5 FROM ZIA TO MUSHARRAF
The influence of institutional factors on the military’s interest and involvement in politics stands out even more clearly in the period from 1977 to 1999. During this time, the military ruled for eleven years under General Ziaul Haq (1977–1988) and then permitted a transition to democracy that was marked by the alternation of power among four short-lived civilian governments (1988–1999), only to recapture state power in October 1999 under General Pervez Musharraf. On the one hand, the authoritarian legacies of Zia’s military government created structural conditions vulnerable to political crises and instability. On the other hand, the generals’ belief that politicians could not be trusted to preserve national security or to govern properly led them to impose limits on the exercise of authority by the political leadership. These constraints caused civil-military conflicts that, in turn, prompted military meddling in civilian affairs, thus confirming the military’s view of politicians as incompetent and corrupt. Over time, the military (and many civilians) began to develop grave doubts about the suitableness of continuing with what they thought was the sham of democracy in Pakistan. By 1999, when differences over the Kargil war with India strained relations 150
