Pakistan's First Military Coup: Why Did the First Pakistani Coup Occur and Why Does It Matter?
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Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 2012-03 Pakistan's First Military Coup: Why Did the First Pakistani Coup Occur and Why Does it Matter? Chaudhry, Naghman Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/6773 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS PAKISTAN’S FIRST MILITARY COUP: WHY DID THE FIRST PAKISTANI COUP OCCUR AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? by Naghman Chaudhry March 2012 Thesis Co-Advisors: Anshu Chatterjee Feroz H. Khan Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED March 2012 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Pakistan’s First Military Coup: Why Did the First 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Pakistani Coup Occur and Why Does it Matter? 6. AUTHOR(S) Naghman Chaudhry 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Naval Postgraduate School REPORT NUMBER Monterey, CA 93943-5000 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. IRB Protocol number ______N/A______. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release ; distribution is unlimited 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) The first military coup of Pakistan in 1958 set up a pattern that continues to show itself four decades later and dominate the government either directly or indirectly. The first military coup of Pakistan also created an institutional path for the subsequent three military coups. The first military coup was due to various factors, not just one that civil military theorists neglect to explain. The British recruitment policy during the pre-partition period had as large a role in creating the setting for the coup as did unequal distribution of resources and geographical location. Pakistani military at the time of partition was professional while the other institutions were weak, which challenges the notion that professional military do not cause coups. The Pakistani military also gained prominence because of the all- around external and internal threats. The powerful military and bureaucratic alliance further delayed the enactment of a constitution and changed seven prime ministers within first eleven years of independence by further discrediting the politicians before the people. All these events provided occasion, opportunity and disposition to the Pakistan army to affect the first coup by General Ayub Khan in 1958. The thesis also evaluates the effects of the first military coup on the present civil-military relations in Pakistan. 14. SUBJECT TERMS Pakistan, First, Military Coup 1958, Historical Factors, British Recruitment 15. NUMBER OF Policy, General Ayub Khan, Professional Military, Political Roots, Vacuum, Political Leadership, PAGES Threats, Military Aid, Political Culture, Occasion, Coup, Military, Analysis, Civil-Military Relations. 133 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UU NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited PAKISTAN’S FIRST MILITARY COUP: WHY DID THE FIRST PAKISTANI COUP OCCUR AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? Naghman Chaudhry Captain, Pakistan Navy M.B.A., Preston University Islamabad, Pakistan, 2004-5 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN SECURITY STUDIES (CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS) from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL March 2012 Author: Naghman Chaudhry Approved by: Anshu Chatterjee Thesis Co-Advisor Feroz H. Khan, Brigadier (Ret) Pakistan Army Thesis Co-Advisor Daniel Moran Chair, Department of National Security Affairs iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT The first military coup of Pakistan in 1958 set up a pattern that continues to show itself four decades later and dominate the government either directly or indirectly. The first military coup of Pakistan also created an institutional path for the subsequent three military coups. The first military coup was due to various factors, not just one that civil military theorists neglect to explain. The British recruitment policy during the pre- partition period had as large a role in creating the setting for the coup as did unequal distribution of resources and geographical location. Pakistani military at the time of partition was professional while the other institutions were weak, which challenges the notion that professional military do not cause coups. The Pakistani military also gained prominence because of the all-around external and internal threats. The powerful military and bureaucratic alliance further delayed the enactment of a constitution and changed seven prime ministers within first eleven years of independence by further discrediting the politicians before the people. All these events provided occasion, opportunity and disposition to the Pakistan army to affect the first coup by General Ayub Khan in 1958. The thesis also evaluates the effects of the first military coup on the present civil-military relations in Pakistan. v TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 A. BACKGROUND ..............................................................................................1 1. British Period .......................................................................................1 B. POLITICAL INHERITANCE AND THE STRUCTURE OF PAKISTAN BEFORE INDEPENDENCE ....................................................2 C. THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF PAKISTAN AT INDEPENDENCE.........5 1. Economic Inheritance..........................................................................7 2. Lack of Trained Bureaucrats..............................................................8 3. Lack of Central Infrastructure...........................................................9 4. Refugees’ Problems..............................................................................9 5. Ethnicity Problems and the Separation of Two Wings ....................9 6. The Pakistani Army and Defense Resources...................................10 7. Internal Challenges............................................................................12 8. External Challenges...........................................................................12 D. MAJOR RESEARCH QUESTION..............................................................13 E. PURPOSE AND SCOPE...............................................................................15 F. IMPORTANCE..............................................................................................15 G. PROBLEMS AND HYPOTHESIS ..............................................................16 H. LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................16 1. Military Professionalism ...................................................................17 2. Military Syndicalism..........................................................................19 3. Patriotism............................................................................................20 4. Class and Corporate Interests ..........................................................21 5. Disposition, Mood and Opportunity to Intervene...........................21 6. Politicization .......................................................................................22 7. Lack of Institutionalism and Economic Causes ..............................23 8. External Influence..............................................................................23 9. Military as Savior of the State and Connectivity between the People ..................................................................................................24 10. Rise of Friction ...................................................................................25 11. Crises of Leadership and Governance .............................................28 I. METHODLOGY............................................................................................29 J. THESIS OVERVIEW ...................................................................................29 II. UNDERSTANDING THE FIRST MILITARY COUP..........................................31 A. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................31