ABSTRACT
The role of Islam both conceptually and institutionally in the political development of Pakistan has been uneven. The designation of Pakistan as an Islamic Republic was retained from the 1962 constitution and, for the first time, Islam was made the state religion. Islamization was pursued energetically following Bhutto's removal in 1977 and the return of the military to power. The populist excesses of the Bhutto regime were blamed for the country's problems. Zia publicly presented himself as a caretaker; the military was not to be considered a permanent political fixture, it was there only until the country could be set on the true, Islamically defined path. Islamic law does not directly encompass all human activities, however. Those matters outside the area formally covered by Islamic law are considered to be the legitimate province of the civil jurisdiction. The importance of Islamization in the political process of Pakistan was not lost on the new government that replaced Benazir Bhutto.
