1958 Pakistani coup d'état

The 1958 Pakistani coup d'état refers to the events between October 7, when the President of Pakistan Iskander Mirza abrogated the Constitution of Pakistan and declared martial law, and October 27, when Mirza himself was deposed by Gen. Ayub Khan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistani Army. Pakistan's first military coup followed a period of prolonged political instability in which Pakistan's dominant political party, the Pakistan Muslim League, was unable to successfully govern on the basis of shared programs or policies. Broadly, political scientists have argued that the susceptibility of a military system to coups is inversely correlated with the strength of its political parties.

In 1956, the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan approved a constitution that ended Pakistan's status of an independent Dominion of the British Empire, to create the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Maj. Gen. Iskander Mirza, the last Governor General of Pakistan, simultaneously became the state's first president. However, the new constitution was followed by political turmoil in Pakistan, which saw a succession of four prime ministers - Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar and Sir Feroz Khan Noon - in a period of two years. There was already a precedent in Governor General Malik Ghulam Muhammad dismissing prime ministers and ruling by decree, and many viewed Mirza as manipulating the constitution and instigating ousters of governments. The One Unit scheme amalgamating the provinces of Pakistan into two wings - West Pakistan and East Pakistan - was politically controversial and proving difficult to administer. The quick succession of prime ministers fostered the view within the military and in the public that Pakistani politicians were too weak and corrupt to govern effectively, and that the parliamentary system was flawed.

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