His second tenure ended when Musharraf removed him from office in October 1999 to establish the country’s fourth military regime. Following the coup, Bhutto and Nawaz fled into exile, and were allowed back into the country only after Musharraf, hoping that their return would help deflect public attention from the lawyers’ protest movement, announced that he would hold elections.
许多人认为穆沙拉夫会走前几届军方领导人的老路，即数次宣布大选重返民主，却在选举将至时推迟大选。但是穆沙拉夫如期举行大选，这让巴基斯坦政界着实惊讶。在大选中，穆沙拉夫的政治大本营巴基斯坦穆斯林联盟（领袖派）不敌贝布托的巴基斯坦人民党和巴基斯坦穆斯林联盟（谢里夫派）。