Ayub Khan Seizes Power: Pakistan's Military Rule Begins

General Ayub Khan seized power in Pakistan on October 27, 1958, deposing President Iskander Mirza in a bloodless coup just twenty days after Mirza had appointed him to enforce martial law. The irony was complete: Mirza had declared martial law on October 7 to resolve a constitutional crisis, then selected the army's top general to carry out the emergency measures, apparently believing Khan would serve as a loyal instrument of presidential authority. Khan saw things differently. Within three weeks, he concluded that Mirza was the source of the instability rather than the solution, and on October 27 he simply informed the president that he was finished. Mirza was flown into exile in London, where he spent the rest of his life. Khan abolished political parties, suspended the constitution, and installed himself as president, beginning a military dictatorship that would last until 1969. His rule brought economic modernization, industrial growth, and a close alliance with the United States, which valued Pakistan as a Cold War partner against Soviet influence in South Asia. But Khan's centralized power and his favoritism toward West Pakistan deepened the economic and political grievances of East Pakistan that eventually led to the Bangladesh Liberation War and the breakup of the country in 1971. The 1958 coup established a pattern of military intervention in Pakistani politics that has repeated itself multiple times since, making Pakistan one of the few nuclear-armed nations to experience regular interruptions of civilian governance.