involved in the war.

However, both Soviet-Union and United States deescalated the conflict. China provided economic and moral help and even threatened India on its conflicted border issues. Khan along withLal Bahadur Shastri signed theTashkent Declaration.

After the indecisive war of 1965 with India, Pakistani people began to accuse Field Marshal Ayub Khan of betraying the cause ofKashmir. Months after the war,Munir Ahmad Khan, anuclear engineer at IAEA's Reactor Division, met Bhutto where he notified Bhutto with rapid development ofIndian nuclear programme. Sensing the seriousness of such threat, Bhutto arranged a meeting between Munir Ahmad Khan and Ayub Khan atThe Dorchester inLondon. Khan urged the need of acceleration ofnuclear energy programme and develop a credible nuclear deterrent capability. Ayub Khan refused accelerating the programme, and famously said: "if we [Pakistan] ever need the [atom] bomb, we [Pakistan] will buy it off the shelf". Munir Ahmad Khan quickly notified Bhutto of what had happened. And, Bhutto began lobbying for the nuclear weapon's option. However, due to economical reasons, Khan deferred and refused to expand the nuclear energy programme despite the proposals made by Bhutto, Abdul Salam and Munir Khan. With extensive efforts led by Abdus Salam, Khan had personally approved theKANUPP-I commercial plant, against the wishes of his own military government.

In 1966,Ayub Khan removed Bhutto as his Foreign minister, in a conspiracy planned by Jurist and then-Bhutto's secretary Mushtaq Hussain, and under pressure byLyndon Johnson,President of the United States that time. In 1967, Bhutto formed People's Party of Pakistan and tapped a wave of anti-Ayub Khan movement in both West and East Pakistan. Demoralized and pressured, Ayub Khan handed over the regime to his junior Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army GeneralYahya Khan in 1969. General Yahya designated himself asChief Martial Law Administrator of the country and installed a military government in both East and West-Pakistan. Yahya and his military government promised to hold a general election within 2 years.

TheGeneral parliamentary elections were held in 1970, withPeople's Party winning the majority inWest-Pakistan and Awami League [People's League] gaining absolute majority inEast-Pakistan.Yahya Khan, Chief Martial Law Administrator of Pakistan, held talks with bothZulfikar Ali Bhutto andSheikh Mujibur Rehman. Negotiation and talks were brutally failed, and Bhutto was famously heard saying "break the legs" if any member of [People's Party] attend theNational Assembly inaugural session. However, the capitalization on West-Pakistan, West-Pakistanis feared the East-Pakistani separatism, therefore, Bhutto demanded a coalition government with Mujib. In a meeting, both Mujib and Bhutto agreed upon a coalition government as Bhutto would assumed the Presidency and Mujib as Premier. The Military government and General Yahya Khan was kept unaware of these developments. Both Bhutto and Mujib continued political pressure on Khan's military government. Under pressure by Bhutto, Mujib and his military government, General Khan ordered a military action in East Pakistan. The Military Police arrested Bhutto and put him on house arrest. And, Mujib was sent to military court where his case was headed byJudge Advocate General Branch'sBrigadier-GeneralRahimuddin Khan.

General Khan orderedVice-AdmiralMohammad Shariff, Commander ofEastern Naval Command of thePakistan Navy andLieutenant-GeneralAmir Abdullah Khan Niazi, Commander of theEastern Military Command of Pakistan Army, an extreme armed action to curb and liberate the East-Pakistan from the resistance. Faced with popular unrest and revolt in East-Pakistan, the Army and Navy clamped down through violence. The navy and army crackdown and brutalities during theOperation Searchlight andOperation Barisal and the continued extrajudicial killings throughout the later months resulted in further resentment among the East Pakistanis of East Pakistan. With India assisting the Mukti Bahini, war broke out between the separatist supporters in Bangladesh and Pakistan (Indo-Pakistani War of 1971). The coordination between the armed forces of Pakistan were ineffective and unsupported. On major decision, the army, navy, marine and air force weren't taken in confidence. Each force had led their own independent operations without notifying or taking in confidence the higher command.

The result was the Pakistan Armed Forces surrender to the liberation forces upon which 93,000 Pakistani soldiers and officers became POWs, the largest since World War II. The official war ended in just under nine months on 16 December 1971, with Pakistan losing its eastern part, which became Bangladesh.

During the alleged mass killing in Bangladesh (erstwhile East-Pakistan), the military government had refused to take any political and reconciliation initiatives despite the calls were made. The coordination between the armed forces were ineffective and unsupported. The Air Force brutally failed to protect the naval and army assets during the conflict (SeeOperation Python andOperation Trident).

In October 1958 President Iskandar Mirza issued orders for a massive mobilisation of the Pakistan Armed Forces and appointedChief of Army Staff GeneralAyub Khan asCommander-in-chief.^[92] President Mirza declared astate of emergency, imposedmartial law, suspended the constitution, and dissolved both the socialist government in East Pakistan and the parliamentary government in West Pakistan.^[93]

General Ayub Khan wasChief Martial Law Administrator, with authority throughout the country.^[92] Within two weeks President Mirza attempted to dismiss Khan,^[92] but the move backfired and President Mirza was relieved of the presidency and exiled to London. General Khan promoted himself to the rank of a five-star field marshal and assumed the presidency. He was succeeded as chief of army staff by GeneralMuhammad Musa. Khan named a new civil-military government under him.^[94][95]

Theparliamentary system came to an end in 1958, following the imposition of martial law.^[96] Tales ofcorruption in thecivil bureaucracy and public administration had maligned the democratic process in the country and the public were supportive of the actions taken by General Khan.^[96] Major land reforms were carried out by the military government and it enforced the controversial Elective Bodies Disqualification Order which ultimately disqualified H. S. Suhrawardy from holding public office.^[96] Khan introduced a new presidential system called "Basic Democracy", by which an electoral college of 80,000 would select the president.^[94] He also promulgated the1962 constitution.^[94] In a national referendum held in 1960 Ayub Khan secured nationwide popular support for his bid as second president of Pakistan and replaced his military regime with a constitutional civilian government.^[96] In a major development all of the infrastructure and bureaucracy of the capital was relocated from Karachi to Islamabad.^[97]

The presidency of Ayub Khan is often celebrated as the "Great Decade", highlighting the economic development plans and reforms executed.^[97] Under Ayub's presidency the country underwent a cultural shift when thepop music industry, thefilm industry andPakistani drama became extremely popular during the 1960s. Rather than preferring neutrality, Ayub Khan worked closely to form an alliance with the United States and the western world. Pakistan joined two formal military alliances opposed to theSoviet bloc: the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) in 1955;^[98] and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1962.^[99] During this period theprivate sector gained more power and educational reforms, human development and scientific achievements gained international recognition.^[97] In 1961 the Pakistanispace program was launched and the nuclear power program was continued. Military aid from the US grew, but the country's national security was severely compromised following the exposure ofU2 secret spy operations launching from Peshawar to overfly the Soviet Union in 1960. The same year Pakistan signed theIndus Waters Treaty with India in an attempt to normalise relations.^[100] Relations with China strengthened after theSino-Indian War, with aboundary agreement being signed in 1963; this shifted the balance of the Cold War by bringing Pakistan and China closer together while loosening ties between Pakistan and the United States.^[101] In1964 the Pakistani Armed Forces quelled a suspected pro-communist revolt in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, West Pakistan, allegedly supported bycommunist Afghanistan.^{[clarification needed]} During the controversial 1965 presidential elections, Ayub Khan almost lost toFatima Jinnah.^[102]

In 1965, after Pakistan went ahead with its strategic infiltration mission in Kashmir codenamedOperation Gibraltar, India declared full-scale war against Pakistan.^[103] The war, which ended militarily in a stalemate, was mostly fought in the west.^[104] Controversially, the East Pakistani Army did not interfere in the conflict and this caused anger in West Pakistan against East Pakistan.^[105] The war with India was met with disfavor by the United States, which dismayed Pakistan by adopting a policy of denying military aid to both India and Pakistan.^[106] Positive diplomatic gains were made via several treaties strengthening Pakistan's historical bonds with its western neighbours in Asia. A successful intervention by the USSR led to the signing of theTashkent Agreement between India and Pakistan in 1965.^[107] Witnessing the American disapproval and the USSR's mediation, Ayub Khan made tremendous efforts to normalise relations with the USSR; Bhutto's negotiating expertise led to the Soviet Premier, Alexei Kosygin, visiting Islamabad.^[103]

Delivering a blistering speech at the UN General Assembly in 1965, Foreign MinisterZulfikar Ali Bhutto, with the atomic scientistAziz Ahmed present, made Pakistan's intentions clear and announced that: "If India builds the [nuclear] bomb, we will eat grass, even go hungry, but we will get one of [our] own... We have no other choice".Abdus Salam andMunir Khan jointly collaborated to expand the nuclear power infrastructure, receiving tremendous support from Bhutto. Following the announcement, the nuclear power expansion was accelerated with the signing of a commercial nuclear power plant agreement with General Electric Canada, and several other agreements with the United Kingdom and France.

Disagreeing with the signing of Tashkent agreement, Bhutto was ousted from the ministry on the personal directive of President Khan in 1966.^[108] The dismissal of Bhutto caused spontaneous mass demonstrations and public anger against Khan, leading to major industrial and labour strikes in the country.^[109] Within weeks Ayub Khan lost the momentum in West Pakistan and his image was damaged in public circles.^[107] In 1968, Ayub Khan decided to celebrate his "Decade of Development," it was strongly condemned by leftist students and they decided to celebrate, instead, a "Decade of Decadence".^[110] Leftists accused him of encouragingcrony capitalism, the exploitation of workers and the suppression of the rights and ethnic-nationalism of the Bengalis (in East Pakistan), Sindhis, the Baloch and the Pakhtun.^[111] Amidst further allegations that economic development and hiring for government jobs favoured West Pakistan, Bengali nationalism began to increase and an independence movement gained ground in East Pakistan.^[112] In 1966 the Awami League led bySheikh Mujibur Rahman demanded provisional autonomy at the Round Table Conference held by Ayub Khan; this was forcefully rejected by Bhutto.^[112] The influence of socialism increased after the country's notable economist,Mahbub ul Haq, publishing a report on the private-sector's evasion oftaxation and the control of the national economy by a few oligarchs.^[113] In 1967 a Socialist convention, attended by the country's leftist philosophers and notable thinkers, took place in Lahore. ThePakistan People's Party (PPP) was founded with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as its first elected chairman. The Peoples Party's leaders,JA Rahim andMubashir Hassan, notably announced their intention to "defeat the great dictator with the power of the people."^[109]

In 1967, the PPP tapped a wave of anger against Ayub Khan and successfully called for major labour strikes in the country.^[109] Despite severe repression, in what is known as the1968 movement in Pakistan, people belonging to different occupations revolted against the regime.^[114] Criticism from the United States further damaged Ayub Khan's authority in the country.^[109] By the end of 1968, Khan presented theAgartala Case which led to the arrests of many Awami League leaders, but was forced to withdraw it after aserious uprising in East Pakistan. Under pressure from the PPP, public resentment, and anger against his administration, Khan resigned from the presidency in poor health and handed over his authority to the army commander, a little known personality and heavy alcoholic, GeneralYahya Khan, who imposed martial law.

President General Yahya Khan was aware of the explosive political situation in the country.^[109] Support for progressive and socialist groups was rising, and calls for a change of regime were gaining momentum.^[109] In a television address to the nation, President Khan announced his intention to hold nationwide elections the following year and to transfer power to the elected representatives.^[109] Virtually suspending the 1962 Constitution, President Khan instead issued the Legal Framework Order No. 1970 (LFO No. 1970) which caused radical changes in West Pakistan. Tightening the grip of martial law, the One Unit program was dissolved in West Pakistan, removing the "West" prefix from Pakistan, and a direct ballot replaced the principle of parity.^[115] Territorial changes were carried out in four of the country's provinces, allowing them to retain their geographical structures as they were in 1947.^[115] The state parliament, supreme court, major government, and authoritarian institutions also regained their statuses.^[115] This decree was limited to West Pakistan, it had no effect on East Pakistan.^[115] Civilians in Ayub Khan's administration were dismissed by the military government which replaced them with military officers.

TheElection Commission registered 24 political parties, and public meetings attracted many large crowds. On the eve of the elections, acyclone struck East Pakistan killing approximately 500,000 people, though this event did not deter people from participating in the first ever general election.^[116] Mobilizing support for theirSix Points manifesto the Awami League secured electoral support in East Pakistan.^[116] Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party asserted itself even more. Its socialist rationale,roti kapda aur makaan (food, cloth, and shelter) and the party's socialist manifesto quickly popularised the party.^[116] The conservative PML, led by Nurul Amin, raised religious and nationalist slogans all over the country.^[116]

Out of a total of 313 seats in the National Assembly, the Awami League won 167 seats but none from West Pakistan^[116] and the PPP won 88 seats but none from East Pakistan. While the Awami League had won enough seats to form a government without the need for any coalition, West Pakistani elites refused to hand over power to the East Pakistani party. Efforts were made to start a constitutional dialogue. Bhutto asked for a share in government sayingUdhar tum, idhar hum, meaning "You in the east, I in the west". The PPP's intellectuals maintained that the Awami League had no mandate in West Pakistan.^[117] Although President Khan invited the Awami League to a National Assembly session in Islamabad he did not ask them to form a government, due to opposition from the PPP.^[117] When no agreement was reached, President Khan appointed Bengali anti-war activist Nurul Amin as prime minister with the additional office of the country's first and only vice-president.^[117]

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman then launched anon-cooperation movement which effectively paralysed the state machinery inEast Pakistan. Talks between Bhutto and Rehman collapsed and President Khan ordered armed action against the Awami League. OperationsSearchlight andBarisal led to a crackdown on East Pakistani politicians, civilians, and student activists.Sheikh Mujib was arrested and extradited to Islamabad, while the entire Awami League leadership escaped to India to set up aparallel government. Aguerrilla insurgency was initiated by the Indian-organised and supportedMukti Bahini ("freedom fighters").^[118] Millions of Bengali Hindus and Muslims took refuge in eastern India leading to Indian Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi announcing support for the Bangladesh liberation war and providing direct military assistance to the Bengalis.^[119] In March 1971 regional commander Major GeneralZiaur Rahman declared the independence of East Pakistan as the new nation ofBangladesh on behalf of Mujib.

Pakistan launched pre-emptive air strikes on 11 Indian airbases on 3 December 1971, leading to India's entry into the war on the side of Bangladeshi nationalist forces.Untrained in guerrilla warfare, the Pakistani high command in the east collapsed under commanders GeneralAmir Niazi and AdmiralMuhammad Sharif.^[117] Exhausted, outflanked and overwhelmed, they could no longer continue the fight against the intense guerrilla insurgency, and finally surrendered to the Allied Forces of Bangladesh and India inDhaka on 16 December 1971.^[117] Nearly 90,000 Pakistani soldiers were taken prisoners of war and the result was the emergence of the new nation of Bangladesh,^[120] thus ending 24 years of turbulent union between the two wings.^[117] However, according to Indian Army ChiefSam Manekshaw the Pakistani Army had fought gallantly.^[121] Independent researchers estimate that between 300,000 and 500,000 civilians died during this period while the Bangladesh government puts the number of dead at three million,^[122]//Amazing Facts (Excited Facts) a figure that is now nearly universally regarded as excessively inflated.^[123] Some academics such asRudolph Rummel andRounaq Jahan say both sides^[124] committed genocide; others such asRichard Sisson and Leo E. Rose believe there was no genocide.^[125] Discredited by the defeat, President Khan resigned and Bhutto was inaugurated as president and chief martial law administrator on 20 December 1971.^[117]

Soon after Bhutto assumed the control of the country, Bhutto releasedMujibur Rehman, and put General Khan on house arrest instead. Bhutto immediately appeared onPTV where he delivered an emotional speech to his shattered nation. Bhutto also formed theHamoodur Rahman Commission, to carry out the inquiry and causes of the war, under the BengaliChief JusticeHamoodur Rahman. Bhutto fired Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army, Lieutenant-GeneralGul Hassan Khan and also deposed Air MarshalAbdul Rahim Khan, Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Air Force, and Vice-AdmiralMuzaffar Hassan, then-Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Navy. All of these Commander-in-Chiefs led their services during the conflict, and openly blamed each other for their intense failure.

Bhutto also disbanded the Pakistan Marines, a new service in the navy, after failing to produce any effective results during the conflict. Bhutto sought to re-organize the Military of Pakistan and numerous officers who were responsible for Bengal's autocracies were fired from their services. In July 1972, Bhutto traveled to India to meet the Indian Premier Indira Gandhi where he successfully proceeded with theShimla Agreement, and brought back 93,000 Pakistan Armed Forces personnel, secured 5,000 square miles of area held by India. Under this agreement, Bhutto recognized East Pakistan as Bangladesh.

Bhutto also disapproved thecapitalist policies of Field Marshal Ayub Khan, and instead introduced thesocialist economics policies while working to prevent any further division of the country. On 2 January 1972, Bhutto announced the nationalization of all major industries, including iron and steel, heavy engineering, heavy electrical engineering, petrochemicals, cement and public utilities. A new labor policy was announced with more workers' rights and the power of trade unions.

In 1974, the Parliament of Pakistan gave approval of1973 Constitution. For the first time since 1958, the country was shifted back toparliamentary democracy with Bhutto as Prime minister of the country. In 1974, Bhutto adopted the recommendation from Hamoodur Rehman Commission, and disbanded the "Commander-in-Chief" title as the head of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Bhutto appointed Chiefs of Staff in the Pakistan Armed Forces, reporting directly to the prime minister. General Tikka Khan, infamous for his role in the Bangladesh war, was made the first Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army; Admiral Mohammad Shariff was made the first 4-star admiral, and first Chief of Naval Staff of Pakistan Navy, and Air Chief Marshal Zulfikar Ali Khan as first 4-star air force general and Chief of Air Staff of Pakistan Air Force. In 1976, Bhutto also created the office ofJoint Chiefs of Staff Committee, and thechairmanship of this important and prestigious office was given to General Muhammad Sharif, who was also promoted to the 4-star rank. The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee was formed after a careful analysis of the Pakistan Armed Forces, and it is the principal body that maintains coordination between the armed forces.

Since 1967, Bhutto had been lobbying for the option of nuclear deterrence on different occasions. Soon after Bhutto came to assume control of Pakistan, he made his move to establish nuclear weapons development.^[126] On 20 January 1972, Abdus Salam, after being requested byZulfikar Ali Bhutto, arranged a secret meeting of academic scientists and engineers, inMultan city, to meet with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.^{[citation needed]} It was here that Bhutto orchestrated, administered, and led the scientific research on nuclear weapons as he announced the official nuclear weapons development program.^{[citation needed]} In 1972, Pakistan's core intelligence service, theISI, secretly learned thatIndia was close to developing an atomic bomb, under its (India)nuclear programme.^[126] Partially in response, defence expenditure andfunding of science under then-Prime ministerZulfikar Ali Bhutto increased by 200%.^[126] In the initial years and starting years,Dr. Abdus Salam, aNobel laureate, headed the nuclear weapons program as he was theScience adviser to theprime minister.^[127] He is also credited in bringing hundreds of Pakistani scientists, engineers, and mathematicians who would later go on to develop the nuclear weapons program and later on formed and headed "Theoretical Physics Group" (TPG), the special weapons division of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) that developed the designs and completed the crucial mathematical and physics calculations of the nuclear weapons.^[128]

Throughout the time, the foundations were laid down to develop a military nuclear capability. This includes the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear weapons design, development and testing programme.^{[citation needed]} The fuel cycle program included the uranium exploration, mining, refining, conversion andUranium Hexafluoride (UF₆) production, enrichment and fuel fabrication and reprocessing facilities. These facilities were established in the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission orPAEC by its ChairmanMunir Ahmad Khan.^{[citation needed]} He was appointed as chairman ofPakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) on 20 January 1972, at the Multan Conference of senior scientists and engineers.^{[citation needed]} Earlier,Munir Ahmad Khan was serving as Director of Nuclear Power and Reactors Division,IAEA. He was credited to be the "technical father" of Pakistan's atom project by a recent International Institute of Strategic Studies, London, (IISS) Dossier on history of the Pakistan's nuclear development, with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as the father of Pakistan's nuclear developmental programme.^[129] Munir Ahmad Khan, an expert in Plutonium technology, had also laid the foundation and groundbreaking work for the Plutonium reprocessing technology.^{[citation needed]} Khan, built theNew Laboratories, a plutonium reprocessing plant located in Islamabad.^{[citation needed]}

AfterChief Martial Law Administrator (laterpresident) andChief of Army Staff GeneralZia-ul-Haq came topower (seeOperation Fair Play), further advancements were made to enrich uranium and consolidate the nuclear development programme. On 11 March 1983,PAEC led byMunir Ahmad Khan carried out the first successful cold test of a working nuclear device near at theKirana Hills under codenameKirana-I.^{[citation needed]} The test was led byCERN-physicistDr. Ishfaq Ahmad, and was witnessed by other senior scientists belonging to Pakistan Armed Forces and the PAEC. To compound further matters, theSoviet Union had withdrawn fromAfghanistan and the strategic importance of Pakistan to the United States was gone. Once the full extent of Pakistan's nuclear weapons development was revealed,economic sanctions (seePressler amendment) were imposed on the country by several other countries, particularlyUnited States. Having been developed under both Bhutto and Zia, the nuclear development programme had fully matured by the late 1980s.Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, ametallurgical engineer, greatly contributed to the uranium enrichment programme under both governments. Dr. A. Q. Khan established an administrative proliferation network through Dubai to smuggle URENCO nuclear technology toKhan Research Laboratories.^[130] He then established Pakistan's gas-centrifuge program based on the URENCO's Zippe-type centrifuge.^{[131][132][133][134][135]} Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan is considered to be the founder of Pakistan'sHEU basedgas-centrifuge uranium enrichment programme,^[129] which was originally launched byPAEC in 1974.^[136]

ThePAEC also played its part in the success and development of the uranium enrichment programme by producing the uranium hexafluoride gas feedstock for enrichment.PAEC was also responsible for all the pre and post enrichment phases of the nuclear fuel cycle. By 1986PAEC ChairmanMunir Ahmad Khan had begun work on the 50 MW plutonium and tritium production reactor at Khushab, known asKhushab Reactor Complex, which became operational by 1998.

The Baloch rebellion of the 1970s was the most threatening civil disorder to a United Pakistan since Bangladesh's secession. The Pakistan Armed Forces wanted to establish military garrisons inBalochistan Province, which at that time was quite lawless and run by tribal justice. The ethnic Balochis saw this as a violation of their territorial rights. Emboldened by the stand taken by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1971, the Baloch and Pashtun nationalists had also demanded their "provincial rights" from then Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in exchange for a consensual approval of the Pakistan Constitution of 1973. But while Bhutto admitted the NWFP and Balochistan to a NAP-JUI coalition, he refused to negotiate with the provincial governments led by chief minister Ataullah Mengal in Quetta and Mufti Mahmud in Peshawar. Tensions erupted and an armed resistance began to take place.

Surveying the political instability, Bhutto's central government sacked two provincial governments within six months, arrested the two chief ministers, two governors and forty-four MNAs and MPAs, obtained an order from the Supreme Court banning the NAP and charged them all with high treason, to be tried by a specially constituted Hyderabad Tribunal of handpicked judges.

In time, the Baloch nationalist insurgency erupted and sucked the armed forces into the province, pitting the Baloch tribal middle classes against Islamabad. The sporadic fighting between the insurgency and the army started in 1973 with the largest confrontation taking place in September 1974 when around 15,000 Balochs fought the Pakistani Army, Navy and Air Force. Following the successful recovery of the ammunition in the Iraqi embassy, shipped by both Iraq and Soviet Union for the Baluchistan resistance, the Naval Intelligence launched the investigation, and cited that arms were smuggled from the coastal areas of Balochistan. The Navy acted immediately, and jumped in the conflict. Vice-Admiral Patrick Simpson, commander of Southern Naval Command, began to launch the series of operation with also applying the naval blockage.

The Iranian military fearing a spread of the greater Baloch resistance in Iran also aided the Bhutto-sent Pakistan military in brutally putting down the insurrection.[25] After three days of fighting the Baloch tribals were running out of ammunition and so withdrew by 1976. The army had suffered 25 fatalities and around 300 casualties in the fight while the rebels lost 5,000 people as of 1977.^{[citation needed]}

Although major fighting had broken down, ideological schisms caused splinter groups to form and steadily gain momentum. Despite the overthrow of the Bhutto government in 1977 by General Zia-ul-Haque, Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army, calls for secession and widespread civil disobedience remained. The military government then appointed General Rahimuddin Khan as Martial Law Administrator over the Balochistan Province. The provincial military government under the famously authoritarian General Rahimuddin began to act as a separate entity and military regime independent of the central government.^{[citation needed]}

This allowed General Rahimuddin Khan to act as an absolute martial law administrator, unanswerable to the central government. Both General Zia-ul-Haq and General Rahimuddin Khan supported the declaration of a general amnesty in Balochistan to those willing to give up arms. General Rahimuddin then purposefully isolated feudal leaders such as Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and Ataullah Mengal from provincial policy. He also militarily put down all civil disobedience movements, effectively leading to unprecedented social stability within the province. Due to martial law, his reign was the longest in the history of Balochistan (1977–1984).^{[citation needed]}

The 1971 war and the separation of East Pakistan demoralised the nation. With the PPP's assumption of power, democratic socialists and visionaries had authority for the first time in the country's history. Bhutto dismissed the chiefs of thearmy,navy and theair force and ordered house arrest for General Yahya Khan and several of his collaborators. He adopted theHamoodur Rahman Commission's recommendations and authorised large-scale courts-martial of army officers tainted by their role in East Pakistan. To keep the country united Bhutto launched a series of internal intelligence operations to crack down on fissiparous nationalist sentiments and movements in the provinces.

1971 to 1977 was a period of left-wing democracy and the growth of economic nationalisation, covert atomic bomb projects, promotion ofscience,literature,cultural activities and Pakistani nationalism. In 1972 the country's topintelligence services provided an assessment on theIndian nuclear program, concluding that: "India was close to developing a nuclear weapon under its nuclear programme". Chairing a secret seminar in January 1972, which came to be known as "Multan meeting", Bhutto rallied Pakistani scientists to build an atomic bomb for national survival. The atomic bomb project brought together a team of prominent academic scientists and engineers, headed by theoretical physicist Abdus Salam. Salam later won theNobel Prize in Physics for developing the theory for the unification of the weak nuclear and electromagnetic forces.^[137]

ThePPP created the1973 Constitution with the support of Islamists.^[138] The Constitution declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic and Islam the state religion. It also stated that all laws would have to be brought into accordance with the injunctions of Islam as laid down in theQuran andSunnah and that no law repugnant to such injunctions could be enacted.^[139] The 1973 Constitution also created institutions such as theShariat Court and theCouncil of Islamic Ideology to channel and interpret the application of Islam to the law.^[140]

In 1973 a serious nationalist rebellion took place inBalochistan province, which was harshly suppressed; the Shah of Iran purportedly assisted with air support in order to prevent the conflict from spilling over intoIranian Balochistan. Bhutto's government carried out major reforms such as the re-designing of the country's infrastructure, the establishment of theJoint Chiefs of Staff Committee and the reorganisation of the military. Steps were taken to encourage the expansion of the country's economic and human infrastructure, starting with the agriculture,land reforms,industrialisation and the expansion of thehigher education system throughout the country. Bhutto's efforts undermined and dismantled the private-sector and conservative approach to political power in the country's political setup. In 1974 Bhutto succumbed to increasing pressure from religious parties and encouraged Parliament to declare adherents of Ahmadiyya to be non-Muslims.

Relations with the United States deteriorated as Pakistan normalised relations with the Soviet Union, the Eastern Bloc, North Korea, China, and the Arab world. With Soviet technical assistance the country's first steel mill was established in Karachi, which proved to be a crucial step in industrialising the economy. Alarmed by India's surprisenuclear test in 1974, Bhutto accelerated Pakistan's atomic bomb project.^[141] This crash project led to a secret sub-critical testings,Kirana-I andTest Kahuta, in 1983. Relations with India soured and Bhutto sponsored aggressive measures against India at the United Nations. These openly targeted the Indian nuclear programme.

From 1976 to 1977, Bhutto was in diplomatic conflict with the United States, which worked covertly to damage the credibility of Bhutto in Pakistan. Bhutto, with his scientist colleague Aziz Ahmed, thwarted US attempts to infiltrate the atomic bomb programme. In 1976, during a secret mission,Henry Kissinger threatened Bhutto and his colleagues. In response Bhutto aggressively campaigned for efforts to speed up the atomic project.

In early 1976 Bhutto's socialist alliance collapsed, forcing his left-wing allies to form analliance with right-wing conservatives and Islamists to challenge the power of the PPP. The Islamists started a Nizam-e-Mustafa movement^[142] which demanded the establishment of an Islamic state in the country and the removal of immorality from society. In an effort to meet the demands of Islamists Bhutto banned the drinking and selling of wine by Muslims, nightclubs and horse racing.^[143] In 1977 general elections were held in which the Peoples Party were victorious. This was challenged by the opposition, which accused Bhutto of rigging the election process. There were protests against Bhutto and public disorder, causing Chief of the Army Staff GeneralMuhammad Zia-ul-Haq to take power in abloodless coup. Following this Bhutto and his leftist colleagues were dragged into a two-year-long political trial in the Supreme Court. Bhutto was executed in 1979 after being convicted of authorising the murder of a political opponent in a controversial 4–3 split decision by the Supreme Court.

This period of military rule, lasting from 1977 to 1988, is often regarded as a period of persecution and the growth of state-sponsoredreligious conservatism. Zia-ul-Haq committed himself to establishing an Islamic state and enforcingsharia law.^[143] He established separateshariat judicial courts^[144] and court benches^[145][146] to judge legal cases using Islamic doctrine.^[147] New criminal offences of adultery, fornication and types of blasphemy, and new punishments of whipping, amputation, and stoning to death, were added to Pakistani law.Interest payments for bank accounts were replaced by "profit and loss" payments.Zakat charitable donations became a 2.5% annual tax. School textbooks and libraries were overhauled to remove un-Islamic material.^[148] Offices, schools and factories were required to offer prayer space.^[149] Zia bolstered the influence of the Islamic clergy and the Islamic parties,^[147] whilst conservative scholars became fixtures on television.^[149] Thousands of activists from the Jamaat-e-Islami party were appointed to government posts to ensure the continuation of his agenda after his death.^{[143][147][150][151]} Conservative Islamic scholars were appointed to the Council of Islamic Ideology.^[145] Separate electorates forHindus andChristians were established in 1985 even though Christian and Hindu leaders complained that they felt excluded from the county's political process.^[152] Zia's state-sponsored Islamization increased sectarian divisions in Pakistan betweenSunnis andShias due to his anti-Shia policies^[153] and also betweenDeobandis andBarelvis.^[154] Zia-ul-Haq forged a strong alliance between the military and Deobandi institutions.^[155] Possible motivations for the Islamization programme included Zia's personal piety (most accounts agree that he came from a religious family),^[156] his desire to gain political allies, to "fulfill Pakistan'sraison d'être" as a Muslim state, or the political need to legitimise what was seen by some Pakistanis as his "repressive, un-representative martial law regime".^[157]

President Zia's long eleven-year rule featured the country's first successfultechnocracy. It also featured the tug of war betweenfar-leftist forces in direct competition with populistfar-right circles. President Zia installed many high-profile military officers in civilian posts, ranging from central to provisional governments. Gradually the influence of socialism in public policies was dismantled. Instead a new system of capitalism was revived with the introduction of corporatisation and the Islamization of the economy. Thepopulist movement against Bhutto scattered, with far right-wing conservatives allying with General Zia's government and encouraging the military government to crack down on pro-Soviet left-wing elements. The left-wing alliance, led byBenazir Bhutto, was brutalised by Zia who took aggressive measures against the movement. Further secessionist uprisings in Balochistan were put down successfully by the provincial governor, GeneralRahimuddin Khan. In 1984, Zia held areferendum asking for support for his religious programme; he received overwhelming support.

After Zia assumed power, Pakistan's relations with the Soviet Union deteriorated and Zia strove for strong relations with the United States. After the Soviet Union'sintervention in Afghanistan PresidentRonald Reagan immediately moved to help Zia supply and finance ananti-Soviet insurgency. Zia's military administration effectively handled national security matters and managed multibillion-dollars of aid from the United States. Millions of Afghan refugees poured into the country, fleeing the Soviet occupation and atrocities. Some estimate that the Soviet troops killed up to 2 million Afghans^[158] and raped many Afghan women.^[159] It was the largest refugee population in the world at the time,^[160] which had a heavy impact on Pakistan. Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province became a base for the anti-Soviet Afghan fighters, with the province's influentialDeobandiulama playing a significant role in encouraging and organising thejihad against the Soviet forces.^[161] In retaliation the Afghan secret police carried out a large number of terrorist operations against Pakistan, which also suffered from an influx of illegal weapons and drugs from Afghanistan. Responding to the terrorism, Zia used "counter-terrorism" tactics and allowed the religiously far-right parties to send thousands of young students from clerical schools to participate in the Afghanjihad against the Soviet Union.

Problems with India arose when Indiaattacked and took the Siachen glacier, prompting Pakistan to strike back. This led the Indian Army to carry out amilitary exercise which mustered up to 400,000 troops nearsouthern Pakistan. Facing an indirect war with theSoviet Union in the west, General Zia usedcricket diplomacy to lessen the tensions with India. He also reportedly threatened India by saying to Rajiv Gandhi "If your forces cross our border an inch... We are going to annihilate your (cities)...".^[162]

Under pressure from President Reagan, General Zia finally lifted martial law in 1985, holding non-partisan elections and handpickingMuhammad Khan Junejo to be the new prime minister. Junejo in turn extended Zia's term as Chief of Army Staff until 1990. Junejo gradually fell out with Zia as his administrative independence grew; for instance, Junejo signed the Geneva Accord, which Zia disapproved of. A controversy loomed after alarge-scale blast at a munitions dump, with Prime minister Junejo vowing to bring to justice those responsible for the significant damage caused and implicating several senior generals. In return General Zia dismissed the Junejo government on several charges in May 1988 and called for elections in November 1988. Before the elections could take place General Zia died in amysterious plane crash on 17 August 1988. According to Shajeel Zaidi a million people attended Zia ul Haq's funeral because he had given them what they wanted: more religion.^[163] A PEW opinion poll found that 84% of Pakistanis favoured makingsharia the law of the land.^[164] Conversely, towards the end of Zia's regime, there was a popular wave of cultural change in the country.^[165] Despite Zia's tough rhetoric against theWestern culture and music, undergroundrock music jolted the country and revived the cultural counter-attack on theIndian film industry.^[165]

Democracy returned again in 1988 with general elections which were held after President Zia-ul-Haq's death. The elections marked the return of the Peoples Party to power. Their leader, Benazir Bhutto, became the first female prime minister of Pakistan as well as the first female head of government in a Muslim-majority country. This period, lasting until 1999, introduced competitive two-party democracy to the country. It featured a fierce competition betweencentre-right conservatives led byNawaz Sharif andcentre-left socialists led by Benazir Bhutto. Thefar-left and thefar-right disappeared from the political arena with thefall of global communism and the United States lessening its interests in Pakistan.

Prime Minister Bhutto presided over the country during the penultimate period of theCold war, and cemented pro-Western policies due to a common distrust of communism. Her government observed thetroop evacuation of the Soviet Union from neighbouring Afghanistan. Soon after the evacuation the alliance with the US came to an end when Pakistan's atomic bomb project was revealed to the world, leading to the imposition ofeconomic sanctions by the United States. In 1989, Bhutto ordered a military intervention in Afghanistan, which failed, leading her to dismiss the directors of the intelligence services. With US aid she imposed theSeventh Five-Year Plan to restore and centralise the national economy. Nonetheless, the economic situation worsened when the state currency lost a currency war with India. The country entered aperiod of stagflation, andher government was dismissed by the conservative president,Ghulam Ishaq Khan.

The1990 general election results allowed the right-wing conservative alliance theIslamic Democratic Alliance (IDA) led by Nawaz Sharif to form a government under a democratic system for the first time. Attempting to end stagflation Sharif launched a program of privatisation andeconomic liberalisation. His government adopted a policy of ambiguity regarding atomic bomb programs. Sharif intervened in the Gulf War in 1991, and ordered anoperation against theliberal forces in Karachi in 1992. Institutional problems arose with president Ishaq, who attempted to dismiss Sharif on the same charges he had used against Benazir Bhutto. Through a Supreme Court judgement Sharif was restored and together with Bhutto ousted Khan from the presidency. Weeks later Sharif was forced to relinquish office by the military leadership.

As a result of the1993 general elections Benazir Bhutto secured a plurality andformed a government after hand-picking a president. She approved the appointments of all four four-star chiefs of staff:Mansurul Haq of the navy;Abbas Khattak of the air force;Abdul Waheed of the army; andFarooq Feroze Khan chairman of the joint chiefs. She oversaw a tough stance to bring political stability, which, with her fiery rhetoric, earned her the nickname "Iron Lady" from her rivals. Proponents of social democracy and national pride were supported, while the nationalisation and centralisation of the economy continued after the Eighth Five-Year Plan was enacted to end stagflation. Her foreign policy made an effort to balance relations with Iran, the United States, the European Union and the socialist states.

Pakistan's intelligence agency, theInter-Services Intelligence (ISI), became involved in supporting Muslims around the world. ISI's Director-GeneralJaved Nasir later confessed that despite the UN arms embargo on Bosnia the ISIairlifted anti-tank weapons and missiles to the Bosnianmujahideen which turned the tide in favour of Bosnian Muslims and forced the Serbs to lift the siege of Sarajevo.^{[166][167][168]} Under Nasir's leadership theISI was also involved in supporting Chinese Muslims inXinjiang Province, rebel Muslim groups in thePhilippines, and some religious groups inCentral Asia.^[167] Pakistan was one of only three countries which recognised theTaliban government and MullahMohammed Omar as the legitimate ruler ofAfghanistan.^[169] Benazir Bhutto continued her pressure on India, pushing India on to take defensive positions on its nuclear programme. Bhutto's clandestine initiatives modernised and expanded the atomic bomb programme after initiatingmissile system programs. In 1994 she successfully approached France for the transfer ofAir-independent propulsion technology.

Focusing on cultural development, her policies resulted in growth in the rock and pop music industry, and the film industry made a comeback after introducing new talent. She exercised tough policies to ban Indian media in the country, while promoting the television industry to produce dramas, films, artistic programs and music. Public anxiety about the weakness of Pakistani education led to large-scale federal support for science education and research by both Bhutto and Sharif. Despite her tough policies, the popularity of Benazir Bhutto waned after her husband allegedly became involved in the controversial death ofMurtaza Bhutto. Many public figures and officials suspected Benazir Bhutto's involvement in the murder, although there was no proof. In 1996, seven weeks after this incident, Benazir Bhutto's government was dismissed by her own hand-picked president on charges of Murtaza Bhutto's death.

The 1997 election resulted in conservatives receiving a large majority of the vote and winning enough seats in parliament to change the constitution to eliminate the checks and balances that restrained the prime minister's power. Institutional challenges to authority of the new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, were led by the civilian PresidentFarooq Leghari,Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee GeneralJehangir Karamat,Chief of Naval Staff AdmiralFasih Bokharie, andChief JusticeSajjad Ali Shah. These were countered and all four were forced to resign, Chief Justice Shah doing so after the Supreme Court was stormed by Sharif partisans.^[170]

Problems with India further escalated in 1998, when television reported Indian nuclear explosions, codenamedOperation Shakti. When this news reached Pakistan, a shocked Sharif called a Defence Committee of the Cabinet meeting in Islamabad and vowed that "she [Pakistan] would give a suitable reply to the Indians...". After reviewing the effects of the tests for roughly two weeks Sharif ordered thePakistan Atomic Energy Commission to perform a series of nuclear tests in the remote area of the Chagai Hills. The military forces in the country were mobilised at war-readiness on the Indian border.

Internationally condemned, but extremely popular at home, Sharif took steps to control the economy. Sharif responded fiercely to international criticism and defused the pressure by attacking India for nuclear proliferation and the US for the atomic bombing of Japan:

The World, instead of putting pressure on [India]... not to take the destructive road... imposed all kinds of sanctions on [Pakistan] for no fault of her...! If Japan had its own nuclear capability...[the cities of]...Hiroshima and Nagasaki would not have suffered atomic destruction at the hands of the... United States

Under Sharif's leadership, Pakistan became the seventh declared nuclear-weapon state, the first in the Muslim world. The conservative government also adopted environmental policies after establishing thePakistan Environmental Protection Agency. Sharif continued Bhutto's cultural policies, though he did allow access toIndian media.

The next year theKargil war, by Pakistan-backed Kashmiri militants, threatened to escalate to a full-scale war^[172] and increased fears of a nuclear war in South Asia. Internationally condemned, the Kargil war was followed by theAtlantique Incident, which came on a bad juncture for the Prime minister Sharif who no longer had broad public support for his government.

On 12 October 1999 Prime Minister Sharif's attempt to dismiss GeneralPervez Musharraf from the posts of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Chief of Army Staff failed after the military leadership refused to accept the appointment of ISI Director Lieutenant-GeneralZiauddin Butt his replacement.^[173] Sharif ordered Jinnah International Airport to be sealed to prevent the landing of a PIA flight carrying General Musharraf, which then circled the skies over Karachi for several hours. Acounter coup was initiated and the senior commanders of the military leadership ousted Sharif's government and took over the airport. The flight landed with only a few minutes of fuel to spare.^[174] The Military Police seized the Prime Minister's Secretariat and deposed Sharif, Ziauddin Butt and the cabinet staffers who took part in this assumed conspiracy, placing them in the infamous Adiala Jail. A quick trial was held in the Supreme Court which gave Sharif a life sentence, with his assets being frozen based on a corruption scandal. He came close to receiving the death sentence based on the hijacking case.^[175] The news of Sharif's dismissal made headlines all over the world and under pressure from US President Bill Clinton and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia Musharraf agreed to spare Sharif's life. Exiled to Saudi Arabia, Sharif was forced to be out of politics for nearly ten years.

The presidency of Musharraf featured the arrival ofliberal forces in national power for the first time in the history of Pakistan.^[176] Early initiatives were taken towards the continuation of economic liberalisation, privatisation and freedom of the media in 1999.^[177] TheCitibank executive,Shaukat Aziz, returned to the country to take control of the economy.^[178] In 2000 the government issued a nationwide amnesty to the political workers of liberal parties, sidelining the conservatives and leftists in the country.^[179][180] Intending the policy to create a counter-cultural attack on India, Musharraf personally signed and issued hundreds of licenses to the private sector to open new media outlets, free from government influence. On 12 May 2000 the Supreme Court ordered the Government to hold general elections by 12 October 2002. Ties with the United States were renewed by Musharraf who endorsed theAmerican invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.^[181] Confrontation with India continued over Kashmir, which led to a serious military standoff in 2002 after India alleged Pakistan-backedKashmiri insurgents carried out the2001 Indian Parliament attack.^[182]

Attempting to legitimise his presidency^[183] Musharraf held a controversial referendum in 2002,^[184] which allowed the extension of his presidential term to five years.^[185] TheLFO Order No. 2002 was issued by Musharraf in August 2001, which established the constitutional basis for his continuance in office.^[186] The 2002 general elections resulted in the liberals, theMuttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), theThird Way centrists and thePakistan Muslim League (Q), winning the majority in parliament and forming a government. Disagreement over Musharraf's attempt to extend his term effectively paralysed parliament for over a year. The Musharraf-backed liberals eventually mustered the two-thirds majority required to pass the17th Amendment to theConstitution of Pakistan. This retroactively legitimised Musharraf's 1999 actions and many of his subsequent decrees as well as extending his term as president. In a vote of confidence in January 2004, Musharraf won 658 out of 1,170 votes in theelectoral college, and was elected president.^[187] Soon after Musharraf increased the role of Shaukat Aziz in parliament and helped him to secure nomination for the office of Prime Minister.

Shaukat Aziz became prime minister in 2004. His government achieved positive results on the economic front, but his proposed social reforms were met with resistance. The far-right Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal mobilised in fierce opposition to Musharraf and Aziz and their support for the US intervention in Afghanistan.^[188][189] Over two years Musharraf and Aziz survived several assassination attempts byal-Qaeda, including at least two where they had inside information from a member of the military.^[179] On foreign fronts allegations of nuclear proliferation damaged Musharraf and Aziz's credibility. Repression and subjugation intribal areas of Pakistan led toheavy fighting in Warsk with 400 al-Qaeda operatives in March 2004. This new conflict caused the government to sign a truce with the Taliban on 5 September 2006 but sectarian violence continued.

In 2007 Sharif made a daring attempt to return from exile but was refrained from landing at Islamabad Airport.^[190] This did not deter another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, from returning on 18 October 2007 after an eight-year exile in Dubai and London to prepare for the 2008 parliamentary elections.^[191][192] While leading a massive rally of supporters, two suicide attacks were carried out in an attempt to assassinate her. She escaped unharmed but there were 136 dead and at least 450 people were injured.^[193]

With Aziz completing his term, the liberal alliance now led by Musharraf was further weakened after General Musharraf proclaimed a state of emergency and sacked the Chief JusticeIftikhar Chaudhry along with the other 14 judges of the Supreme Court, on 3 November 2007.^{[176][194][195]} The political situation became more chaotic when lawyers launched a protest against this action and were arrested. All private media channels including foreign channels were banned.^[196] Domestic crime and violence increased while Musharraf attempted to contain the political pressure. Stepping down from the military, he was sworn in for a second presidential term on 28 November 2007.^[197][198]

Popular support for Musharraf declined when Nawaz Sharif successfully made a second attempt to return from exile, this time accompanied by hisyounger brother and hisdaughter. Hundreds of their supporters were detained before the pair arrived atIqbal Terminal on 25 November 2007.^[199][200] Nawaz Sharif filed his nomination papers for two seats in the forthcoming elections whilst Benazir Bhutto filed for three seats including one of the reserved seats for women.^[201] Departing an election rally in Rawalpindi on 27 December 2007, Benazir Bhutto wasassassinated by a gunman who shot her in the neck and set off a bomb.^{[202][203][204]} The exact sequence of the events and cause of death became points of political debate and controversy. Early reports indicated that Bhutto was hit byshrapnel or gunshots,^[205] but the Pakistani Interior ministry maintained that her death was due from a skull fracture sustained when the explosive waves threw her against the sunroof of her vehicle.^[206] The issue remains controversial and further investigations were conducted by the UK police. The Election Commission announced that due to the assassination^[207] the elections, which had been scheduled for 8 January 2008, would take place on 18 February.^[208]

The 2008 general elections marked the return of the leftists.^[209][210] The left oriented PPP and conservativePML, won a majority of the seats and formed a coalition government; the liberal alliance had faded.Yousaf Raza Gillani of the PPP became Prime Minister and consolidated his power after ending a policy deadlock in order to lead themovement to impeach the president on 7 August 2008. Before restoring the deposed judiciary, Gillani and his leftist alliance leveled accusations against Musharraf of weakening Pakistan's unity, violating its constitution and creating an economic impasse.^[211] Gillani's strategy succeeded when Pervez Musharraf announced his resignation in an address to the nation, ending his nine-year-long reign on 18 August 2008.^[212]

Prime Minister Gilani headed a collective government with the winning parties from each of the four provinces. Pakistan's political structure was changed to replace the semi-presidential system into a parliamentary democracy. Parliament unanimously passed the18th amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, which implemented this. It turns the President of Pakistan into a ceremonial head of state and transfers the authoritarian and executive powers to the Prime Minister.^[213] In 2009–11, Gillani, under pressure from the public and co-operating with the United States, ordered the armed forces to launch military campaigns against Taliban forces in the north-west of Pakistan. These quelled the Taliban militias in the north-west, but terrorist attacks continued elsewhere. The country's media was further liberalised, and with the banning of Indian media channels Pakistani music, art and cultural activities were promoted at the national level.

In 2010 and 2011 Pakistani-American relations worsened after aCIA contractor killed two civilians in Lahore and the United States killedOsama bin Laden at his home less than a mile from thePakistan Military Academy. Strong US criticism was made against Pakistan forallegedly supporting bin Laden while Gillani called on his government to review its foreign policy. In 2011 steps were taken by Gillani to block all majorNATO supply lines after aborder skirmish between NATO and Pakistan. Relations with Russia improved in 2012, following a secret trip by the foreign ministerHina Rabbani Khar.^[214] Following repeated delays by Gillani in following Supreme Court orders to probe corruption allegations he was charged with contempt of court and ousted on 26 April 2012. He was succeeded byPervez Ashraf.^[215][216]

After the parliament completed its term, a first for Pakistan, elections held on 11 May 2013 changed the country's political landscape when the conservativePakistan Muslim League (N) achieved a near supermajority in the parliament.^[217][218]Nawaz Sharif became prime minister on May 28.^[219] In 2015, theChina-Pakistan Economic Corridor was initiated. In 2017, the Panama Papers case resulted in the disqualification of Sharif by verdict of theSupreme Court.Shahid Khaqan Abbasi becamePrime Minister afterwards^[220] until mid 2018. The PML-N government was dissolved after completion of the parliamentary term.

General elections were held in 2018 which saw the coming ofPTI for the first time in the government.Imran Khan was elected Prime Minister^[221] withArif Alvi, Khan's close ally, as president.^[222]The Federally Administered Tribal Areas were merged with the neighbouringKhyber Pakhtunkhwa province in 2018.

DuringKhan's tenure several new policies were implemented including strict austerity measures,^[223] promises to uproot corruption,^[224] increased tax collection and a rise in social welfare programs.^[225]Khan's government oversaw a rapid V-shaped recovery ofPakistan's economy which grew significantly between the years 2018 and 2022.^[226][227]

In 2020, theCOVID-19 pandemic spread across the country.^[228] However, theImran Khan-led government managed to keep the situation under control.^{[229][230][231]} In April 2022, Khan became the country's first prime minister to beremoved from office through a no-confidence motion in Parliament.^[232] On 11 April 2022, Pakistan's parliament electedShehbaz Sharif, head of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party and the younger brother of Nawaz Sharif, as the country's new prime minister to succeed Imran Khan.^[233] Khan's removal sparkedmajor political instability across Pakistan,^[234] as his party, thePTI demandedsnap elections.^[235] As part of the constitutional crises, around 123National Assembly members loyal to Khan resigned.^[236] Khan himself survivedan assassination attempt, though he suffered injuries after the attempt, while Khan blamed theincumbent government for the attack.^[237][238]Arif Alvi remained the only PTI officeholder in a high government position.^[239] Imran Khan wasarrested on 9 May 2023 in a controversial move byparamilitary forces,^[240] and has remained imprisoned since August 2023, with major protests still ongoing for his release.^[241][242] Independentjournalism and podcasting on platforms such asYouTube have grown since the Pandemic.^[243]

After completing a year and half asprime minister,Shehbaz Sharif handed over the office toAnwar-ul-Haq Kakar who took over as the 8thcaretaker prime minister of Pakistan on 14 August 2023 and oversaw new elections.^{[244][245][246]} In February 2024, Former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and its allies became the largest group with 93 seats after the2024 general elections. However, PTI was forced to name its candidates as independents due to issues with theECP.^[247] In March 2024, the parliament elected Shehbaz Sharif as the new prime minister for a second term. He formed a coalition between his Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PMLN) party and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). The PTI remained in opposition and choseOmar Ayub Khan as opposition head.^[248][249]

Major political and financial instability is still ongoing,^[250] as PTI lawyers and barristers (registered under theSunni Ittehad Council due to registration complications) have challenged the February 2024 elections as rigged and fraudulent, further cases emerged including cases involving Imran Khan such as theIddat case andLettergate, as well as a case overPakistan's parliamentary reserve seats.^[251] All three of the aforementioned cases were won Imran Khan and his party. Several cases were overseen by 29thChief Justice,Qazi Faez Isa. Financial instability is also ongoing, as since 2022, Pakistan's economy and the value of thePakistani Rupee has plummeted with constant loans required from theIMF.^[252][253] Raging criticism is also ongoing of Pakistan'sMilitary dubbed 'The Establishment', which has been criticized for being involved in Pakistani politics (againstImran Khan), cracking down on civilians and rigging the February 2024 elections.^{[254][255][256][257]} In March 2024,Asif Ali Zardari,Pakistan Peoples Party's co-chairperson and the widower of Pakistan's assassinated first female leader,Benazir Bhutto, was voted into the largely ceremonial post ofPakistan's president for second time in a vote by parliament and regional assemblies.^[258]

• History of Pakistan
• List of wars involving Pakistan
• Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts
• Project 706

• Balcerowicz, Piotr, and Agnieszka Kuszewska.Kashmir in India and Pakistan Policies (Taylor & Francis, 2022).
• Briskey, Mark. "The Foundations of Pakistan's Strategic Culture: Fears of an Irredentist India, Muslim Identity, Martial Race, and Political Realism."Journal of Advanced Military Studies 13.1 (2022): 130–152.online
• Burki, Shahid Javed.Pakistan: Fifty Years of Nationhood (3rd ed. 1999)
• Choudhury, G.W.India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the major powers: politics of a divided subcontinent (1975), by a Pakistani scholar; covers 1946 to 1974.
• Cloughley, Brian.A history of the Pakistan army: wars and insurrections (2016).
• Cohen, Stephen P. (2004).The idea of Pakistan. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution.ISBN 978-0815715023.
• Dixit, J. N.India-Pakistan in War & Peace (2002).
• Jaffrelot, Christophe (2004).A history of Pakistan and its origins. London: Anthem Press.ISBN 978-1843311492.
• Lyon, Peter.Conflict between India and Pakistan: An Encyclopedia (2008).
• Mohan, Surinder.Complex Rivalry: The Dynamics of India-Pakistan Conflict (University of Michigan Press, 2022).
• Pande, Aparna.Explaining Pakistan's foreign policy: escaping India (Routledge, 2011).
• Qureshi, Ishtiaq Husain (1967).A Short history of Pakistan. Karachi: University of Karachi.
• Sattar, Abdul.Pakistan's Foreign Policy, 1947–2012: A Concise History (3rd ed. Oxford UP, 2013).^{[ISBN missing]}online 2nd 2009 edition
• Sisson, Richard, and Leo E. Rose, eds.War and Secession: Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh (1991)
• Talbot, Ian.Pakistan: A Modern History (2022)ISBN 0230623042.
• Ziring, Lawrence (1997).Pakistan in the twentieth century: a political history. Karachi; New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0195778168.

• Post-independence history of Pakistan

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