First we never had a military junta rule because all military take overs have been supported and legitimized by the judiciary, media, politicians and above all the people of Pakistan.
There was no mass-media in 1958 or 1969.
Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy and Fatima Jinnah were duly rewarded for standing up against Ayub Khan. One was exiled, the other suffered a rigged election and both died in suspicious circumstances.
The assertion about the people supporting always comes from nobody except apologists and self serving aristocrats and urban elites whose definition of public support is extremely limited.
Second, our armed forces are the biggest employer in the country and they are the most honest, most patriotic and most organized entity in the IRP.
They are not an employer unto themselves. The employer is the Federation of Pakistan. However, since the armed forces seem to have a whole independent agenda of their own since 14th Aug 1947 (the day they switched from the Union Jack to the Green and White and flags don't change mindsets, attitudes or loyalties). Also, Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Attock and Jhelum do not constitute the whole of Pakistan as far as I remember.
The influence of armed forces in our politics is going to stay and the only ones who need an orphanage are the Sharif brothers aka the closet Talibans. These guys are counting heavily on the US instead of public support and players inside of Pakistan.
Comparing democracy with dictatorship always generates such idiotic responses from apologists to whom anything but the use of force and power is alien. In 1958 we had popular politicians like Suhrawardy and later Fatima Jinnah joined the political bandwagon. In 1977, we had a PPP-PNA consensus on the issue but some magical backdoor discussions with imperial masters led to a coup d'etat. As for 1999, I have nothing to add but what's been said time and again that an adventurous two bit jackboot sabotaged a very successful peace negotiations by sacrificing the lives of our soldiers in yet another delusional move to win Kashmir militarily.
And since you brought up US support, the self championed defenders of our boundaries and since the '80s of our ideologies as well have been nothing but the greatest friends and servants of the US. From Ayub who was "mentioned" as a possible "replacement" in 1954 by the US since he had developed ties with them and received immense support for siding with the US (while India remained neutral and in the long run gained more), to Yahya who was great friends with Nixon, to the imperialist serving Mard e Momin Zia ul Haq to our last self-righteous guardian Pervez Musharraf. If you try to sell the people the image you want using the biggest PR machine in the country, that's one thing but anyone with a sane mind and objective reasoning knows where historically the support has come from.
No one can tell when it will happen, but the historical timescale tells us that autocrats, their elitist cronies and self serving exploitative friends of theirs do not go scot free but rather face the guillotine.
It's been quite a while since I replied to any of your posts regarding Pervez Musharraf since I respect your fundamental right to support any political ideology and political party and you should feel free to champion their cause. However, when the usual hogwash hagiographical accounts are narrated in one-line summarizations that have no grounds in reality, I am forced to reply.
I won't be replying to any replies to my post and I'd advise Old School to leave discussing this topic as well since it serves no practical purpose. For people who labeled others as Kigns and Queens of Corruption and Greed, one has to wonder if 9 years in power do not qualify as enough time. If he wants to come back, he might just take the next plane for his Facebook supporters who've been waiting for months now.
PS:- Notice the difference of language amongst the two exiled-in-London leaders. Altaf Hussain says he'll return when Raabta Committee says so. Rashid Qureshi says Pervez Musharraf will return when he desires so. Still the autocrat, eh.