Martial Laws in Pakistan With Dates and Names
Martial Laws in Pakistan With Dates and Names
Here, you will find how many martial laws in Pakistan are implemented till 2023.
All Martial Laws in Pakistan with a list of Dates and Names of the persons who
imposed them are given in this article.
initial years of Pakistan’s life were tumultuous to such an extent that the
country’s first premier, Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, was assassinated in
Rawalpindi on October 16, 1951, and after him, no government was allowed to
work freely.
During Mirza’s rule, the new Constitution was approved by the Constituent
Assembly on February 29, 1956, and was promulgated on March 23, 1956. The
Constitution was based on the Objectives Resolution, which was adopted on
March 12, 1949. This constitution proclaimed the Dominion of Pakistan as the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Iskander Mirza was sworn in as its first
president.
Then came the fateful day of October 7, 1958, when Iskander Mirza
proclaimed martial law throughout the country and appointed the Army Chief,
General Muhammad Ayub Khan, as Chief Martial Law Administrator. The
constitution was abrogated, central and provincial governments were dismissed,
National and provincial assemblies stood dissolved, and all political parties were
abolished. The next day, the president appointed an Advisory Council, consisting
Exactly one year after taking power (October 27, 1959), General Ayub became
Field Marshal and promulgated the Basic Democracies Order, providing for
constitution of Basic Democratic institutions ranging from the Union Councils to
Provincial Development Advisory Councils. He held the elections for Basic
Democracy Units on January 2, 1960, electing their 80,000 members by adult
franchise. These BD members went to the polls on January 14, to express,
through secret ballot, their confidence or lack of it, in President Ayub Khan.
Ayub Khan was sworn in as elected President on February 17, 1960. On June 8,
1962, he announced to lift martial law after nearly four years, and also took oath
of the office of the President under the new Constitution, enacted by him on
March 1, 1962, providing presidential form of government.
Declaration of martial law in 1958 was solely due to unpleasant and uncertain
situation as well as political instability because of fast political manoeuvres and
changes that took place in the country.
On March 25, 1969, amidst growing political turmoil, Pakistan’s Army Chief,
General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, declared martial law, dissolving the
assemblies and assuming the role of the president. This occurred after President
Ayub Khan resigned due to mounting unrest against his regime, marked by
allegations of corruption and election rigging. Upon seizing power, Yahya Khan
formed a three-member Council of Administration on April 3, 1969, placing
himself as Chairman. This council was assigned the task of governing the nation,
representing both East and West Pakistan. To provide a legal framework for
martial law governance, Yahya Khan issued the Provisional Constitution Order on
April 4, 1969.
As part of his centralization effort, Yahya Khan expanded the roles of the martial
law administrators in East and West Pakistan on April 8, 1969. They were
instructed to carry out the duties of governors, thus consolidating power under
the military regime.
However, the period of martial law under Yahya Khan is notably associated with
the secession of East Pakistan in 1971, following a military crackdown and a
catastrophic war. Following Pakistan’s unsuccessful attempt in the 1971 Indo-Pak
war, Yahya Khan resigned on December 20, 1971. Power was then handed over to
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party, who became the
president and the first civilian Chief Martial Law Administrator, signifying
a shift back to civilian rule.
The army staged third coup when General Ziaul Haq overthrew the Bhutto
government and took over as CMLA on July 5, 1977. The federal and provincial
governments were dismissed; political parties were banned; National and
provincial assemblies were dissolved; the constitution was put in abeyance; civil
On July 15, 1977, Justice Mushtaq Hussein of the Lahore High Court was
appointed chairman of a committee to formulate election procedures and laws.
Two days later, Justice Mushtaq Hussein also took over as the Chief Election
Commissioner and announced that elections would be held in the first fortnight of
October 1977 under the supervision of the armed forces and the judiciary.
October 18 was fixed for the general elections and nomination papers were
invited between August 7 and 18, 1977.
On September 21, 1977, General Zia issued a 15-point code of ethics to regulate
the election campaign which started from September 18. The code prohibited all
actions and deeds, including words, symbolic representations, which were likely
to prejudice the solidarity of Pakistan and its Islamic foundations.
Pakistan came under military rule again on October 12, 1999, when General
Pervez Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup and dissolved the elected
government of Nawaz Sharif. However, no Martial law was imposed. As he
announced on July 11, 2002, general elections were held on October 10, 2002.
But before the elections, a referendum was held on April 30, 2002 for him to be
elected as the president for another five years. On November 3, 2007, he
Pervez Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan as Chief Executive from 1999-2002 and as
president from 2001-08, resigned on August 18, 2008 in the face of impeachment.
Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Shaukat Aziz served
as elected prime ministers during his era.