Question

State the reasons for not calling the government under General Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan a democracy.

Answer 1

The reasons for not calling the government under General Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan a democracy were as follows:
(i) General Pervez Musharraf overthrew a popularly elected government by a military coup in October 1999 and became the Chief Executive of Pakistan. He changed his designation of President and in 2002 held a referendum granting him a five-year extension.
(ii) In August 2002, he issued a 'Legal Framework Order' which gave powers to the President to dismiss the national or provincial assemblies. The work of the civilian cabinet was supervised by a National Security Council which was dominated by military officers.
(iii) There were elected representatives, but the final power rested with the military officers and General Musharraf himself. None of them were elected by the people of Pakistan.