ABSTRACT
The accounts provided by military officers who were either involved in the planning of 1977 coup or were working with General Zia convey the impression that neither Bhutto was sincere nor the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) leaders were inclined to reach an agreement. The military elites believed that Pakistan People’s Party-PNA confrontation had produced a crisis of legitimacy for Bhutto regime. During the period 1979–1985 Zia created a political constituency, a set of individuals, who were to emerge as advocates and proponents of the ‘partie military,’ thereby consolidating the hegemony of the military in the political process. By 1983, the Islami Jamiat Tulba had become such a powerful force on campuses that it even began to challenge the military regime. All military regimes jealously guard their professional and institutional interests. Compared to the military regimes, the involvement of military in administrating the country was quite extensive.
