HomePak-HistoryIqbal's WorkPak-PersonalitiesPak-LinksContact Us
 Iskander Mirza  H. S. Suhrawardy  Feroz Khan Noon  I.I. Chundrigar  Muhammad Ayub Khan  Yahya Khan  Zulfikar Ali Bhutto  Sheikh Mujibur Rehman  Fazal Ilahi Choudhary  Muhammad Khan Junejo  Ghulam Ishaq Khan  Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi  Gen. M. Zia-ul-Haq  Benazir Bhutto  Sardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari  Malik Meraj Khalid  Mian M. Nawaz Sharif  Muhammad Rafiq Tarar  Gen. Pervez Musharraf 
 More>>  Tipu Sultan  Sir Syed Ahmad Khan  Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk  Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk  Aga Khan  Maulana Mohammad Ali  Maulana Shaukat Ali  Syed Ameer Ali  Dr. Allama Iqbal  Choudhary Rahmat Ali  Muhammad Ali Jinnah  Liaquat Ali Khan  Fatima Jinnah  Begum Shah Nawaz  Begum Viqar-un-Nisa  Khawaja Nazimuddin  Ghulam Muhammad  Muhammad Ali Bogra  Chaudhary Muhammad Ali 
 Prayers for condition of Muslims...  Principle of Movement in Structure of Islam  Profit for one, but death for many Iqbal  Religion vs. Philosophy  Solution of problems of Muslims  Spirit of Muslim Culture  Ultimate aim of Ego  World of Body vs. World of Soul  Verses of Dilemma of Muslim World  Aslam Kamal Paintings 
 More>>  Character of so Called Muslim Scholars  Choice is Yours!  Complaint and prayer at Rawdha  Concept of Self Respect  Conception of God and the Meaning of Prayer  Human Ego,His Freedom and Immortality  Ideal Woman  Iqbal, Quran and Muslim Unity  Iqbal,A Voice of His People  Is Religion Possible?  Knowledge and Religious Experience  Materialistic Culture  Miscellaneous  Philosophical,Revelations of Religious Experience 
 Nazam 1  Nazam 2  Nazam 3  Nazam 4  Nazam 5  Nazam 6 
 Masood-Marhoom  Mazool-Shehansha  Mirza-Ghalib  Mullaor-Bahsat  Nazam  Nya_Shiwala  Shikwa  Siddique  Talba Ali Garhkay Naam  Tarana-e-Milli  Tasveer-o-Musaver  Tolu-e-Islam  Zareefana  Zehd-aur-Randi 
 More>>  Alam-e-Barzakh  Aqal-o-dil  Awaz-e-Ghab  Bhodey-Baloch-Ki-Nasihat  Dagh  Dozkhi-ki-Munajat  Dua  Ek Arzoo  Fatima-Bin-Abdulah  Ghazaliyat  Iblees-ki-Majles-e-Shora  Jawab-e-Shikwa  Khizar-e-Rah  Lanan  Masjid-e-Quartaba 
 Poetry  Philosiphy 
 Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji visits Pakistan   Pervez Musharraf becomes President [June, 2001]  Agra Summit  SAARC Summit [January, 2002]  Tony Blair visits Pakistan [January, 2002] 
 Passage to India: The Hamood-ur-Rahman Commission Report  Thirteenth Amendment  The Lahore Declaration [1999]  Muhammad Rafiq Tarar elected as President [1997] 
 More>>  Balakh Sher Mazari becomes caretaker Prime Minister [1993]  Moin Qureshi becomes caretaker Prime Minister [1993]  Benazir Bhutto becomes Prime Minister [1993]  Sardar Farooq Legahri becomes President [1993]  Malik Meraj Khalid becomes caretaker Prime Minister [1996]  Nawaz Sharif becomes Prime Minister [1997]  Eighth Amendment is repealed [1997]  Fourteenth Amendment is passed [1997]  Pakistan: A Nuclear Power [May 28, 1998]  The Kargil Operation [1999]  Military Comes to Power Again [Oct 12, 1999] 
 Martial Law under General Zia-ul-Haq [1977-85]  General Zia-ul-Haq becomes President [1984]  Muhammad Khan Junejo becomes Prime Minister [1985-88]  Historic 8th Amendment is passed [1985]  Ghulam Ishaq Khan becomes President [1989-93]  Benazir Bhutto becomes Prime Minister [1988]  Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi becomes caretaker Prime Minister [1990]  Nawaz Sharif becomes Prime Minister [1990]  The Afghan War Settlement  General Elections, February 1985  Islamisation under General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq  Death of General Zia-ul- Haq [1988] 
 Martial Law under Field Marshal Ayub Khan [1958-62]  The Constitution of 1962   Field Marshal Ayub Khan becomes President [1962-69]  Indo-Pak War [September, 1965]  Martial Law under General Yahya Khan [1969-71]  The Separation of East Pakistan [1971]  Zulfikar Ali Bhutto becomes President [1971]  The Constitution of 1973  Zulfikar Ali Bhutto becomes Prime Minister [1973]  Fazal Ilahi becomes President [1973]  Awami League Six-Point Programme  Presidential Election (1965)   The Simla Agreement [1972]  Legal Framework Order [1970]  Ouster of President Iskander Mirza - 1958 
 Post Independence Problems  Kashmir Crisis [1948]  Jinnah dies and Khawaja Nazim uddin becomes Governor General [1948]  Objectives Resolution is passed [1949]  Khawaja Nazimuddin becomes Prime Minister [1951]  Ghulam Muhammad becomes Governor General [1951]  Muhammad Ali Bogra becomes Prime Minister [1953]  Chaudhary Muhammad Ali becomes Prime Minister [1955]  Iskander Mirza becomes Governor General [1955]  The Constitution of 1956  H. S. Suhrawardy becomes Prime Minister [1956]  Iskander Mirza becomes President [1956]  I. I. Chundrigar becomes Prime Minister [1957]  Malik Feroz Khan Noon becomes Prime Minister [1957]  Bogra-Nehru Negotiations  Liaquat-Nehru Pact [1950]  Bogra Formula 
 Nehru Report [1928]  Fourteen Points of M.A.Jinnah [1929]  Allahabad Address [1930]  Round Table Conferences [1930-33]  The Communal Award [1932]  Govt. of India Act [1935]  Rule of Congress Ministries [1937-1939]  Pakistan Resolution [1940]  Cripps Mission [1942]  Gandhi-Jinnah Talks [1944]  Simla talks [1945]  Provincial and General Elections [1945-1946]  Cabinet Mission Plan [1946]  June 3rd Plan [1947]  Jinnah-Mountbatten Talks  The Birth of Pakistan [August 14, 1947] 
 Partition of Bengal [1905-11]  Simla Deputation [1906]  Establishment of All India Muslim League [1906]  The Lucknow Pact [1916]  Khilafat Movement [1919-1924]  Simon Commission [1927]  Delhi Muslim Proposals [1927] 
 Aligarh Movement [1858-98]  Deoband Movement [1866-1947]  Establishment of Indian National Congress [1885] 
 Babur-The First Mughal Emperor [1526-30]  Humayun's Rule [1530,40, 1555-6]  Suri Dynasty [1540-55]  Akbar's Reign [1556-1605]  Mujaddid Alf-Shani [1564-1624]  British Arrive in India  Jehangir's Reign [1605-1628]  Shah Jehan's Rule [1628-58]  Aurangzeb Alamgir's Reign [1658-1707]  Decline of Mughal Rule and Battle of Plassey  Shah Wali Ullah's Reform Movement [1707-1762]  Faraizi Movement [1830-57]  War of Independence 
 Establishment of Delhi Sultanate by Ilbrahi Dynasty  Khalji Dynasty [1290-1320]  Tughluq Dynasty [1320-1412]  The Saiyids [1414-51]  The Lodhis [1451-1526] 
 The Ancient Empires of the Sub-Continent   Advent of Islam   Conquests of Mahmud Ghaznavi  Sufis and the Spread of Islam  Establishment of Muslim Empire 
 Prehistoric-1205  1206-1526  1526-1857  1858-1898  1903-1927  1928-1947  1948-1957  1958-1977  1978-1990  1991-2000  2001-Present 
 Start  Introduction 

Ghulam Ishaq Khan becomes President [1989-93]

President Ghulam Ishaq Khan addressing at the banquet hosted in his honour by the Iranian President in Tehran, 1991

In 1988, President Zia-ul-Haq dissolved the Junejo government and announced that fresh elections would be held in November 1988. But on August 17, 1988, he was killed in a C-130 plane crash in Bahawalpur, along with five senior generals and the American Ambassador. The cause of the crash has never been ascertained.

After the death of General Zia, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Chairman of the Senate, took over as acting President. Elections to the National and Provincial Assemblies were held on the 16 and 19, November 1988 respectively. The RCO (Revival of the Constitutional Order) had amended the constitution, which empowered the President to appoint, at his discretion, any member of the National Assembly as Prime Minister. Ghulam Ishaq Khan appointed Benazir Bhutto, as Prime Minister of Pakistan on a condition that she would offer full support to Ghulam Ishaq Khan in the forth-coming Presidential elections.

According to the deal between Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan’s Peoples Party (PPP) voted for Ghulam Ishaq Khan. Ghulam Ishaq Khan was also the consensus candidate of IJI (Islami Jamuhri Itehad). Ghulam Ishaq Khan won the election with an overwhelming majority. Four candidates took part in the election, with Ghulam Ishaq Khan winning and securing the highest 608 votes in the election. The Constitutional amendments made by the RCO and the Eight Amendment had led to the ascendancy of the President. Unforeseen by both this inevitably led the President and the Prime Minister into Conflict. The conflict between the President and the Prime Minister arose in two areas: the appointment of the military chiefs and the superior court judges.

The conflict between the President and the Prime Minister had its drop scene on August 6,1990 when the President dissolved the National Assembly and Benazir Bhutto lost her Prime Ministership. The dissolution of the National Assembly was soon followed by the dissolution of the Provincial Assembly. Fresh elections were scheduled to be held on October 24, 1990. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan appointed Mustafa Jatoi as the caretaker (interim) Prime Minister.

Elections for the National and Provincial assemblies were again held on October 24 and 27, 1990 respectively, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was elected as the Prime Minister on November 1, 1990. Nawaz Sharif’s government remained in power till April 19, 1993. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dissolved the National Assembly once again exercising his power through the 8th Amendment and appointed Mir Balakh Sher Khan Mazari as the caretaker Prime Minister. General Elections were scheduled to be held on July 14, 1993 but were canceled when the Supreme Court quashed the Presidential order and reinstated Nawaz Sharif as the Prime Minister.

Differences between Nawaz Sharif and Ghulam Ishaq Khan arouse once again, this time to deepen to an extent that it led to the resignation of the President, Ghulam Ishaq Khan and the Prime Minister, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on July 19, 1993, thus dissolving all the Central and Provincial assemblies. Moin Qureshi was appointed the caretaker Prime Minister, and Ghulam Ishaq Khan was appointed the caretaker President. Fresh elections for the National and Provincial Assemblies were held. Benazir Bhutto returned to power a second time and Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari was elected the new President of Pakistan.

This brought to an end the Presidentship of Ghulam Ishaq Khan, which over saw the dismissal of two popularly elected governments. It set an unhealthy tradition of Presidents removing elected governments by the use of the controversial Eighth Amendment. This tradition was also carried out by the later Presidents creating a continuous instability in the country.