• Ayub resigned amid deteriorating situation at the end of 1960s
• Yahya resigned after Bangladesh debacle

General (r) Pervez Musharraf's fate was not different from military dictators preceding him, Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan, who also resigned from their offices.

There have been four military coups in the country in 61 years of its existence. The military dictators - Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf - had one common reason of declaring a coup, that the economic situation of the country was weak and the politicians had failed in controlling the situation.

Ayub: Ayub Khan was Pakistan's first military dictator, who took charge on October 27, 1958 after deposing Iskander Mirza. It was the first instance of direct military involvement in the country's politics. Ayub ruled for around 11 years and introduced basic democracies, industrial reforms, and agricultural developments like setting up a network of canals. The hallmark of his tenure was the Indo-Pak war of 1965 and the presidential election in which he defeated Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah. Independent sources had said that the elections were rigged. That was the start of President Ayub's fall. In his final years in power, Ayub started negotiations with his nemeses like Maulana Bhashani and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Musharraf also had to negotiate with Benazir Bhutto while Nawaz Sharif, who was in exile, was also allowed to return.The situation in the country went out of control by the end of the 1960s and Ayub had no option but to quit. He resigned on March 25, 1969.

Yahya: The then chief of army staff Yahya Khan came into power on March 25, 1969 after Ayub's resignation. Yahya immediately imposed martial law in the country and became the president of Pakistan.

His major achievement was the holding a fair elections in 1970. The Pakistan People's Party emerged victorious in West Pakistan while the Awami League won from East Pakistan. However, before the transfer of power, a war between Pakistan and India broke out in December 1970. Pakistan faced defeat in the war. The eastern part of the country was separated. The people of Pakistan were angered over the defeat. Yahya handed over power to Bhutto and resigned on December 20, 1971.

Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Buhtto appointed General Ziaul Haq as chief of army staff in 1976.

Zia overthrew Bhutto on July 5, 1977 through a military coup and imposed the third martial law in the country's history. The major development in Zia's era was a decade-long Afghan war, in which more than one million Afghans were displaced. Like Ayub, Zia tried to give the nation his own style of democracy and held non-party elections in 1985. Muhammad Khan Junejo was elected prime minister but was removed by president Zia in May 1988 for signing the Geneva Accord. Zia was killed in a plane crash near Bahawalpur on August 17, 1988.

General (r) Pervez Musharraf came into power through a coup on October 12, 1999. He overthrew the government of prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Though Musharraf did not impose martial law, he became the chief executive of the country, a post that was created for the first time.

In 2001, he held a referendum. The 9/11 attacks in the US were the major development of his tenure. Elections in October 2002 led to victory of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, which was considered Musharraf's party.

The turning point in his nine-year tenure came after the elections of February 18, 2008 in which the Pakistan People's Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz won the majority. The coalition parties mounted pressure on Musharraf to resign from office. There were also public rallies against him.On August 18, 2008, president Musharraf, like Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan, had to bow to public pressure and resigned from office.

Courtesy: www.dailytimes.com.pk, August 19, 2008