Pitiable Pakistan

Staying at home on a 'Holi'-day, I was watching the news about Pakistan where Zardari, the country's President is warned by the Army Chief of another coup given the deteriorating state of affairs in the country. It made me wonder if any government in Pakistan ever had, or has the guts to normalize its nation? I recalled the various analysis by many senior journalists I'd read. Through all that, here's what I'd grasped of what the Pakistan administration has been like since it was born.

21 Prime Ministers, 11 Presidents of which 4 Presidents were Military Chiefs. A 'so called' democratic rule of 25 years, and about 35 years of various other rules including Martial Law, Coups, Dictatorship. Only one prime minister to have completed a full term in office, under a dictatorship. Average vintage of prime mister in the Prime Minister's office being .57 years. Ladies & Gentlemen, that's a rough sketch of Pakistan. Details of individual PM's & President's rule given below in the end.

Apart from Administrative instability, during this time, Pakistan has had such restlessness when confronted with war with India thrice - 1948, 1965, 1999; civil war and the separati0n of Bangladesh in 1971; involvement with Soviet Union - Afghan war in 1980..

Not only this, but the factionists, fascism, differences in indoctrination, Shia-Sunni divide, clashes between communities, the pressure to Talibianize, the fire of jihad breeding pockets and new ideas of terror, the state sponsored terrorism breaking out of control, administration's failure to provide immunity to its citizens against US attacks, the hate spawning in all of these acts, and the possession of nuclear weapons make Pakistan a significant power to reckon with but incapable leadership to contain it.

U.S. was silent when Pakistan Govt. was making truce with Taliban within boundaries. There's no hard-liner from US even as Pakistan government plays Yes-No with India over 26/11 Mumbai terror attack with no decisive action, nor intent. Now, there is also news of a new terror-plot on US being planned in Pakistan, let's see how things shape up.

Such is the history of Pakistan (I hope I had a better style of presentation)

• 1947 - Jinnah leads Pakistan post-India's independence
• Sep 11, 1948 - Jinnah passes away
• Mar 7, 1949 - Liaquat Ali Khan becomes Prime Minister; With Liaquat, Objectives resolution of the constitution declared the sovereignty of Pakistan lay with Allah, it had democracy, an independent judiciary, freedom, equality, and minority rights as key elements. Not one of them got implemented
  
• Oct 16, 1951 - Said Khan (an Afgan) assassinates Liaquat Ali Khan; marks the beginning of power struggle in Pakistan
• 1952 - Khwaja Nazimuddin, (Governal General after Jinnah) becomes Prime Minister
• April 1953 - Nazimuddin government dismissed as Ghulam Muhammad steps up as Head of State
• 1953 - Muhammad Ali Bogra appointed Prime minister by Ghulam Muhammad to please Americans & Bengalis
  
• Oct 24, 1954 - Emergency declared by Ghulam as Bogra tries to change certain statutes; Borgra government dissolved.
• 1955 - Iskander Mirza becomes Governor General with Army support; Chaudhri Muhammad Ali appointed prime minister
• Feb 29, 1956 - Pakistan declared Islamic republic, title of Governor General renamed as President
  
• Sep 12, 1956 - Heseyn Suhrawardy becomes Prime Minister
  
• Oct 17, 1957 - Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar becomes Prime Minister
  
• Dec 16, 1957 - Sir Feroz Khan Noon becomes Prime Minister
• Oct 7, 1958 - Mirza declares Martial law, suspends constitution; Muhammad Ayyub Khan takes over as Chief Martial Law & Administrator
  
• March, 1969 - Yahya Khan, another general takes over Ayyub Khan due to protests. Yahya Khan ensured free and fair elections
  
• Dec 7, 1971 - Appointed Prime Minister Nurul Amin lasted only for 13 days in office; Martial law continues; Martial law imposed
• 1971 - Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto takes on President & Army Chief's office
  
• Aug 14, 1973 - Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto becomes first elected Prime Minister
• July 1977 - Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto overthrown in a coup by General Zia Ul Haq, imposes Martial law
• Mar 24, 1985 - Muhammad Khan Junejo appointed as Prime Minister by General Zia
  
• Dec 2, 1988 - Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zuliqar Ali Bhutto elected Prime Minister after winning general elections
• 1990 - Benazir dismissed as Prime Minister by the then President Gulshan Ishaq Khan for corruption
• Aug 6, 1990 - Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi becomes interim Prime Minister
• Nov 6, 1990 - Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif becomes Prime Minister
• Apr 18, 1993 - General Ishaq Khan dismisses Nawaz Sharif, makes Blakh Sher Mazari caretaker Prime Minister till Nawaz returns on May 26, 1993
• July 18, 1993 - Wasim Sajjad takes on as Acting President
• July 18, 1993 - Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi appointed caretaker Prime Minster
• Oct 19, 1993 - Benazir Bhutto reelected to Prime Minister's office
• Nov 5, 1996 - Malik Meraj Khalid appointed caretaker Prime Minister after Bhutto's dismissed yet again on corruption charges
  
• Feb 17, 1997 - Nawaz Sharif returns to Prime Minister's office
• Jan 1, 1998 - Muhammad Rafiq Tarar becomes President, remodels the president's office in the true spirit of the constitution of Pakistan
• Oct 12, 1999 - Nawaz Sharif ousted, General Pervez Musharraf does a military coup. Allows President Tarar to continue in President's office
• June 20, 2001 - General Pervez Musharraf appoints himself President
• Nov 21, 2002 - Zafarullah Khan Jamali elected Prime Minister
• Jun 26, 2004 - Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain replaces Khan Jamali as Prime Minister
• Aug 20, 2004 - Shaukat Aziz elected Prime Minister, becomes first to complete term in Prime Minister's office
• Nov 16, 2007 - Muhammad Mian Soomro becomes acting PM & later acting President on expiry of term of Aziz & on resignation of President Musharraf respectively
• Mar 25, 2008 - Yousaf Raza Gillani elected Prime Minister
• Aug 18, 2008 - President Musharraf resigns under pressure
  
• Sep 8, 2008 - Asif Ali Zardari (husband of Late Benazir Bhutto) of takes on as President

(The timeline was composed out of multiple secondary sources)