ABSTRACT
The breakdown of the military hegemonic system in 1971 correspondingly increased the potential of political conflicts in the post-military phase. The legacy of the military rule was a disruption of the existing patterns of political relationships among different elites, groups and classes. The military hegemonic system had placed constraints on the activities of Pakistan’s political leaders, thus most of them were ill-equipped for the transition to a democratic political system. Differential regional development in Pakistan has placed greater constraints on the emergence, development and functioning of political leaders, in sharp contrast to the situation of the military-bureaucratic elites. Personal rivalry impeded not only the process of creating political order, but also of defining the “rules of the political game.” The political environment remained hostile toward democratic consolidation and the building of political institutions. Incidents of political violence continued to increase, as sporadic IRA-style bombings occurred in the North West Frontier Province and Baluchistan.
