Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari, a Seraiki speaking Baloch from the Punjab, served as the eighth president of Pakistan from November 1993 to December 1997. He was born in Dera Ghazi Khan to a family of Baloch chiefs. His grandfather Jamal Khan Leghari and his father Muhammad Khan were influential politicians and had won many elections. The young Leghari received his education from Aitchison College, FC College, Lahore and Oxford University.

He joined the civil service and served as Sargodha division commissioner before, resigning to join politics on ZA Bhutto’s advice. He joined the PPP and became a member of the Senate in 1975. He remained loyal to the PPP and Bhutto family and was active against Zia’s marital law. For this, he was imprisoned by the military regime. After Benazir Bhutto was elected prime minister in 1988, he remained a close confidant of the young prime minister. Initially, Benazir assigned him the task of blocking the formation of Nawaz Sharif’s government in the Punjab. However, he failed to achieve this goal. He was inducted into the federal cabinet and became a prominent face of the party in the Punjab. Later, he served as deputy opposition leader during Nawaz Sharif’s premiership (1990-1993). After PPP’s victory in the 1993 elections, it formed a government at the Centre and in three provinces.

Benazir Bhutto was looking for a close confidant to serve as president. Her choice was Leghari, a trusted colleague, whom she referred to as Farooq Bhai. Leghari’s multi-ethnic background as a member of a leading tribal family with tested political loyalty during the repressive Zia regime qualified him for this office. Benazir had had a bitter experience of working with a powerful and interventionist president, Ghulam Ishaq Khan. In the presidential election, Farooq Leghari secured the support of a wide range of groups against his rival, Wasim Sajjad.

Sajjad enjoyed a good reputation, having supervised relatively free and fair elections in 1993 as acting president. He also enjoyed the blessing of the establishment despite its pronounced neutrality. Ahead of the presidential election, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement struck a deal with the PPP and extended support to Leghari. He also secured the support of independent members from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some political parties of Balochistan like the Baloch National Movement. Some PML-N members from the Punjab also voted in his favour. Members from the FATA and minority seats members also extended support to him. He comfortably won the election by securing 274 votes against PML-N backed Wasim Sajjad, who secured 168 votes.

Benazir had earlier offered a deal to Nawaz Sharif for a consensus presidential candidate and repeal of Article 58(2B) that had been used against both of them. However, Nawaz Sharif had rejected the offer.

Once Leghari assumed the office, he ceased to be a political subordinate to the prime minister and became a powerful head of state having the constitutional power to dismiss the government. Initially, he extended support to his party leader but later developed differences with Benazir and her spouse, Asif Ali Zardari. The rifts and conflicts in the exercise of power and authority created a trust deficit. Leghari was the supreme commander of the Armed Forces with extraordinary powers to make constitutional, judicial and military appointments. He received active support from Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, who was appointed chief justice ahead of several judges senior to him. The PPP leadership had liked his dissenting note in the case of the restoration of Nawaz Sharif’s government. His remark that Sindhi prime ministers were not restored by the Supreme Court apparently became the reason for his elevation as chief justice by the PPP.

 Initially, he extended support to his party leader but later developed differences with Benazir and her spouse, Asif Ali Zardari. The rifts and conflicts in the exercise of power and authority created a trust deficit.

The much-publicised corruption of the ruling couple, poor governance record and perpetual economic crisis eroded the support for Benazir’s government. Rifts among the members of the Bhutto family, especially between Nusrat Bhutto and Benazir, and the Benazir-Murtaza rivalry, led to crucial fault lines. Murtaza Bhutto’s death in a police encounter aggravated the situation. His widow allegedly blamed Asif Ali Zardari and Benazir Bhutto for his death.

Leghari exploited the opportunity. Later, Benazir would accuse him of hatching a conspiracy. With the support of the military establishment, Sajjad Ali Shah-led Supreme Court and the tactical political support of Nawaz Sharif, Leghari dismissed the Benazir government. He leveled charges of massive corruption, embezzlement of state resources and poor governance against it. Sajjad Ali Shah endorsed these allegations through an ill-timed judicial verdict, a few days before the elections. Leghari appointed some political opponents of the PPP and unleashed a media campaign against the couple – PTV aired a BBC documentary on alleged corruption. These moves effectively ousted the PPP from the electoral arena. It was massively defeated. PML-N under Nawaz Sharif emerged as the major beneficiary with a two-thirds majority. Leghari had aspired for a powerful position through a divided mandate. His dreams were shattered when a majority of Leghari-backed candidates lost and the PML-N swept the elections.

Benazir Bhutto extended support to her arch-rival. The prime minister visited Leghari at Choti Zareen and informed him about the proposed constitutional restructuring. The 13th Amendment was introduced to clip the powers of the president.

Nawaz then moved through the introduction of the 14th Amendment to close the door on floor crossing. A puzzled Leghari lost all hope of a second term and decided to retaliate through the Judiciary. Sajjad Ali Shah came to his rescue, admitting petitions and summoning the prime minister to his court. Article 58(2B) was debated and projected as a safety valve against martial law. Nawaz Sharif, under threat of disqualification, reacted with a storming of the Supreme Court by his party workers. The chief justice’s judicial activism was checked from within, as some judges of the Supreme Court raised the issue of his out-of-turn appointment. In the end, Sajjad Ali Shah decided to resign along with his patron, Farooq Leghari, in December 1997.

Nawaz Sharif consolidated his position by having a family friend, Rafiq Tarar, elected as the new president. The role Leghari failed to perform for Benazir was performed by Tarar. After his expulsion from the power corridors, Leghari launched a political party which participated in the 2002 elections. Leghari extended support to Pervez Musharraf due to their shared hatred for the two mainstream leaders. However, the Millat Party failed to come up to the expectations. In the end it merged into the king’s party, the PML-Quaid.

The former president, who had once enjoyed the pinnacle of power, entered the new house as just another member of the National Assembly. He died on October 20, 2010, after prolonged heart disease. His political successors finally joined the PML-N.

Leghari, who had once resisted military dictator Zia-ul Haq, ended his political career supporting another military dictator, Pervez Musharraf. His struggle for the restoration of democracy in the 1980s was overshadowed by his role in the derailment of the democratic process in Pakistan.

The writer is an assistant professor in the Department of Pakistan Studies at Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad. His major area of interest is electoral politics of Pakistan. He can be reached at sajidkhanhistorian@gmail.com. His X handle: @sajidkhanqau