W 1977 roku rząd Bhutto obalony został w wyniku wojskowego zamachu stanu wspartego przez islamistów. Władzę dyktatorską objął generał Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, który cofnął reformy Bhutto i przywrócił sojusz z USA. Współcześnie kwestią sporną jest zaangażowanie USA w pucz przeciwko BhuttoPanhwar, Member of Sindh Provincial Assembly., Sani (5 kwietnia, 1979). „CIA Sent Bhutto to the Gallows”. The New York Time i Sani H. Panhwar „I [Ramsey Clark] do not believe in conspiracy theories in general, but the similarities in the staging of riots in Chile (where the CIA allegedly helped overthrow President Salvadore Allande) and in Pakistan are just too close, Bhutto was removed from power in Pakistan by force on July 5, after the usual party on the 4th at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, with U.S. approval, if not more, by General Zia-ul-Haq. Bhutto was falsely accused and brutalized for months during proceedings that corrupted the Judiciary of Pakistan before being murdered, then hanged. As Americans, we must ask ourselves this: Is it possible that a rational military leader under the circumstances in Pakistan could have overthrown a constitutional government, without at least the tacit approval of the United States?”.”.. Rządom wojskowym towarzyszyła islamizacja życia politycznegoMichael Heng Siam-Heng;