In 1999, Pakistan's third military coup was staged by Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf, who stayed in power till 2008. Musharraf's enlightened moderation was a throwback to Ayub's Basic Democracy. During Musharraf's nine years as president there were four prime ministers, all of whom were selected by him.
In February 2008, in Pakistan's first free elections since 1970, Pakistan Peoples Party and its allies came to power. Despite both internal and external problems the current PPP-led coalition government has lasted for over four years, no mean accomplishment for a civilian led government.
While the higher judiciary in Pakistan has an iconic status amongst the middle class and elite, the history of this organ of government and its collaboration over the years with the coercive organs of the state must not be forgotten. In October 1954, Governor General Ghulam Mohammad dissolved the Constituent Assembly primarily because he disagreed with the new Constitution that the Assembly was about to adopt, which would have restricted his powers.
The president of the Constituent Assembly, Maulvi Tamizuddin, appealed to the courts. In 1955 then-Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Muhammad Munir, ruled that the Governor General still retained the power to dissolve the Constituent Assembly. Justice Munir justified Ghulam Muhammad's decision to impose an emergency decree by citing Braxton's maxim "that which is otherwise not lawful is made lawful by necessity." This "doctrine of necessity" was used in subsequent years to validate military coups and amendments to the constitutions by Ayub, Yahya, Zia and Musharraf. The current Supreme Court comprises of many judges who upheld Musharraf's coup and granted him more powers than he requested.
Throughout Pakistan's history, at regular intervals, military coups have been staged. What most analysts agree upon, however, is that the Pakistan army only stages a coup when it believes the coup will be welcomed by the people as it's an army that seeks popular support for its actions in lieu of legitimacy. The last military period came to an end only in 2008 and the current army position prefers behind-the-scenes maneuvering to outright takeover of power. For the last four years the PPP-led civilian government has faced a multi-front assault: from the media, the judiciary, and the opposition along with managing a weak economy, internal threats and external relations.
If corruption were all that mattered, people wouldn't vote for so-called corrupt parties anywhere in the world. If order and discipline were more important people would vote for autocrats, not messy and chaotic democracies. Pakistan's tragedy is not its corrupt politicians or its weak economy or its location but rather a mindset prevalent amongst certain sections of the state and society that has never trusted the people's will.
