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Pakistan
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, 1971-77
Bhutto lifted martial law within several months, and after an
"interim constitution" granting him broad powers as president,
a new constitution was promulgated in April 1973 and came into
effect on August 14 of that year, the twenty-sixth anniversary
of the country's independence. This constitution represented a
consensus on three issues: the role of Islam; the sharing of power
between the federal government and the provinces; and the division
of responsibility between the president and the prime minister,
with a greatly strengthened position for the latter. Bhutto stepped
down as president and became prime minister. In order to allay
fears of the smaller provinces concerning domination by Punjab,
the constitution established a bicameral legislature with a Senate,
providing equal provincial representation, and a National Assembly,
allocating seats according to population. Islam was declared the
state religion of Pakistan.
Bhutto had the opportunity to resolve many of Pakistan's political
problems. But although the country finally seemed to be on a democratic
course, Bhutto lost this opportunity because of series of repressive
actions against the political opposition that made it appear he
was working to establish a one-party state. In a final step, he
suddenly called national elections in March 1977, hoping to catch
the opposition unprepared and give his party total control of
the National Assembly. When Bhutto's party overwhelmingly won
the election, the opposition charged voting irregularities and
launched mass disturbances requiring action by the army to restore
law and order. Bhutto was ousted by the military, which again
took control. This action resulted not solely from sheer political
ambition but from the military's belief that the law and order
situation had dangerously deteriorated.
Data as of April 1994
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