Political coups and anarchy are embedded deeply Pakistan's history

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was arrested on Tuesday by paramilitary Rangers and was presented before the court on Wednesday in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case, Dawn reported.

Soon after the arrest of Khan, the supporters went on the roads and demonstrated against his arrest. Looking at the demonstrations in Punjab province, the army troops were deployed to maintain law and order.

Earlier, in November, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chief was shot in the shin when his anti-government protest convoy came under attack in the east of the country, in what his aides said was a clear assassination attempt.

Pakistan has a history of political coups and unrest. Here are some details.

 

The very most recent one was the Benazir Bhutto case, who was assassinated in a gun and bomb attack after holding an election rally in Rawalpindi in 2007. The two-time Prime Minister had also survived a suicide bomb assassination attempt in Karachi, where at least 139 people were killed in one of the country's deadliest attacks. This attack was just a few months before the assassination.

Another one took place in 1999 when former army chief Pervez Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup. He was sworn in as president and head of state in June 2001. He resigned in 2008 and Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto's husband, took over as president.

In 1988, the military ruler President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq was killed when the Hercules C-130 aircraft carrying him crashed in mysterious circumstances. Some conspiracy theorists have suggested that a case of mangoes put aboard the plane shortly before takeoff contained a timer device that released a gas that knocked out the cockpit crew.

In 1979, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the father of Benazir who was elected as prime minister in 1970, was hanged on a disputed conviction for conspiring to commit a political murder by Zia ul-Haq.

Meanwhile, in 1977, Zia ul-Haq seized power after a coup against the Bhutto government. He kept Bhutto under house arrest, imposed martial law, suspended the constitution and banned political parties. In 1973, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was elected as prime minister, taking over from General Yahya Khan.

The first-ever military coup took place in 1958 when Governor-General Iskander Mirza enforced martial law with General Ayub Khan as chief martial law administrator. Ayub Khan later assumes the presidency and sacked Mirza, who was exiled.

Pakistan got its first Prime Minister in 1951. Liaquat Ali Khan, after the 1947 partition of India, was shot dead at a political rally in Rawalpindi.