Sharif and Khan
subsequently became embroiled in a power struggle that paralyzed the
Pakistani government. In an agreement designed to end the stalemate,
Sharif and Khan resigned together in July 1993, and elections were held
in October of that year. Bhutto’s PPP won a plurality in the
parliamentary elections, and Bhutto was again named prime minister.
In 1996 Bhutto’s government was dismissed by
President Farooq Leghari amid allegations of corruption. New elections
in February 1997 brought Nawaz Sharif back to power in a clear victory
for the Pakistan Muslim League. One of Sharif’s first actions as prime
minister was to lead the National Assembly in passing a constitutional
amendment stripping the president of the authority to dismiss
parliament. The action triggered a power struggle between Sharif,
Leghari, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah. When the
military threw its support behind Sharif, Leghari resigned and Shah was
removed. Sharif’s nominee, Rafiq Tarar, was then elected president.
Pakistan was beset by domestic unrest
beginning in the mid-1990s. Violence between rival political,
religious, and ethnic groups erupted frequently in Sind Province,
particularly in Karachi. Federal rule was imposed on the province in
late 1998 due to increasing violence.
Relations with India
Relations between India and Pakistan became
more tense beginning in the early 1990s. Diplomatic talks between the
two countries broke down in January 1994 over the disputed Kashmir
region. In February Bhutto organized a nationwide strike to show
support for the militant Muslim rebels in Indian Kashmir involved in
sporadic fighting against the Indian army. She also announced that
Pakistan would continue with its nuclear weapons development program,
raising concerns that a nuclear arms race could start between Pakistan
and India, which has had nuclear weapons since the 1970s. In January
1996, despite some controversy, the United States lifted economic and
some military sanctions imposed against Pakistan since 1990. The
sanctions, imposed to protest Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program, were
lifted to allow U.S. companies to fulfill contracts with Pakistan and
to help foster diplomatic relations between the two countries.
In early 1997 Sharif resumed talks with
India over the Kashmir region; however, negotiations quickly broke down
when armed hostilities erupted again. Tensions escalated further in
1998, when India conducted several nuclear tests. Pakistan responded
with its own tests, detonating nuclear weapons for the first time in
its history. The Pakistani government then declared a state of
emergency, invoking constitutional provisions that operate when
Pakistan’s security comes under “threat of external aggression.” Many
foreign countries, including the United States, imposed economic
sanctions against both India and Pakistan for exploding nuclear
devices. In the months following the explosions, the leaders of
Pakistan and India placed a moratorium on further nuclear testing, and
the United States initiated negotiations between the two countries
aimed at reducing tensions and circumventing an arms race in the region.
In early 1999 Sharif and Indian prime
minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee signed the Lahore Declaration, which
articulated a commitment to work toward improved relations. However, in
April fears of a nuclear arms race revived when both countries tested
medium-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Furthermore, in May 1999 Kashmiri separatists, widely believed to be
backed by Pakistan, seized Indian-controlled territory near Kargil in
the disputed Kashmir region. Fighting between Indian forces and the
separatists raged until July, when Sharif agreed to secure the
withdrawal of the separatists and India suspended its military
campaign. Tensions again escalated over the disputed region following
several armed attacks on Indian targets by Kashmiri separatists in late
2001 and early 2002. By mid-2002 India and Pakistan had amassed an
estimated 1 million troops along their shared border, prompting
mediation efforts by the international community to improve relations
between the two nuclear powers
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