The 1977 Pakistani military coup (codenamed Operation Fair Play) was the second military coup in the history of Pakistan. Taking place on 5 July 1977, it was carried out by

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also se ...

, the chief of army staff, overthrowing the government of Prime Minister

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

. The coup itself was bloodless, and was preceded by social unrest and political conflict between the ruling leftist

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

government of Bhutto, and the right-wing Islamist opposition Pakistan National Alliance which accused Bhutto of rigging the 1977 general elections. In announcing the coup, Zia promised "free and fair elections" within 90 days, but these were repeatedly postponed on the excuse of accountability and it was not until 1985 that "party-less"

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

were held. Zia himself stayed in power for 11 years until his death in a 1988 plane crash. The coup was a watershed event in the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

and in the history of Pakistan. It took place nearly six years after the 1971 war with India which ended with the surrender of Pakistan and the

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

, which became Bangladesh. The period following the coup saw the " Islamisation of Pakistan" and Pakistan's involvement with the

Afghan mujahideen The Afghan ''mujahideen'' (; ; ) were Islamist militant groups that fought against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the Soviet Union during the Soviet–Afghan War and the subsequent Afghan Civil War (1989–1992), First Afghan Ci ...

(funded by the US and Saudi Arabia) during their war against the Soviet Union.

Background

The

(PPP) came to power after the

held in 1970. The power was given to PPP after the devastating war with

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

which ended with the

of East-Pakistan. Proponents of

social democracy Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

, left-wing philosophy, and socialist orientation were encouraged by the government and such ideas slowly entered in the ordinary lives of the

people The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

. According to some authors and historians, some influential groups were not ready to accept the PPP's taking power in 1971. In 1972–74, the intelligence community had thwarted more than one attempt by the military officers to oust the civilian PPP government; all cases were heard by JAG legal branch of the Pakistan military. In 1976, Prime Minister Bhutto forcefully retired seven army generals to promote

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

to four-star rank and subsequent appointment as chief of army staff and General Muhammad Shariff as chairman joint chiefs. Reciprocating in the same period, General Zia invited Bhutto of becoming the first and only civilian

Colonel Commandant Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honor ...

of the

Armoured Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other arm ...

1977 general elections and political crises

In 1976, nine

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

and conservative parties formed a common platform, called the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA). In January 1977, Prime Minister Bhutto immediately started campaigning after called for new general elections. The PNA was united behind religious slogans and a right-wing political agenda. The PPP, on the other hand, campaigned on a platform of social justice in agriculture and industry. Despite large turnouts at PNA campaign events and the establishment on PNA's circle, the results of the general elections showed the Pakistan Peoples Party winning 155 out of 200 seats in the National Assembly and the PNA winning only 36. Bhutto therefore gained a

supermajority A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fun ...

in the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. The PNA leadership was astonished when the results were announced by the

Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

(EC) and refused to accept the results and accused the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

of systematic rigging. According to "The Story of Pakistan," at many places, particularly where the PNA candidates were strong, the polling was alleged to have been blocked for hours. There were also reports that PPP armed personnel in police uniforms removed ballot boxes. Marked ballot papers were also found on the streets in Karachi and Lahore. Rumors quickly circulated that the results in key constituencies were issued directly from the Prime Minister's office. According to author Ian Talbot, "The reality seems to be that a certain PPP victory was inflated by malpractice committed by local officials, which may have affected 30–40 seats." The PNA immediately called for street boycott and demanded resignation of Prime Minister Bhutto. The PNA used mosques to agitate the masses and caused severe civil unrests. At least 200 people were killed in the clashes between security forces and demonstrators. Zia had already removed Bhutto Loyalists, and had put to military trial one of the biggest names in Pakistan Army history; General Tajammul Hussain Malik war hero 1965 & 1971 to show Bhutto his loyalty. This did, however decrease his support within the army and it is believed several factions of the army that sided with Gen. Tajammul later caused Gen Zia's death. Bhutto responded with the use of Federal Security Force (FSF) and Police to control the situation as many activists of PNA were imprisoned. One leader of the PNA secretly wrote a letter to chiefs of staff of

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

and chairman joint chiefs to intervene to end the crises; thus inviting armed forces to enforce martial law. In 1977, one official of the

Military Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

(MI) had persuaded Prime Minister Bhutto that martial law was imminent, and to speed up the negotiations with the PNA. The PPP realised the seriousness of the crises and political negotiations were started in June 1977. The PPP accepted almost all demands of the PNA and the stage was set for a compromise. The negotiations were stalled when Bhutto took the lengthy tour of Middle East countries and the PNA termed his tour as dilatory tactics. Furthermore, there was an impression created in the

print media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

that negotiations were falling apart. After the letter reached to the chiefs of staff of

and chairman joint chiefs, there was a fury of meeting of inter-services to discuss the situation. When Bhutto returned to the country and in spite of the agreement was about to sign with the PNA. Zia-ul-haq ordered the coup to take over the country.

Coup

Operation Fair Play was the code name for the military ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

'' conducted on 5 July 1977 by Zia-ul-Haq. The code name Fair Play was intended to portray the coup as the benign intervention of an impartial referee to uphold respect for the rules and ensure free and fair elections. President Mohammad Zia Ul Haq

In announcing the coup, Zia promised "free and fair elections" within 90 days. He arrested Bhutto and his ministers, as well as other leaders of both the PPP and the PNA. He dissolved the National Assembly of Pakistan and all provincial assemblies, suspended the Constitution, and imposed martial law. A four-member Military Council, made up of Zia-ul-Haq as Chief Martial Law Administrator, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, and the Chiefs of the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

and the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

, took over government operations in the country. Bhutto and the PPP was persecuted on the charges of murder of political opponents.

Supreme Court

The

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and the Chief Justice of Pakistan Anwar-ul-Haq legitimatised the military response after issuing the Doctrine of necessity orders. On 24 October 1977, the

began the trial against Bhutto on charges of "conspiracy to murder" Nawab Muhammad Ahmed Khan Kasuri. In 1977, the Supreme Court found Bhutto guilty of murder charges and condemned him to death. Despite appeals of clemency sent by many nations, the government upheld the Supreme Court verdict and followed the Supreme Court orders when Bhutto was hanged in 1979.

International reactions

International reactions to the coup were largely muted, and two of Pakistan's neighbors,

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, did not issue any statements. Only two countries issued statements over this issue. The

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

harshly criticised the coup and

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...

condemned Bhutto's execution out of "purely humane motives". The US played an ambiguous role instead with many charging that the martial law was imposed with the willingness and "tacit" approval of the US and the CIA's involvement. When allegations were leveled against the US by Pakistani historians and scholars, American officials reacted angrily and held Bhutto responsible for his act. Despite US denial, many authors, and the PPP's intellectuals themselves, held the US responsible and suspected the US of playing a "hidden noble role" behind the coup. In 1998,

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

and the PPP publicly announced their belief in the

electronic media Electronic media are media that use electronics or electromechanical means for the audience to access the content. This is in contrast to static media (mainly print media), which today are most often created digitally, but do not require ele ...

that Zulfikar Bhutto was "sent to the gallows at the instance of the superpower for pursuing the nuclear capability f Pakistan"

Aftermath

Before the third martial law in 1977, Pakistan had been under martial law for nearly 13 years and saw the wars with India which led to the secession of East Pakistan. It was marked by numerous human rights violations. A weak insurgent movement against Zia's government was maintained inside the country by elements sympathetic to the former Bhutto government, but was met with great hostility from the United States and Zia. The martial regime ended in 1988 with the

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

of President Zia and many other key military administrators in the government in a plane crash. Following this event, the country returned to

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

and the PPP again came in power. In 1999, military rule was again imposed against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by the armed forces, resulting in General

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

coming to power for nine years.

References

{{Inter-Services Intelligence 1977 in Pakistan Military coups in Pakistan

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Operations involving Pakistani special forces Fair Play Government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Inter-Services Intelligence operations Military government of Pakistan (1977–1988) Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq History of mass media in Pakistan Conflicts in 1977 July 1977 in Asia