1977 Pakistani military coup

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, the chief of army staff, overthrowing the government of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

The coup itself was bloodless, and was preceded by social unrest and political conflict between the ruling leftist Pakistan Peoples Party 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 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 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 of East Pakistan, which became Bangladesh. The period following the coup saw the "Islamisation of Pakistan" and Pakistan's involvement with the Afghan mujahideen (funded by the US and Saudi Arabia) during their war against the Soviet Union.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) came to power after the general elections held in 1970. The power was given to PPP after the devastating war with India which ended with the secession of East-Pakistan. Proponents of social democracy, left-wing philosophy, and socialist orientation were encouraged by the government and such ideas slowly entered in the ordinary lives of the people.

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 Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq 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 of the Armoured Corps.

In 1976, nine religious 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 in the Parliament.

The PNA leadership was astonished when the results were announced by the Election Commission (EC) and refused to accept the results and accused the Government 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.