protest against this decision in the news media and reportedly revolted against Prime Minister Sharif's appointment for the chairman joint chiefs in 1999. Admiral Bokhari abruptly tendered his resignation to the Prime Minister Sharif and noted to Sharif that since General Musharraf was his junior and often referred to him as "Sir." On 5 October 1999, Admiral Bokhari resigned from the command of the Navy as the news media construed Admiral Bokhari's resignation merely as unhappiness over not being appointed as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Admiral Bokhari's revolt saw the meltdown of the civil-military relations between the elected civilian government and the military leaders that eventually led to the military overtaking the civilian government by dismissing Prime Minister Sharif on 12 October 1999. The military takeover In the aftermath of the Kargil War, followed by the Atlantique incident, there were widespread rumors and media speculations in the television news media about the either possible military takeover or resignation of General Musharraf in September 1999. In October 1999, General Musharraf paid an official visit to Sri Lanka on an invitation of Sri Lankan Army Commander Lieutenant-General C. S. Weerasooriya. Ultimately, Prime Minister Sharif dismissed General Musharraf from the command of the military and nominated Lieutenant-General Ziauddin Butt, the DG ISI, over several army officers on 12 October 1999. Developments came when General Musharraf, along with Major-General Tariq Majid and Brigadier Nadeem Taj, returned to Pakistan on a PIA 777-200. According to the sources, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was ordered by Sharif to divert the plane to India but then it was rerouted to Nawabshah. When this was failed to comprehend by the pilot, the CAA was ordered to close the runways by turning off the edge lights at the Jinnah International Airport in an attempt to refuse the landing. The units of military police led by Lieutenant-General Iftikhar sealed the civilian airport and seized the control of the control tower, allowing the plane to land on a runway. From the control tower, then Karachi Corps Commander General Muzaffar Usmani contacted General Musharraf, in his flight and assured him that landing the plane was safe since the army now controlled Jinnah Terminal. The military police seized the control of the state-run media television headquarters and encircled the Prime Minister Secretariat building while gaining control of the international airports and cutting off the international phone lines. There were