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Supporters of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Pakistan (MMA), an alliance of six hardline religious parties, celebrate after the 2002 elections.
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Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party, the Pakistan Muslim League, won a decisive victory in the February 1997 elections that returned him to a second term. He quickly gained the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, which gave the prime minister the authority to appoint the armed forces chiefs and repealed the Eighth Amendment that allowed the president to dismiss the prime minister and dissolve the National Assembly.
A renewed confrontation with India over Kashmir in mid-1999 ended with the withdrawal of Pakistani-backed troops from Indian-held Kashmir, which was widely resented by the civilian population and the armed forces. When Prime Minister Sharif attempted to dismiss the chief of the army, General Pervez Musharraf, the army ousted the civilian government in a bloodless coup on October 12, 1999.
Within a few days, General Musharraf declared a state of emergency, suspended the constitution and the federal and provincial assemblies, and made himself the chief executive. In May 2000, the Supreme Court validated the coup and stipulated that new elections should be held within three years. Prior to the scheduled October 2002 elections, General Musharraf removed the sitting president and took over the office in June 2001; held an unopposed national referendum that allowed him to continue as president for another five years at the end of April 2002; and in August 2002 amended the constitution to once again grant the president the power to dissolve the National Assembly. Although General Musharraf's party, the Pakistan Muslim League (QA), won the most seats in the National Assembly, the October elections were noted for the success of a coalition of religious parties that made surprising gains nationally and won majorities in two provincial assemblies -- North-West Frontier Province and Balochistan.
photo: Reuters/Mian Khursheed
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