History of Pakistan:
The area of Pakistan was one of the
cradles of civilization. Stone-age hunter-gatherers lived on the Potohar
plateau and in the Soan Valley in northern Punjab 300,000 or more years and
years ago. Reveal on the Balochistan plateau represent a more advanced culture
and tradition which grown from 4000 to 2000 BCE. At Kot Diji in the Khairpur
district, a bronze age culture is developed in this time period. These early
civilizations went their peak level in the Indus valley cities, of which
Harappa is the most notable and older one.
In 327 BCE Alexander the Great conquered
with his Macedonian army. After that, Mauryans from India ruled the northern
Punjab region, to be replaced by Bactrian Greeks from Afghanistan and central
Asian tribes. Different religions overcame in turn: Buddhism, Hinduism and,
with Arab annihilation in the eighth century, Islam.
Two main branches emerged under Arab rule,
that of Al- Mansurah and that of Multan. The Ghaznarid sultans obtained supremacy
in Punjab in the 11th century. The upcoming ascendancy of the Moghuls, who was driven
in Central Asia, lasted from 1536 to 1707; their rule stood nominally until
1857. They maintained and governed a sophisticated imperial administration and
left a rich and awesome legacy of forts and walled cities, gardens and
gateways, mosques and tombs.
In
the early seventeenth century European traders arrived on the landmass. Through
the East India Company, nation became the dominant force. once the unsuccessful
rebellion against GB of 1857, nation took direct management. Slowly a national
Muslim identity emerged, championed by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817–89). The All
Republic of India Muslim League was based in 1907.
As
the landmass captive towards independence, it became clear that Hindu and
Muslim interests couldn't be reconciled. The campaign to determine Associate in
Nursing freelance Muslim state came to prominence within the Nineteen Twenties
and 30s. it had been light-emitting diode by the thinker and writer prophet Iqbal
and leader Ali Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Pakistan was created, as seperate Muslim
state, out of the partition of the UK’s Indian Empire, at independence in
August 1947. It originally consisted of 2 elements, West Pakistan (now
Pakistan) and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), separated by one,600 klick of
Indian territory. Partition was followed by war with Republic of India over
Jammu and Kashmir and therefore the mass migration of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs
to settle among the new borders, the upheaval that LED to violence, loss and
death on huge scale. With the arrival of Indian Muslims and departure of
Pakistan’s Hindus and Sikhs, Pakistan became AN virtually entirely Muslim
society. Jinnah is honored with the great name Quaid-i-Azam, or awesome leader,
died in 1948.
In 1956, Pakistan became a federal
republic. It has been under military rule for long periods. Its first Prime
Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, was assassinated in 1951. In 1958, martial law was
declared and political parties abolished. General (later Field Marshal) Ayub
Khan became President in 1960 and allowed a form of guided ‘basic democracy’.
However, failure to win the 1965 war against India and accusations of nepotism
and corruption undermined his position. In the east, the Awami League of Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman voiced the grievances of the Bengali population. Ayub Khan
resigned in 1969 and power was taken over by General Yahya Khan, who in
December 1970 held the first national elections in independent Pakistan.
Mujib and the Awami League won an
electoral majority in Pakistan’s general election on a platform demanding
greater autonomy for East Pakistan. At the same time Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) gained a majority in the West. Despite Mujib’s victory,
he was prevented by the Pakistan authorities from becoming Prime Minister of
the combined state and the Awami League then issued their own plans for a new
constitution for an independent state in the East. As a result of the military
intervention that ensued, civil war broke out in the eastern region in 1971;
the Indian army intervened in support of the Bengalis; Pakistan forces withdrew
and Bangladesh became an independent state. In 1972 Pakistan withdrew from the
Commonwealth but rejoined in 1989.
Under a new constitution introduced in
1973, Bhutto became Prime Minister. He undertook agrarian reform and the
nationalisation of large sections of industry and the financial sector. In July
1977 the army, under General Zia ul-Haq, intervened in the urban unrest. Zia
declared martial law and arrested Bhutto who was convicted, after a
controversial trial, of conspiring to murder a political opponent. Despite
international appeals, he was hanged in April 1979. Zia promised elections
within 90 days, but ruled without them until his death. He assumed the
presidency and embarked on a programme of Islamisation. Martial law and the ban
on political parties were lifted in 1985, Bhutto’s daughter Benazir returned
from exile to lead the PPP and Zia died in a plane crash in August 1988.
Elections in November 1988 brought the PPP
to power in coalition with the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM). However, in
October 1989 the MQM left the coalition and in August 1990 Bhutto was dismissed
by the President Ghulam Ishaque Khan and charged with corruption. The National
Assembly was dissolved and a caretaker leader installed until Islami Jamhoori
Ittehad led by Nawaz Sharif won a decisive election victory in October 1990.
Sharif pursued economic reforms and privatisation and instituted Sharia
(Islamic) law until 1993 when President and Prime Minister resigned under
pressure from the military, making way for fresh elections which brought
Benazir Bhutto back to power by a small majority.
In November 1996, President Sardar Farooq
Khan Leghari, prompted by the army high command and opposition leaders, used
the eighth amendment to the constitution, and dissolved the National Assembly,
bringing down the Bhutto government and alleging corruption, financial
incompetence, and human rights violations. New elections were held in February
1997. The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) – previously the main component of the
Islami Jamhoori Ittehad – won 134 seats in the National Assembly and Sharif
became Prime Minister. Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party retained only 18 seats.
In April 1997, Sharif was able to gain the PPP’s support to achieve the two-
thirds majority necessary to repeal the eighth amendment, ending the
President’s ability to dissolve the National Assembly. He also took over from
the President the power to appoint Supreme Court judges and military
chiefs-of-staff.
In October 1999, Sharif ordered the
dismissal of Army Chief of Staff General Pervez Musharraf, and refused
permission to land for the commercial aircraft in which he was returning to
Karachi (from an official visit to Sri Lanka). The army countermanded the Prime
Minister’s orders and immediately seized power, dismissing the government and
arresting Sharif. Musharraf justified his actions as necessary to restore both
the economy and the deteriorating political situation. Pending the restoration
of democracy, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) suspended
Pakistan from the councils of the Commonwealth.
Kashmir
The dispute with India over Kashmir
escalated sharply in 1999, when militants with Pakistani military support
crossed the Line of Control at Kargil and engaged in major battles with Indian
forces. More than 1,000 people were killed in the fighting. In July 1999,
Pakistan finally agreed to withdraw from Indian-controlled territory, but the
state of tension, which had been heightened by the nuclear testing of 1998
(India had detonated five nuclear devices on 11 and 13 May 1998 and Pakistan
responded with six on 28 and 30 May), persisted.
At the invitation of Indian Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in 2001 President General Pervez Musharraf attended a
summit in India, focusing on their dispute over Kashmir. Although there was no
substantive outcome, this first face-to-face meeting between leaders of the two
countries since 1999 was characterised by a new interest on both sides in
seeking a resolution to this long- standing problem. However, by May 2002 India
had mobilised a vast army along the Line of Control and the two countries were
again on the brink of war.
Tension eased considerably in October 2002
when India reduced its number of troops along the Line of Control; diplomatic
relations were restored in August 2003 and a ceasefire along the Line of
Control was agreed and took effect from 26 November 2003. Peace talks between
India and Pakistan began in 2004, marking a historic advance in relations
between the two countries. The talks led to the restoration of communication
links and a range of confidence-building measures, including co- ordinated
relief efforts in the aftermath of the October 2005 earthquake.
Constitutionally, the Prime Minister
serves as the chief adviser to President of Pakistan on critical matters and
plays an influential role in appointment in each branch of the military
leadership as well as ensuring the control of the military through chairman
joint chiefs. Powers of the Prime Minister have significantly grown with a
delicate system of the check and balance by each branch. The position was
absent during years of 1960–73 and 1977–85 due to imposed martial law. In each
of these periods, the military junta led by the President had the powers of the
Prime Minister.
The incumbent and current holder in this
position is Imran Khan, elected in this capacity after the nationwide general
elections held in August 2018.
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