Pakistan's Political Upheaval: The Demise of a Nuclear Democracy
![handle is hein.journals/jtrnlwp17 and id is 179 raw text is: PAKISTAN'S POLITICAL UPHEAVAL:
THE DEMISE OF A NUCLEAR DEMOCRACY
JARED M. LEE*
The late Benazir Bhutto, twice former Pakistani Prime Minis-
ter and outspoken advocate of democracy, declared in an interview
that [t]he next few months are critical to Pakistan's future direc-
tion as a democratic state committed to promoting peace, fighting
terrorism, and working for social justice.' While her statement
addressed the state of Pakistan years ago, it could not have been
more applicable at this particular time. Her tragic death only am-
plifies the critical nature of Pakistan's unstable political environ-
ment.2 Bhutto sacrificed her life the way she lived it--fighting to
reverse the young nation's history of oppressive leadership.3
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan gained independence from
Great Britain's colonial rule in 1947 when it was partitioned from
India after religious disagreements.4 Pakistan's history of govern-
ance since becoming a sovereign state has been episodic, being
governed by three constitutions in addition to several authoritative
documents during recurrent military rule.5 According to several
legal analysts, only the most recent constitution, instituted in
1973, is democratic in form and its creation.6 Although the consti-
tution, written on the foundation of an Islamic moral standard, 7
has been in existence for over thirty years, it has been adhered to
for much less time.8 Yet, despite the lack of political consistency
* J.D., Dec. 2007, Florida State University College of Law. Special thanks to my
wife and colleague Ruth Jackson Lee.
1. Zahid Hussain, Interview - Benazir Bhutto, NEWSBEAT (2002), available at
http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsJuly2002%5Cnewsbeatjuly2.htm.
2. The disagreements among Pakistanis are hardly pure politics, instead they are
rooted in large tears in the nation's social fabric over issues of religion, military, westerniza-
tion and wealth. See Colum Murphy, Pakistan's Last Bid for Democracy, 170 FAR. E. ECON.
REv. 17, 17-18 (2007).
3. See generally, CNN, Bhutto photographer: 'Gunshots rang out and she went
down', Dec. 27, 2007.
4. Jeffrey A. Redding, Constitutionalizing Islam: Theory and Pakistan, 44 VA. J.
INT'L L. 759, 762 (2004). For a more detailed analysis of Pakistan's history see Abdullalh
Ahsan, Pakistan Since Independence: An Historical Analysis, 93 MUSLIM WORLD 351, 351
(2003).
5. Redding, supra note 4.
6. Id.
7. Ahsan, supra note 4, at 359.
8. Farooq Hassan, Pakistan's Federal Structure and the Constitution of 1973, 93
MUSLIM WORLD 269, 279 (2006) ([The civilian part of leadership in the country ruled un-
der this document from 1973 to 1977, then from 1985 to 1999, and then from 2002 until the
present time, but at all times the army remained in control of all-important state activi-
ties.').
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Pakistan's Political Upheaval: The Demise of a Nuclear Democracy
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