Hafsah Ismail
BB.11.48
Musharraf & Zardari’s Regime in
Pakistan
Introduction
 Musharraf’s era started from 12th of October, 1999 and ended on 18th of
August, 2008
 We will discuss his implementation of Martial Law and his important reforms and
its aftermaths
Musharraf’s Takeover
 12th of October, 1999
 Imposing a Martial Law is treason and violation of Article 6 of 1973’s Constitution
of Pakistan
Presidency
 The presidency of Pervez Musharraf helped bring the liberal forces at the
national level for the first time in the history of Pakistan
 His cultural policies liberalized the Pakistan's media and issued many television
licenses to private sector to open television centers and media houses
Support for War on Terrorism
 Musharraf allied with the United States against the Afghan mujahedeen after
the September 11 attacks
 He was widely criticized by Middle Eastern leaders, but was met with praise by
American and Jewish leadership
Relations with India
Relations with Saudi Arabia
Nuclear scandals
 Since September, 2001 until his resignation in 2007 from the army, his presidency
suffered more highly controversial atomic scandals than any other government
in the history of the country
 On October, 2001, Musharraf authorized a sting operation led by FIA to arrest
two physicists Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood and Chaudhary Abdul Majeed due
to their supposed connection with Taliban after they secretly visited Talibans in
2000
 Later, it was revealed that the accused scientists could not build such designs
of the bomb and lacked scientific knowledge of such weapons
 The credibility of these two scientists was put in great doubts about their role in
country's atomic bomb program
Nuclear scandals
 Another widely controversial scandal during Musharraf's presidency arose as a
consequence of the disclosure of atomic proliferation by Dr. Abdul Qadeer
Khan
 According to Zahid Malik, Musharraf and the military establishment at that time
exercised rough actions against Qadeer Khan to prove the loyalty of Pakistan
to the United States and Western world
 After Musharraf's resignation, Qadeer Khan was finally released from house
arrest by the executive order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
Domestic politics
 In December, 2003 Musharraf made a deal with MMA, a six-member temporary
union of far-right Islamic parties, agreeing to leave the army by 31st of
December, 2004
 In late 2004, Musharraf went back on his agreement with the MMA and proMusharraf legislators in the Parliament passed a bill allowing Musharraf to keep
both offices
 On 1st of January, 2004 Musharraf had won a confidence vote in the Electoral
College of Pakistan, consisting of both houses of Parliament and the four
provincial assemblies
Women's rights
 The National Assembly voted in favor of the ‘Women's Protection Bill’ on 15th of
November, 2006 and the Senate approved it on 23rd of November, 2006
 However, the Women's Protection bill has been criticized heavily by many for
paying continued lip service and failing to address the actual problem by its
roots
Al Hilal
BB.11.63
Major Reforms and Achievements of Musharraf
 Nine world class engineering universities were developed
 In 1999-2000 there were 31 Public Universities. In 2005-2006 there were 49 Public
Universities
 Literacy rate in Pakistan increased from 45% (in 2002) to 53% (in 2005).
Education received 4% of GDP and English was introduced as a compulsory
subject from grade 1
 In total, 99,319 educational institutions increased in Musharraf’s era
 There were more than 5,000 Pakistanis doing PhDs in foreign countries on
scholarships in Musharraf’s era. 300 Pakistanis received PhD degrees every year,
whereas in the year 1999 this number was just 20
Major Reforms and Achievements of Musharraf
 Major Industrial estates were developed under Musharraf’s vision: M3 industrial,
Sundar industrial estate, Chakri industrial, etc
 According to an IMF report, Pakistan was 3rd in banking profitability in the world
 According to the Economic Survey of 2005, poverty in Pakistan in 2001 was
34.46%. And after 4 years of Musharraf, poverty in 2005 was reduced to 23.9%
 The Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) sector of Pakistan had attracted over PRs.
70 billion investments during the five years (2001-2006) as a result of liberal and
encouraging policies of the government
 The economy was the third fastest growing economy after China and India
Major Reforms and Achievements of Musharraf
 Five dams were built
 Gwadar, an advanced sea port, was developed
 The industrial sector registered 26 percent growth
 A historic 100% increase in tax collection
Khadija Zubair
BB.11.51
Fall from the presidency
 By August, 2007 polls showed 64% of Pakistanis did not want another Musharraf
term
 Controversies involving the atomic issues, Lal Masjid incident, unsuccessful
operation in West, suspension of famed Chief Justice, and widely circulated
criticisms from rivals, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif had brutalized the
personal image of Musharraf in public and political circles
 With Shaukat Aziz departing from the office of Prime Minister Musharraf could
not have sustained his presidency any longer
Corruption issues
 When Musharraf came to power in 1999, he claimed that the corruption in the
government bureaucracy would be cleaned up
 According to a survey conducted by Transparency International Pakistan
ranked in 2001 as the world's 11th most corrupt nation
 In 2007 Pakistan ranked as the 112th most corrupt nation
Suspension and reinstatement of the Chief
Justice
 On March 9, 2007 when the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf,
met the Chief Justice of the Pakistan Supreme Court, Iftikhar Muhammad
Chaudhary
 President Musharraf was stated to have asked the Chief Justice to resign, based
on grounds of alleged misconduct in the presence of Prime Minister Shaukat
Aziz and six other uniform generals
 Justice’s reported refusal resulted in his virtual suspension and thus became
‘non-functional’
 This was the first time that a Chief Justice was made ‘non-functional’
 The presidential reference to the Council spelled out the allegations regarding
the Chief Justice’s abuse of office
Lal Masjid siege
 Lal Masjid had a religious school for women and the Jamia Hafsa madrassa,
which was attached to the mosque
 The mosque was often attended by prominent politicians including prime
ministers, army chiefs, and presidents
 In April 2007, the mosque administration started attacking local businesses
including video shops and massage parlors, because according to the mosque
administration such businesses were not legitimate under their hard lined
version of Islam
 In July 2007, a confrontation occurred when government authorities made a
decision to stop the violence by the madrassa students and sent officers to
arrest the responsible individuals and the administration of the madrassa for
violence against citizens
Lal Masjid siege
 Seven mosques were demolished in Islamabad which were reportedly built
illegally on government's land
 A campaign was started from government's side as well as from Lal Masjid's side
to oppress each other’s stance
 Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and Maulana Abdul Aziz were two brothers who ran the
Lal Masjid and the men's and women's seminaries
 Abdul Rasheed explained his feelings on a call for jihad. ‘The students from
universities and colleges and youths from all walks of life ask why we do not call
for jihad against a repressive regime, but I always say that the time is not ripe.
But when pious lady teachers are punished and arrested for the sake of
prostitutes, a call for jihad is imminent’
Lal Masjid siege
 Aziz urged the authorities and the people concerned to stop dealing in video
CDs, putting up billboards with women's photographs, selling liquor and running
brothels and drug dens in Islamabad
Ali Razzaq
BB.11.46
Return of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz
Sharif
 On 8th of August, 2007 Benazir Bhutto spoke about her secret meeting with
Musharraf on 27th of July, 2007
 Bhutto returned to Pakistan after eight years of exile on October 18, 2007
 Sharif returned to Pakistan on September 2007 and was immediately arrested
and taken into custody at the airport
 He was sent back to Saudi Arabia
 On arrival in Saudi Arabia, Nawaz Sharif was received by Prince Muqrin bin
Abdul-Aziz, the Saudi intelligence chief, who had met Musharraf in Islamabad
the previous day
Resignation from the Military
 On 2nd of October, 2007 Musharraf appointed General Tariq Majid as
Chairman Joint Chiefs Committee and approved General Ashfaq Kayani as
vice chief of the army starting October 8
 When Musharraf resigned from military on 28th of November, 2007 Kayani
became Chief of Army Staff
2007 Presidential Elections
 In a March 2007 interview, Musharraf said that he intended to stay in office for
another five years
 On September 28, 2007 in a 6–3 vote, Judge Rana Bhagwandas's court
removed obstacles to Musharraf's election bid
M Saqib
BB.11.27
2007 state of emergency
 On November 3, 2007 Musharraf declared emergency rule across Pakistan
 He suspended the Constitution, imposed State of Emergency, and fired the
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court again
 In Islamabad, troops entered the Supreme Court building, arrested the judges
and kept them under detention in their homes
 Public protests mounted against Musharraf
2008 general elections
 General elections were held on February 18, 2008 in which the Pakistan
People’s Party (PPP) polled the highest votes and won the most seats
 On March 23, 2008 President Musharraf said an ‘era of democracy’ had begun
in Pakistan and that he had put the country ‘on the track of development and
progress’
 On March 22 the PPP named former parliament speaker Syed Yousaf Raza
Gillani as its candidate for the country's next prime minister
Impeachment movement and
resignation
 On August 7, 2008 the Pakistan People’s Party and the Pakistan Muslim League
(N) agreed to force Musharraf to step down and begin his impeachment
 A charge-sheet had been drafted, and was to be presented to parliament
 On August 18, 2008, Musharraf resigned. On August 19 he defended his nineyear rule in an hour-long speech.
Abdul Haiee
BB.11.14
Caretaker Government
 Soomro was appointed as caretaker prime minister on November 15, 2007
 On November 16 Soomro was sworn in as Prime Minister by President Pervez
Musharraf
 His term ended on March 25, 2008 when Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani was sworn in
as Prime Minister
President of Pakistan
 As required by the constitution, Soomro (in his position as Chairman of the
Senate) automatically became President on August 18, 2008 upon the
resignation of Musharraf
 Asif Ali Zardari was elected President and subsequently sworn in on September
9, 2008 succeeding Soomro
Zardari Regime
 In April 1993, he became one of the 18 cabinet ministers in the caretaker
government that succeeded Nawaz Sharif's first abridged premiership
 After the election, Zardari promised to approve the constitutional provision that
removed the President's power to dismiss Parliament, but public was doubted
that whether he would actually carry out his promise or not
Economic issues
 From 14 to 17th of October, 2008 he was in China to negotiate foreign aid, as
Pakistan faced the possibility of defaulting on its payments
 Due to our decrease in GDP rate, no country was ready to give aid for our
financing needs
 After Saudi Arabia, Britain, China, the United States and the United Arab
Emirates refused to provide any bailout he officially asked the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) for assistance in solving Pakistan's balance of payments
problem on October 22
 Due to conditions of IMF, the government imposed high tariffs rates on
consumer and domestic goods which created extreme economic crisis for our
country
Reduction of Presidential powers
 In late November 2009, Zardari gave Prime Minister Gillani the chairmanship of
the National Command Authority, Pakistan's nuclear arsenal oversight agency
 In December 2009, the Supreme Court ruled that the National Reconciliation
Ordinance amnesty was unconstitutional
Flood of 2010
 Floods began in late July with rain in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and soon submerged
a fifth of Pakistan and affected 20 million people, resulting in one of the nation's
largest natural disaster
 Zardari ignored domestic pressure and began his European tour in Paris on
August 1 meeting French President Sarkozy
 Zardari returned to Pakistan on August 10. He first visited an area affected by
the flooding in Sukkur on August 12
 He cancelled the August 14’s Independence Day celebrations and instead
visited Naushera
Hajj corruption scandal
 Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) asked the customs authorities to provide
data of luxury vehicles imported with the name of Asif Ali Zardari, President of
Pakistan and Syed Abdul Qadir Gillani, son of former Prime Minister of Pakistan
Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani in connection to Haj Corruption case
 Shah had earlier accused Qadir Gillani in a statement dated December 22,
2010 of receiving a luxury bullet-proof Toyota Land Cruiser from the former Hajj
Director General, Rao Shakeel Ahmed, the principal accused in the scam
Maryam Arif
BB.11.31
Comparison of Musharraf and Zardari’s
regime
 Musharraf’s era was not an ideal but still better than other dictators
 Musharraf started plenty of new projects for the development of Pakistan
 He started tax free industrialization to urge the foreign investors
 His plan worked and a number of multi-national companies were launched in
his era
 Pakistan's GDP growth rate during 2004-5 was 7.48 % while during 2005-6 it was
8.96 % the later was highest since 1980 when the GDP growth rate was 8.526 %
 But there are some negative aspects of Musharraf’s era too
 NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) was one of them
 And this was the only act that Musharraf considered his mistake during his
period
Comparison of Musharraf and Zardari’s
regime
 If Army could kill Akbar Bugti in his era, if operation of Lal Masjid could be held in
his era then why not Kala Bagh Dam be built?
Comparison of Musharraf and Zardari’s
regime
 President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment and SelfGovernance) Order 2009
 China took control of Pakistan’s Gwadar Port located at the mouth of the
Persian Gulf
 Due to corruption PIA, railway and steel mills were completely devastated
 Terrorism increased in Zardari’s regime as compared to Musharraf’s regime
 KSE was awarded as the best performing Asian market
 Zardari’s regime is better than Musharraf’s regime because democracy is
always better than dictatorship
 Moreover it is due to democracy that Zardari’s government completed its five
years
Hasnain
BB.11.40
End of slide show