ABSTRACT
By 1972, a civil war had exhausted what remained of Pakistan. None the less, the fatigue and despair were mitigated by a transfer of power pregnant with possibilities. The military debacle had forced the army into transferring power to the majority party in the truncated Pakistan. For the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), the situation was not entirely unpromising. Although recent events imposed certain constraints, they had simultaneously offered opportunities to undertake structural reforms against an élite haunted by its failure to retain East Pakistan. The radical election pledges of the PPP bred optimism for the emergence of a democratic and liberal Pakistan. Indeed, even the East Pakistan tragedy was being perceived as a welcome political circumcision. The 'new Pakistan' could look forward to a future containing the prospect of a more physically viable nation-state with democratic institutions and a strong economic base. In the event, this optimism was replaced by a feeling of betrayal as the PPP's rule became increasingly repressive. The bitterness and anger were provoked by the violation of the promise to introduce progressive, participatory government in Pakistan. The sense of betrayal was manifested in the spontaneous outbreak of a popular movement in 1977, as the PPP's brief rule culminated in an act which symbolised its corruption . . . the rigging of parliamentary elections. Z. A. Bhutto, the leader of the PPP, was personally to pay a grave price for converting a mandate for democracy into a charter for an authoritarian government. In the following chapters we shall examine the multiple causes which led to the abrupt down-fall of the PPP government.
