ABSTRACT
The policies pursued by Pakistan's leaders are as important as the various constitutional forms of government the country has had. This chapter traces the policies of six of Pakistan's most important leaders and the effects of these policies on state institutions. The system of government established by Ayub relied greatly on Pakistan's civilian bureaucrats. The military served in Ayub's government as loyal praetorians. Bhutto had agitated since 1968 for the end of Ayub's system of government. One consequence of the reforms was the dilution of the power of civil bureaucrats and their replacement with members of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and those personally loyal to Bhutto. Unlike Ayub or Bhutto, Zia relied greatly on the military to fill administrative posts, since Pakistan remained under martial law between 1977 and 1985. Asif Ali Zardari elevation to the presidency was owing to his role as PPP cochairperson, an office bequeathed to him by the late Benazir Bhutto in her "political will.".
