History of Pakistan

The history of Pakistan (Urdu: تاريخ پاكِستان ‎) encompasses the history of the region constituting modern Pakistan. Prior to independence in 1947, the land that is now Pakistan was ruled in different periods by local kings and numerous imperial powers. The ancient history of the region comprising present-day Pakistan also includes some of the oldest empires of South Asia^[1] and some of its major civilizations.^[2][3][4][5] By the 18th century the land was incorporated into British India. Pakistan's political history began with the birth of the All India Muslim League in 1906 to protect "Muslim interests, amid neglect and under-representation" and to oppose Congress and growing Indian nationalism in return the British Raj would decide to grant local self-rule. On 29 December 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal called for an autonomous new state in "northwestern India for Indian Muslims".^[6] The League rose to popularity in the late 1930s. Muhammad Ali Jinnah espoused the Two Nation Theory and led the League to adopt the Lahore Resolution^[7] of 1940, demanding the formation of independent states in the East and the West of British India. Eventually, a united Pakistan with its wings – West Pakistanand East Pakistan – gained independence from the British, on 14 August 1947. After an intense guerrilla insurgency, followed by war with India, the state of East Pakistan separated at a considerable distance from the rest of Pakistan and became the independent state of Bangladesh in 1971.

The first constituent assembly of Pakistan passed the Objectives Resolution on March 12, 1949. The resolution, proposed by the first Prime MinisterLiaquat Ali Khan, proclaimed that the future constitution of Pakistan would not be modeled entirely on an European pattern, but on the ideology and democratic faith of Islam. The legislative elections in 1954 saw the Awami League coming to power and its leader Huseyn Suhrawardy becoming country's first Bengali Prime minister. Promulgation of Constitution in 1956 leads to Pakistan declaring itself Islamic republic (official name) with the adoption of parliamentary democratic system of government. The constitution transformed the Governor-General of Pakistan into President of Pakistan(as head of state). Subsequently, Iskander Mirza became the first president as well as first Bengali in 1956, but the democratic system was stalled after President Mirza imposed the military coup d'état and appointed Ayub Khan as an enforcer of martial law. Two week later, Ayub Khan ousted President Mirza; his presidency saw an era of internal instability and a second war with India in 1965. Economic grievances and political disenfranchisement inEast Pakistan led to violent political tensions and armed repression, escalating into guerrilla war^[8] followed by the third war with India. Pakistan's defeat in the war ultimately led to the secession of East Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh.^[9]

Democracy again returned which was resumed from 1972 to 1977 under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, until he was varnished by General Zia-ul-Haq, who became the country's third military president. Pakistan's banished-secular policies were replaced by the new Islamic Shariah legal code, which increased religious influences on the civil service and the military. With the death of President Zia-ul-Haq in 1988, the new general elections announced the victory of Benazir Bhutto who was elevated as the country's first female Prime Minister of Pakistan. Over the next decade, she alternated power with Nawaz Sharif, as the country's political and economic situation becoming worsen. Military tensions in the Kargil conflict^[10] with India were followed by a 1999 coup d'état in which General Pervez Musharraf assumed executive powers.

In 2001, Musharraf appointed himself President after the resignation of Rafiq Tarar. After holding the 2002 general elections, Musharraf transformed executive powers to newly elected Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali, who was succeeded in the 2004 by Shaukat Aziz. On 15 November 2007, the State parliament completed its term and a caretaker government was appointed with the former Chairman of The Senate, Muhammad Mian Soomro as Prime Minister. Following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, that resulted in a series of important political developments, her husband Asif Ali Zardari was eventually elected as the new President in 2008.