The coup that deposed Pakistan's prime minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif, was a long time coming. It had many causes, the most immediate of which was the animosity between Mr. Sharif and the military. But by almost every measure, Mr. Sharif's term in office has been a disaster. That does not excuse the military's decision to take measures into its own hands, however. Pakistan's military should return to the barracks, and let a civilian Cabinet take office. Stability will come to Pakistan only when all its leaders -- civilian and military -- accept the limits of constitutional government.

Mr. Sharif's fall is especially disheartening. He came to power in 1997 with a large parliamentary majority. Voters had hoped that he would continue the reforms he had begun during his first term in office and would rescue the country's sinking economy. Voters also looked for stability. None of the previous three governments had completed their five-year terms; each was dismissed by the president on charges of corruption. Mr. Sharif had been one of them.

With a large majority in hand, Mr. Sharif went quickly to work. One of his first moves was amending the constitution to end the president's power to dismiss a Cabinet. While that may have been popular, Mr. Sharif then proceeded to eliminate every source of possible opposition to his rule. Party members were forced to toe the party leader's -- Mr. Sharif's -- line, and the heads of independent institutions such as the supreme court and the armed forces were replaced with the prime minister's men. Finally, laws promoting freedom of the press were revoked and tax authorities went after publishers.