A Volatile, Troubled Decade
Though he came to power via a bloodless coup, Pervez
Musharraf pledged to steer Pakistan towards a more democratic future. Guided
by a fierce authoritain streak, he sometimes jailed or exiled those who
opposed him. His alliance with the United States in the "war on terror"
buoyed the Pakistani economy, yet placed him in political jeopardy at home.
In the Beginning: Betrayal
In 1998, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, left,
promoted Lieutenant General Musharraf over other senior officers to the post
of Army Chief of Staff and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. One year
later, with the help of a coterie of loyal generals, Musharraf overthrew
Sharif in a bloodless coup.
The Generals
In October 1999, amid a power play, Sharif sacked Musharraf
as military chief and then sent troops to the airport in Karachi to prevent
a plane carrying the general from landing, but they were unable to fend off
Musharraf's loyalists. The general landed and assumed control of the
government. A day later, he presided over a meeting with his Corps
Commanders at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, above.
First Speech to the Nation
With a portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of
Pakistan, hanging behind him, Musharraf promised "revolutionary steps" to
revive the national economy. Not long after, Sharif was placed under house
arrest. He was subsequently exiled.
New Opportunity
In January, 2002, four months after 9/11, Musharraf delivered
a speech in which he condemned all acts of terrorism and pledged to combat
Islamic extremism and lawlessness in Pakistran. Since then, Pakistan has
taken in $10 billion in American aid. In return, he has been a staunch ally
of the United States in its war on the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
The President's Office
A few months after his denunciation of terror, Musharraf
called for a referendum, part of an effort to legitimize his presidency.
Though the measure passed, the vote was boycotted by many Pakistani
political parties and voter turnout was low.
Assassination Try
In December, 2003, a convoy in which Musharraf was riding was
struck by a powerful bomb while it crossed a bridge in Rawalpindi. He would
survive several other attempts on his life in the coming years.
Entrenched
Around the same time of the Rawalpindi attack, Musharraf made
a deal with a six-member coalition of Islamic parties, agreeing to leave the
army by December 31, 2004. With that group's support, pro-Musharraf
legislators were able to muster the Parliamentary majority to retroactively
legalize Musharraf's 1999 coup and many of his decrees. One year later,
Musharraf went back on his promise.
Burned in Effigy
Musharraf's decision to renege on his pledge to step down
from the army ignited protests among the Islamic alliance that had supported
him.
Constitutional Showdown
In the fall of 2007, facing the end of his second term,
Musharraf made a bid to retain power by engineering an indirect presidential
election in Parliament that would have given him another term in office. His
opponents challenged the effort in the courts, but days before the Supreme
Court was set to decide on the matter, he, as Chief of Staff of the Army,
declared a state of emergency, suspended the constitution and jailed several
of the court's justices, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
Many Pakistanis, in particular its lawyers, rallied around Chaudhry in
massive demonstrations.
Change of Command
As part of his plan to continue to serve as President,
Musharraf agreed to step down as the nation's top military leader. In an
elaborate ceremony in Rawalpindi, in November, 2007, he handed over power to
the new army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, right.
Civilian President
The day after stepping down, Musharraf was sworn in for a new
five-year term. He claimed that his maneuvers were designed to usher in a
new "era of democracy" for Pakistan. A general election was called as
Musharraf's two top rivals for power, Nawaz Sharif (whom Musharraf had
deposed in the coup, nine years prior) and Benazir Bhutto prepared to return
to the country after years in exile. Though Bhutto was subsequently
assassinated, her party, along with Sharif's, outpolled Musharraf's
coalition in the voting and they ascended to power.
Impeachment
Once it was in power, the coalition of Musharraf's opponents
initiated steps to remove him from the presidency. In August of 2008, the
leaders of the new government announced that they would seek his removal
from office on charges relating to Musharraf's declaral of a state of
emergency. Before they could officially announce the charges, Musharraf
resigned on August 18.
Gone with the wind
