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Pakistan
The "Silent Revolution": A Year of Political Struggle
In 1993 a protracted power struggle between Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif and President Ishaq Khan played out as Pakistan's two leading
politicians maneuvered each other out of power. This period of
behind-the-scenes struggle was described by a Pakistani daily
as a "Silent Revolution" and was watched with some concern by
the international community, which feared that Pakistan could
once again fall under military rule.
On April 18, 1993, the power struggle seemed to be resolved when
President Ishaq Khan, exercising the extraordinary constitutional
powers afforded the president by the Eighth Amendment, dismissed
the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. For the second
time, Ishaq Khan had invoked the Eighth Amendment to bring down
an elected government. The charges of corruption and mismanagement
of the economy that he leveled against Nawaz Sharif were almost
identical to those he had earlier brought against Benazir in 1990.
President Ishaq Khan appointed Balakh Sher Mazari, described by
the New York Times as heading "a tribal clan of landowners,"
as caretaker prime minister and announced a new timetable for
elections.
On May 26, 1993, the Supreme Court voted that Ishaq Khan's dissolution
of the National Assembly and his dismissal of the prime minister
were unconstitutional. The Supreme Court's action was a sharp
rebuke of Ishaq Khan's heavy-handed exercise of presidential powers
and was widely hailed as a victory for the advocates of democratization.
Yet, although the Supreme Court was able to reinstate the Nawaz
Sharif government, the status quo ante was not restored, and the
struggle between the president and the prime minister continued
unabated, making the pursuit of regular government workings impossible.
Noting the mounting impatience of the Pakistani military with
the endless machinations of the country's politicians, the United
States and the European Community communicated their concern,
warning against a military takeover.
The continuing political crisis in Pakistan came to an abrupt
halt when the prime minister and president both resigned after
two weeks of intense negotiations among the Nawaz Sharif government,
Benazir, and the army. The resolution of the crisis was unique
because for the first time in the nation's history a government
had voluntarily stepped down in order to avoid a possible military
intervention. Interestingly, the negotiations had been mediated
by General Waheed, the chief of the army staff. The resultant
agreement and its implementation followed strict constitutional
procedure. Ishaq Khan was replaced by the chairman of the Senate,
Wasim Sajjad, who functioned as acting president until the elections.
More important, Moeen Qureshi, a former civil servant and senior
World Bank (see Glossary) official, agreed to serve as caretaker
prime minister. Qureshi, a Pakistani national, had left the World
Bank in 1992, obtained permanent residence status in the United
States, and established his own company, Emerging Markets Corporation.
Data as of April 1994
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