Pakistan Unpolitic Politics

A Cyclic Saga of Command Performance

Muhammad Arif Khattak

Dedicated To Abba Jan

Abstract
Pakistan, as a society and as a polity, has been a representation of historys cyclic characteristic. Unfortunately, these repetitions have been rather too fast-track. Pakistans history has been a decade to decade phenomenona decade for quasi-democracy and a decade for stern dictatorial regime. The present work attempts to relate the countrys political deviations with the dynamics of Cold War and Post Cold War global compulsions.

Prologue
The present monograph is an extension of the paper The Politics of Agitation in Pakistan: An Analysis of Instability in Historical Perspective. The paper was presented at the National Seminar on Democracy in Pakistan at Bara Gali, 14 August 1997held in connection with the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the countrys independence. Ironically, nothing has changed. Historys claim to being a cyclic poem is being upheld by state of affairs in the countrys political movement. It is this unfortunate relevance of the pessimistic overtones of the paper that prompted me to get the humble effort published. I would like to express my profound gratitude to my worthy colleagues: Prof. Huma Maqsood for carefully reviewing and editing the manuscript and Mr. Wajid Ali - Academic Officer, Iqra University - for typing the manuscript. Arif Khattak Islamabad February 2011

ii

Contents
Abstract i Prologue ii Contents iii Introduction 4 Background 6 Pakistan Movement 9
Civil Disobedience Movement in Punjab 11 Civil Disobedience Movement in NWFP 13

The Legacy Persists 16 The First Military TakeoverAn Aftermath of Agitation 20

First Military Regime 23

Trumpet Gives Way to Agitation 24 Agitation Yields Result 26 Putting the Pieces TogetherA Fresh Start 28 The Third Martial Law 29 Decade of Quasi-Democracy 32 Epilogue 35 Conclusion 36 Bibliography 38 Index 40

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Pakistan Unpolitic

Introduction
Political change has always come peacefully in Pakistan. Paradoxically, no change has been brought about by peaceful means. Every change that has come during the more-than 60 years of Pakistans existence can be seen to have been preceded by an agitation. The intensity of these agitations has been varying in degree, but the modus operandi has more or less remained the same. The way these agitations started also appears to have been unchanged. In the words of Khalid bin Sayeed: In Pakistans politics, small and strange beginnings have sometimes led to awesome consequences.1 In a country which was established through peaceful, political, and constitutional means, it seems a strange phenomenon. The antithesis can be justified if the background of the establishment of Pakistan is studied and analysed in depth. It can be seen that the agitational politics, rather than peaceful and constitutional means, has paid sound dividends and has always reaped good harvest. It is for this reason that the aspirants of power and change have invariably resorted to this means, when and where it suited them or they so desired. Agitation, no doubt, has without fail proved to be the main deterrent to constitutional, political, economic, and even social stability and progress of the country. The most interesting aspect of the whole account that is to follow is that, every major change in the country has invariably been preceded by a short period of agitational politics. In the politics of 1990s, it became so blatant that differences between the presidents and prime ministers cropped up simultaneously with the start of a movement by one or the other political group or party. This practice has been difficult to ignore, especially in view of the far-reaching policy decisions taken by almost all

Khalid bin Sayeed, Politics in Pakistan: the Nature and Direction of Change, New York, 1980, p. 145.

Pakistan Unpolitic interim/caretaker governments - both in the sphere of foreign policy and in terms of economic procedure.

Pakistan Unpolitic

Background
After the failure of the War of Independence in 1857, it was Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-1898), who advised the Muslims of India to conduct themselves in a straightforward and calm manner.2 It was mainly for this reason that during the second half of the 19th century the Muslims of India kept themselves aloof from agitational or violent politics or even from politics as such. They even avoided the Indian National Congress formed in 1885.3 They remained true to Sir Syeds advice till 1906. It was, however, with the annulment of the partition of Bengal in 19114 that the Muslim India realised, for the first time, the significance of agitational politics. The partition of Bengal had been strongly resented by the Hindus as they saw in it a threat to their cultural, economic, and political domination.5 They launched a passionate and sweeping movement against the partition of Bengal6 during which Lancashire manufactures were boycotted in favour of Swadeshi (Indian made cloth) and India witnessed an outburst of terrorist activities. B. G. Tilak (18562

For Sir Syed Ahmad Khans views, see Jamil-ud-Din Ahmad, (ed.) Historic Documents of the Muslim Freedom Movement, Lahore, 1970, pp. 1-14.

The Indian National Congress had been formed on the initiative of a retired British official, Allan Octavian Hume, under the guidance of the then viceroy, Lord Dufferin (21 June 1826 12 February 1902).

The unwieldy province of Bengal had been partitioned and the readjustment of its boundaries had been carried out in October 1905, mainly for administrative reasons by the Lord Curzon (11 January 1859 20 March 1925), the then viceroy. This had resulted in the creation of a new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam, the bulk of whose population was Muslim. This provincial reorganization was undone in 1911.
5 6

Chaudhri Muhammad Ali, The Emergence of Pakistan, Lahore, 1988, p. 14. K. K. Aziz, Britain and Muslim India, Lahore, 1987, p. 37.

Pakistan Unpolitic 1920) and other Congress leaders were able to make this local affair an issue of all India importance. The period between 1905 and 1911 is story of bloodshed and violence which turned against the Muslims for refusing to join the hartaals (boycotts or suspension of business) and protest demonstrations. They had also exhibited loyalty to the British. In the end, the government succumbed to the demands of the Hindu pressure despite the fact that the Muslims had welcomed the partition. The partition of Bengal was hence annulled in 1911. It was the first major victory for the agitators and defeat for the loyalists who had pursued peaceful means of deputations and memoranda.7 To the Muslims of India, it was loyalty rewarded with betrayal.8 The Muslims now realised that if they were to achieve their political objectives they must emulate the Hindu method of agitation. This was demonstrated in 1913 at Cawnpur when the municipality demolished an annexe of a mosque. The Muslims protested against the demolition and turned a local incidence into an all India affair. As a result, the government was forced to retreat from its policy. The Khilafat9 was another issue when Muslims adopted agitational method to achieve their ends. This time they brought in the Hindu support through Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 30 January 1948), who suggested that in order to press their demands they should launch a non-cooperation movement with the British government. Though non-cooperation was supposedly based on Ahimsa (the philosophy of non-violence), the leaders were unable to control the

7 8 9

See for example the address of the Simla Deputation, 1 October 1906. K. K. Aziz, Op cit, p. 84.

For detailed account of this movement see Jacob M. Landau, The Politics of PanIslam: Ideology and Organisation, New York, 1994, esp. ch. IV, pp. 176-215. See also M. N. Qureshi, Pan-Islam in British Indian Politics: A Study of the Khilafat Movement, 1918-1924, esp. ch. II, Brill, 1999.

Pakistan Unpolitic mobs who were less interested in the spirit of Ahimsa. The consequence was the incidence of Chauri Chaura in February 1922, when violence took over the mob, who attacked a police station, killed, and burned alive the policemen working there. It can be seen that the movements which later proved as torch-bearers for the following Indian political activity were, no doubt, characterised by their agitational and violent outlook and mood.

Pakistan Unpolitic

Pakistan Movement
The creation of Pakistan though was the result of a political and constitutional struggle launched by the all India Muslim League under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah (1976-1948), who was a quintessential constitutionalist. He had remained composed even during the days of the Khilafat Movement. In his response to the non-co-operation program, he had preferred constitutional path over the agitational path. He remained true to his commitment right till 1946, when convinced of the unreasonable attitude of the British government towards the AIML and to the advantage of the Indian National Congress as regards the issue of the Cabinet Mission Plan,10 the formation of the interim government,11 and the partition itself, that

The Cabinet Mission Plan was announced on May 16, 1946. The focal point of the Plan was the preservation of the single state. It provided for a Union of India comprising both British India and the princely States. The Union was to deal with subjects of foreign affairs, defence, and communications. It envisaged the formation of three groups of provinces: Section A to comprise the six Hindu majority provinces of Madras, Bombay, UP, Orrisa, CP, Bihar; Section B to comprise the provinces of Punjab, NWFP (present Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sind, and Baluchistan; and Section C to comprise Bengal and Assam provinces. The Plan promised that the provinces and States will be the basic units and all subjects other than the Union subjects and all residuary powers would vest in the provinces. See Z. H. Zaidi, Arif Khattak, et al, Jinnah Papers: Prelude to Pakistan, 20 February1947-2 June 1947, Vol. I, Part II, Appendix III.I, Islamabad, 1993, pp. 32-42. Para 8 of the 16 June Statement of the Cabinet Delegation and the Viceroy categorically stated that: In the event of the two major parties or either of them unwilling to join in the setting up of a coalition government on the above lines, it is the intention of the Viceroy to proceed with the formation of an interim government which will be as representative as possible of those willing to accept the statement of May 16. Jamil ud-Din Ahmad, (ed.), Historic Documents of the Muslim Freedom Movement, Lahore, 1970, p. 518 and The Viceroys Journal, p. 308. Also see Sharifuddin Pirzada, Quaids Correspondence, Lahore, 1987, p. 381. Quaid-i-Azam
11

10

Pakistan Unpolitic constitutional and political struggle cannot succeed unless coupled with pressure tactics of the direct action.12 It was this change in the Quaids attitude that characterised the remaining part of the Pakistan Movement. It is not surprising to note that where constitutional means had failed to work, agitational politics and direct action brought about the desired results.

Mohammad Ali Jinnah interpreted it thus: To me that if the Congress refuses to join an interim government composed as proposed in that statement while the League agreed to do so, then the Viceroy would go ahead and form the government as proposed, but without the Congress representatives. See ibid, p. 382. But to Wavell this was only a possible, perhaps even the natural interpretation of the meaning of paragraph 8. The Mission and the Viceroy interpreted it differently. They considered that since both parties had now accepted the statement of 16 May, paragraph 8 required that fresh efforts should de no to form an interim government. Jinnah protested that this interpretation had been dishonestly concocted by the legalistic talents of the Cabinet Mission. The Viceroys Journal, p. 490. Consequent upon this breach of faith, on 28 July 1946, the AIML Council passed a resolution to withdraw its acceptance of the 6 June 1946 Cabinet Plan. Jamil ud-Din Ahmad, (ed.,) Historic Documents of the Muslim Freedom Movement, Lahore, 1970, p. 532-5. The Viceroy later unilaterally invited Congress to form the government on 6 August 1946. The Muslim League later joined the coalition government on 25 October 1946.
12

A resolution of the AIML Council on 29 July 1946 resolved that:

....And whereas Muslim India has exhausted without success all efforts to find a peaceful solution of the Indian problem by compromise and constitutional means....the Council of the All India Muslim League is convinced that now the time has come for the Muslim nation to get rid of the present slavery under the British and contemplated future Caste Hindu domination....This Council directs the Working Committee to prepare forthwith a programme of direct action to carry out the policy initiated above and to organise the Muslims for the coming struggle to be launched as and when necessary. As a protest against and in token of their deep resentment of the attitude of the British, this Council calls upon the Mussalmans to renounce forthwith the titles conferred upon them by the Alien Government. Ibid., p. 536.

10

Pakistan Unpolitic It is an admitted fact that due to their numerical strengths in the respective legislative assemblies, neither the Unionist Ministry of Khizer Hayat Khan Tiwana (1942 and 1946-1947) in the Punjab nor the Congress Ministry of Dr. Khan Sahib (1937-1939 and 1945-1947) in NWFP could be dislodged through constitutional moves (especially when the expediency of changing loyalties i.e., lotacracy13 and horsetrading had as yet not been experimented on a large scale). The only course open for the Muslim League leadership of the respective provinces was to start Civil Disobedience Movement both the ministries. The Civil Disobedience Movement started on account of issues which had little to do with politics of ideology and constitutionalism or of national significance. Civil Disobedience Movement in Punjab In Punjab, the Muslim League had won 75 seats in a house of 175.14 Though it was the single largest party in the province, it had failed to form government. Instead Sir Khizar Hayat Khan Tiwana was able to from the Coalition ministry of the Congress, Unionists and Sikhs, while the Muslim league had been smarting under chagrin ever since.15 The Muslim League voiced its resentment through demonstrations and public meetings. But the Civil Disobedience Movement started in the province formally when the police searches were carried out in the office of the Muslim League National Guards on 14 January 1947.16 The

13 14 15

See http://www.chowrangi.com/blooming-lotacracy.html The Muslim League had bagged 75 seats out of 84 Muslim seats.

See Z. H. Zaidi, Arif Khattak, et al, Jinnah Papers: Prelude to Pakistan, 20 February1947-2 June 1947, Vol. I, Part II, Appendix VII, Islamabad, 1993. Located at Royal Park, McLloyd Road, Lahore.

16

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Pakistan Unpolitic organization had been banned earlier by the Punjab Government.17 Nawab Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot, Malik Firoz Khan Noon, Mian Iftikharuddin, Mian Mumtaz Daulatana, Sardar Shaukat Hayat, and other ML leaders hurried to the place of incidence. They protested against the searches and were arrested by police.18 The ML workers attempted the release of the arrested leader, but failed to produce any result. It was after his that the Civil Disobedience Movement acquired full momentum. The arrests of the leaders rather triggered the movement. Voluntary arrests were offered by the ML workers, which made it difficult for the jail authorities to accommodate the growing population of the jail, so they resorted to a new technique. The ML workers would be loaded in lorries and taken to a remote place where they would be left to come back on their own. This too did not prove successful.19 Widespread public demonstration, rallies, and protest meetings were held by the AIML. The government made all out efforts to control the processions through lathi-charges, tear gassing, and even firing on the determined and undaunted crowds.20 Ultimately, the government had to succumb to the demands of the agitationists. The ban on public meetings imposed earlier was lifted and the jailed leaders were released. The CDM was called off on 26 February 1947, and the ministry of Khizar Hayat Khan Tiwana resigned on 2 March 1947. The Governor

The Muslim League National Guards and Rashtriya Sawayam Sewak Sangh had been declared unlawful organizations by the government under Section 16 of the Punjab Criminal Law Amendment Act. See Z. H. Zaidi, Arif Khattak, et al, Jinnah Papers: Prelude to Pakistan, 20 February1947-2 June 1947, Vol. I, Part II, Appendix VII, Islamabad, 1993, p. 199. Also see Muhammad Azam Chaudhry, Tehrik Pakistan main Punjab ka Kirdar, (Urdu), Karachi, 1996, p. 193.
19 20 18

17

Ian Stephens, Pakistan, London, 1963, p. 142.

See Z. H. Zaidi, Arif Khattak, et al, Jinnah Papers: Prelude to Pakistan, 20 February1947-2 June 1947, Vol. I, Part II, Appendix VII, Islamabad, 1993.

12

Pakistan Unpolitic of Punjab, Evan M. Jenkins, asked Mamdot to explore the possibility of forming ministry in the province on 3 March 1947. But since there were little chances of the same Governors Rule, section 93 was imposed in the province on 5 March 1947.21 Civil Disobedience Movement in NWFP In the NWFP, in the general election of 1945-46, the Muslim League captured only 17 seats out of a total number of 50 in the provincial legislature. The Congress got 30 seats. Two seats went to the Jami'atu'l'ulama-i Islam while election on one seat was won by a Sikh candidate. The visit of Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1965) to the NWFP in October 1946 proved to be a thorough failure, which helped the Muslim League to organise and launch effective movement for the cause of Pakistan. Despite the fact that the Congress had emerged victorious in the Frontier in 1946 elections, the tide soon turned in favour of the Muslim League. Apart from other factors, there occurred an event in early January 1947 for which the Muslim League was waiting so anxiously.22 It so happened that a widowed Sikh woman, Basanti by name, embraced Islam and married a Muslim named Muhammad Zaman. The Sikhs protested against the event and termed it as a forceful conversion. To determine the truth, she was shifted to the residence of premier Dr. Khan Sahib23 where she claimed that she had been converted against her wishes and that she wanted to go back to her family in Hazara. The Provincial Muslim League blamed Dr Khan Sahib for the change in Basantis stance and organized protest meeting against him. Fearing that

21

For a comprehensive account of the Civil Disobedience Movement in Punjab see ibid, pp. 199-325.

Syed Waqar Ali Shah, Pir Sahib Manki Sharif Syed Amin ul Hassanat aur Unki Siasi Jadujuhad, Islamabad, 1990, p. 65.
23

22

Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan (born 1882 - May 9, 1958) popularly known as Dr. Khan Sahib.

13

Pakistan Unpolitic the situation might worsen, the government banned public meetings. The Muslim League retaliated by launching, on 18 February 1947, a Civil Disobedience Movement. As a result, Abdul Qayyum Khan (1901-1981) and other Muslim League leaders were arrested24 for the violation of section 144.25 The Civil Disobedience Movement gained momentum with every passing day. The politics of agitation had already proved its utility when the Muslim League registered victory in the Kamalzai byeelection.26 Meanwhile, on 20 February 1947, the British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, in his address to the Parliament, declared that His Majestys Government wish to make it clear that it is their definite intention to take the necessary steps to effect the transference of power into responsible Indian hands by a date not later than June 1948.27 This statement and the successful culmination of the Civil Disobedience Movement in Punjab gave an impetus to the Civil Disobedience Movement in NWFP. Public meetings and protest demonstrations became a daily feature of activity in the Province. So effective and sustained was the defiance of governmental authority, spurring League volunteers to court arrests, writes Z H Zaidi in his introduction to Part II of the Jinnah Paper, that jails across the province had to be emptied of a large number of prisoners to accommodate the volunteers. Even the Governor was on tenterhooks wondering how to cope with the burgeoning jail population.28 The movement was called off only after

24 25 26

The Civil & Military Gazette, 21 February 1947. Order prohibiting unlawful assembly of five or more persons

The Muslim League won this seat by a margin of 588 votes, as against 169 votes in the earlier election held in 1946.

27

See Z. H. Zaidi, Arif Khattak, et al, Jinnah Papers: Prelude to Pakistan, 20 February1947-2 June 1947, Vol. I, Part I, Islamabad, 1993, p. 2. Ibid., Part II, p. 326.

28

14

Pakistan Unpolitic Lord Mountbatten (1900-1969), new viceroy announced the June 3 Plan.29 The Plan, while maintaining that the position of the North West Frontier Province is exceptional, envisaged a referendum to be made to the electors of the present Legislative Assembly in the North-West Frontier Province to choose between joining the Pakistan dominion or the Indian dominion.30 The Frontier Congress and the Khudai Khidmatgars of Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890-1988) demanded that there should have been a third option, that of an independent Pakhtunistan, but it was not accepted.31 It is asserted that the idea of Pakhtunistan had been initiated by the British. This Contention is based on a confidential message of Sir Olaf Caroe (Governor of NWFP1946-1947) to John Colville, the acting viceroy, in which he had claimed that it was Caroe himself who had initiated the idea of Pakhtunistan.32 The politics of agitation bore fruit when on 20 July 1947 the referendum result was officially announced. As many as 289,244 votes were polled in favour of Pakistan, while only 2,874 votes were cast for the Indian dominion. The Congress and the Khudai Khidamtgars had boycotted the referendum. It was on the basis of this referendum that NWFP became part of Pakistan on 14 August 1947.

29

See Z. H. Zaidi, Arif Khattak, et al, Jinnah Papers: Pakistan in the Making, 3 June 1947-30 June 1947, Vol. II pp. 1-6. Ibid., p. 3.

30 31

The Khudai Khidmatgars had very little support on the issue even in the Congress. Nehru also did not insist on the idea of an independent Pakhtun/Pashtun state. See Z. H. Zaidi, Arif Khattak, et al, Jinnah Papers: Pakistan in the Making, 3 June 1947-30 June 1947, Vol. II, p. xv.
32

Mansergh Nicholas, (ed.) The Transfer of Power, Vol. X, London, 1982, p. 944.

15

Pakistan Unpolitic

The Legacy Persists

The unfortunate aspect of the whole story is that, instead of ending with the successful culmination of the Muslim struggle, the trend of agitational politics has persisted through more than half a century of Pakistans life. As was the case in the pre-partition days that no other means ever worked to bring about a change, same remained the situation in the post independence polity. This tendency did not stop and hence resulted in the dismemberment of the East Pakistan. It continues to the present day. The first Constituent Assembly and government formed there-from fell short of their primary task i.e., the framing of a constitution for the country. The assembly had lost its representative characters and so had the government. Rather than taking the lawful course of holding general elections and bringing into existence new assembly and government, the then Governor General, Malik Ghulam Muhammad (1895-1956) encouraged the forces of agitation. A group of politicians under the leadership of Mian Mumtaz Muhammad Khan Daulatana (1916-1995) joined hands with agitational forces to dislodge the government. Law and order situation was created in Lahore when the agitation against Qadianis culminated on 4 March 1953 in the imposition of material law. Few months later, the government of Khawaja Nazimuddin (1951-1953) was dismissed on 17 April 1953, followed by the dissolution of Constituent Assembly in the next year. The event deserves a little elaboration. The ostensibly religio-political movement against the Qadianis33 was developed by the interested parties to check the activities

33

Qadianis challenge the Muslim belief that prophethood culminated after Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). They consider charlatan Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1839-1908) as a messenger. In their political ideology, the Qadianis believed in unquestioned loyalty to the rulers of the land. Therefore, they the staunchest supporters of the British rule in India and opposed the movement

16

Pakistan Unpolitic of the Qadianis, who were reportedly working to convert all the people of Baluchistan34. Consequently, a committee - the Majlis-i-Amal - was formed by the All-parties Convention, which met on 18 January 1953 at Karachi.35 On 22 January, the Committee presented before the Prime Minister Khawaja Nazimuddin, their demands to declare Qadianis a non-Muslim minority and remove Sir Zafarullah Khan36 from his cabinet or else resign from premiership.37 This ultimatum could not be, no doubt, taken as anything short of a civil revolt.38 Then followed a demonstration of Majlis-i-Amal in front of the governor-generals house

for Pakistan. Freeland Abbott, Islam and Pakistan, New York, 1968, p. 185. Also see Maulana Syed Abul A'la Maududi, Qadiani Masala, (Urdu), Lahore, 1973, pp. 36-37 and http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/misc/moududsc.htm. Also see Riaz Ahmad, Constitutional and Political Developments in Pakistan, 1951-54, Rawalpindi, 1981, p. 47.
34

Riaz Ahmad in his Constitutional and Political Developments in Pakistan, 195154, Rawalpindi, 1981, on the authority of the Report of the Court of Inquiry Constituted under Punjab Act II of 1954 to Enquire into the Punjab Disturbances, Lahore, 1954, p. 261, maintains that Ahmadis (Qadianis) aimed at converting all the people of Pakistan. The Report, however, while referring to the speech of Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad, describes their objective to be of converting the entire population of that province. The Report does underline the ultimate mission of the movement, as manifested in its propaganda, to make the entire Muslim population fall in its lap by the end of 1952. Riaz Ahmad, Op cit, p. 47.

35 36

Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, KCSI (1893-1985) was a Pakistani diplomat, first Asian President of the International Court of Justice, President of the UN General Assembly, Pakistan's first foreign minister (1947-1954) was a follower of the Ahmadiyya movement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Zafarullah_Khan.
37 38

Riaz Ahmad, Op cit, p. 48.

Report of the Court of Inquiry Constituted under Punjab Act II of 1954 to Enquire into the Punjab Disturbances, Lahore, 1954, p. 240.

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Pakistan Unpolitic and the residence of the prime minister on 26 February and the subsequent arrest of a few ulema and others. The arrest gave am impetus to the movement, and it spread to other parts of the country as well. Punjab became the centre of the movement, while the Majlis-i-Ahrar its vanguard. Collisions between the police and the angry mobs resulted in the loss of hundreds of human lives.39 The court of inquiry later found evidence that the members of the Majlis-i-Amal, when they decided to serve Khawaja Nazimuudin with an ultimatum, knew that if the demands were rejected and the threat of direct action was put into execution, large-scale disturbances involving firing, bloodshed and general disorder of a very serious character would result and that the event precisely took the anticipated course.40 The situation worsened to an extent that the civil administration was unable to exercise any control. The defence secretary Iskandar Mirza (1899-1969)41 advised the governor-general Malik Ghulam Mohammad to proclaim martial law in Lahore, who did so on 4 March 1953. Mian Mumtaz Daulatana - the chief minister of the Punjab - was forced to resign, and on 17 April 1953 the governor-general was pleased to relieve his council of ministers under sub-section of section 10 of the Government of India Act 1935, as adopted for Pakistan.42 The major cause of the dismissal of Khwaja Nazimuddin government was said to be its failure to control the law and order situation during the crises. The fact that the prime minister enjoyed the support of 72 members in a house of 80 was, however, not taken into account.

39 40

Ibid.

Report of the Court of Inquiry Constituted under Punjab Act II of 1954 to Enquire into the Punjab Disturbances, Lahore, 1954, p. 240.

41

He was Governor General of Pakistan during 1951-55. Later he became the President of Pakistan under the 1956 Constitution and remained in office till being ousted by General Ayub Khan in October 1958. The Gazette of Pakistan (Extraordinary), Karachi, 1953, p. 529.

42

18

Pakistan Unpolitic An important aspect of this episode is that, within a period of exactly 3 months the leaders of the agitation were able to obtain the dismissal of a constitutional government. It speaks volumes of the persistence of those who monitored the progress of the agitation. It is also alleged that Daulatana, who aspired to be the prime minister, also encouraged the anti-government agitation.43 It can be seen that a prime minister, who commanded the support of an overwhelming majority of the members of the legislature and could not be removed from office through an ordinary constitutional process or a political move, was forced out of office through agitational methods.44 The personal ambition of securing absolute power, which drove a scheming governor-general like Malik Ghulam Mohammad to grab an opportunity, must also have been one of the important factors in the whole drama. But the role of the civil and military bureaucracy cannot be ignored in the whole process. Moreover, it was the 1953 martial law in Lahore that convinced the military leadership that none but they had the ability and potential to put things right and restore order. In the event, they also developed the notion that without their interference the political, economic, and social ills of the country could not be adequately remedied.

The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG, CID) had noted on 1 June 1953 that the Ahrar leaders had for sometime been giving out that the agitation against Chaudhri Zafrullah Khan which they were carrying on had the support of some high-ups in the Government and the Muslim League and that the Governments omission to take firm and determined measures had been giving cause for belief that some members of the Government were sponsoring this chauvinistic movement. Report of the Court of Inquiry Constituted under Punjab Act II of 1954 to Enquire into the Punjab Disturbances, Lahore, 1954, p. 76.
44

43

The change had another interesting significance that the new prime minister was Pakistans ambassador to the United States of America, before he was selected for the new office. On his assuming the office, the countrys foreign policy witnessed immediate and clearer trend and inclination towards the Westespecially USA.

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Pakistan Unpolitic

The First Military TakeoverAn Aftermath of Agitation

Events, immediately preceding the imposition of the first military government in Pakistan, were not different. The economics crises coupled with political chaos had created a situation where the country might have had a complete breakdown of monetary and banking system.45 The general elections under the 1956 Constitution had been promised to be held in November 1957, but then postponed to 1958 and then to 1959. It is asserted that this frequent postponement of elections caused the political chaos in the country.46 It is also maintained that the inefficient and vested interests of irresponsible politicians prevented a general election from being held or good government taking its roots.47 While President Iskandar Mirza48 was looking for a suitable opportunity to abrogate the Constitution49, the political parties and their leaders were seeking ways to exploit the situation. The most convenient, rather the most promising, means to achieve the objective once again appeared in the politics of agitation. Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan50, who had
45

Muhammad Ayub Khan, Friends Not Masters: A Political Autobiography, London, 1967, p. 56.

46

W. Norman Brown, The United States and India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1972, p. 244. Ibid.

47 48

Major-General Sahibzada Sayyid Iskander Ali Mirza, CIE, OBE (18991969) was the fourth and last Governor-General of the Dominion of Pakistan (6 October 1955 to 23 March 1956), and the first President of the Republic of Pakistan (23 March 1956 to 27 October 1958). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iskandar_Mirza.
49 50

Ayub Khan, Op cit, p. 57.

Abdul Qayyum Khan (16 July 1901 22 October 1981) was a major figure in Pakistan politics, in particular in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where he

20

Pakistan Unpolitic become the president of the Muslim League in March 1958, changed his original stance of a peaceful revolution into warnings of a bloody revolution with his inspiration coming from the July coup d'tat in Iraq.51 He went round the country spitting fire and preaching civil war, and openly pronounced that if his party did not win election rivers of blood would flow.52 The Muslim League National Guards who numbered about 60,000 would parade in the Streets, fully armed and uniformed. The militant outlook of the party gives indications to the effect that vested interests were at work once again to create a situation which could sabotage the holding of the scheduled general elections. It is a strange coincidence that the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army General Mohammad Ayub Khan (1907-1974)53 - who interestingly happened to be visiting the United States of America at that time in the month of May 1958, had stated expressing disillusionment at the deteriorating political, constitutional, and economic conditions of the country. On 22 May 1958 he noted in his personal diary: The elections, of course, are drawing near. The politicians are trying to get back into power by hook or by crook. And having hot there they know that they will have nothing to show for themselves except working for the disruption of the country further. In that case they will come face to face with the army

served as deputy speaker, Chief Minister and Minister in the Central Government and as Federal Interior Minister. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khan_Abdul_Qayyum_Khan
51 52 53

M. Rafique Afzal, Political Parties in Pakistan, Vol. I, Islamabad, 1996, p. 217. Ayub Khan, Op cit.

Muhammad Ayub Khan N.Pk., H.Pk., HJ, psc, (May 14, 1907 April 19, 1974) was a self-appointed, first and to date, only Field Marshal in the Pakistan and the first military dictator of Pakistan, serving as the second President of Pakistan from 1958 to 1969. He became the Pakistan Army's first native Commander in Chief in 1951. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ayub_Khan

21

Pakistan Unpolitic and me. Hence, I am regarded by them as enemy number one for doing my duty. Their conscience is so dead that, in order to obtain some political advantage, they will not stop at destroying the army which is the only shield they have. I am one of those who have served democracy as I believe that there is nothing like it if we can work the system. I refused to take over power when offered by the late Ghulam Mohammad. Then I had the hope that some amongst the politicians would show patriotism, selflessness, and the urge to get the country moving. But they have all been tried and found wanting. I am now certain that if the country is left to them, we should expect nothing but ruin. It seems that we shall have to have a system of government for a generation or so which prepares the country for democracy and solves some of our major problems. Under the present Constitution, no one seems to have any power except to destroy discipline and to do harm. A politician is lucky if he can hang on to his seat, let alone do any good. Even if he wants to do any good, his supporters demanding all kind of selfish things would ensure that he does not get a chance.54 In his reply to Prime Minister Malik Firoz Khan Noons (1893-1970) telegram of 9 June, which gave him two years extension as C-in-C, Ayub Khan assured that he would continue to do his best to the army and through it to the country.55 This also shows the working of his mind during the period under review. Again, on 28 August 1958, he noted in his diary:

54 55

Ayub Khan, Op cit, p. 61. Ibid., p. 63.

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Pakistan Unpolitic I am receiving very depressing reports about economic distress, maladministration through political interference, frustration and complete loss of faith by the people in political leadership inclusive of the president. The general belief is that none of these men have any honesty of purpose, integrity or patriotism, to root out evils of the country which will require drastic action. The dangerous belief is emerging that even I and the army are failing to do our duty by not saving the people from tyrants56 When he was finally convinced that he with his army is the deus ex machina, he could not put off the responsibility further. The hour had struck. The moment so long delayed had finally arrived.57 And the president dismissed the government, dissolved assemblies, abrogated the 1956 Constitution and declared martial law in the country on 7 October 1958. Ayub Khan was made the chief martial law administrator, who later forced Iskandar Mirza to resign and himself assumed the office of the president. First Military Regime The military regime of Ayub Khan, (1858-1969) was considered to be a good model of sound government with the support of foreign aid.58 Even the growing economic inequalities during his regime would find justification to some extent in theory that by extending unprecedented incentives for the robber barons, the country may lead to improvement for the lower income groups.59

56 57 58 59

Ibid., p. 50. Ibid., p. 70-1. Khalid bin Sayeed, Op cit, p. 143.

Gustav F. Papanek, Pakistans Development: Social Goals and Private Incentives, Cambridge, 1967, p. 242, as quoted in ibid.

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Pakistan Unpolitic

Trumpet Gives Way to Agitation

His much-trumpeted performance during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965 and progress towards industrialisation of the country during the development decade lost ground when a group of college students from Rawalpindi brought out a procession to protest the police attitude, on 7 November 1968. One of the students was killed by the police while trying to disperse the angry mob. The police had actually seized the items these students had purchased from Landikotal60 in early November 1968. It was apparently the one event which caused the dislodging of Ayub Khans government. The seizure of purchases by the police was followed by the spread of students demonstrations all over the country and hence, the violent student-police confrontation grew in intensity. The way these events went on can be seen to have a systematic course. In the beginning, the students had either resented the police attitude or their grievances and certain changes, which were in the offering to the administrative pattern of higher education. In the new circumstances, students stated debating the political issues with special emphasis on the restoration of the fundamental human rights. They also demanded the restoration of parliamentary form of government and the release of political leaders61 who had earlier been arrested under the Defence of Pakistan rules, immediately after Ayub Khan had been fired upon at Peshawar on 11 November 1968.62 The students of East Pakistan had also formed the Students Action Committee.63
A border point to the north of Peshawar, where mostly smuggled commodities were/are (?) traded.
61 60

Quarterly Economic Review of Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1st quarter, 1969, London, p. They included Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Khan Abdul Wali Khan, and ten others.

2.
62 63

The Committee included National Awami Party, Awami League, Jamiaayat Ulama-I Islam, Council Muslim League, and National Democratic Front.

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Pakistan Unpolitic By February next year, the student movement had got unparalleled momentum and it had engulfed the whole of the country. The movement further strengthened when the labour militancy erupted in March 1969. During the first week of the month, the labours throughout the West Pakistan celebrated Labour Demands Week. On 17 March, a general strike was observed throughout the country. This country-wide agitation against the government forced Ayub Khan to call a Round-table conference of important political leaders. He also announced that he would not contest the next presidential election, which was scheduled for 1970. Moreover, the Agartala conspiracy case against Shiekh Mujib-ur-Rahman was withdrawn.

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Pakistan Unpolitic

Agitation Yields Result

The dialogue between the presidency and the opposition leaders was in progress when frequent strikes, agitations demonstrations and violence compelled Ayub Khan to step down in favour of Gen Agha Muhammad Yahaya Khan - the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan army - who imposed martial law on 25 March 1969 in imitation of his senior predecessor. The general election held in 1970 by the military regime of Yahya Khan (1969-1971) resulted in the victory of Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehmans Awami League. Zulfiqar Ali Bhuttos Pakistan Peoples Party emerged as the majority party in the West Pakistan.64 The West Pakistan Politicians and the establishment were reluctant to hand power to the Awami League. The reluctance was mainly caused by the Six Points of Sheikh Mujib, which demanded a strong provincial administration.65 This reluctance resulted in the postponement of the first session of the National

64

The Awami League captured all but two seats in the East Pakistan, while the PPP won 87 seats out of 143 seats in the West Pakistan, for the central assembly. The Six Points of Sheikh Mujib are summarized below: 1. Federation of Pakistan to be based on the Lahore Resolution [1940] 2. Defence and Foreign Affairs to be the concern of the Federation 3. Two currencies: one for East Pakistan and the other for West Pakistan or effective measures to halt the flight of resources from the eastern wing to the western wing. A separate monetary and fiscal policy and bank reserve for East Pakistan 4. Power for levying taxes to be invested in the provinces which would share central expenditure 5. Separate trade links with foreign countries along with separate accounts for foreign exchange earnings 6. Establishment of a separate para-military force for East Pakistan

65

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Pakistan Unpolitic Assembly. Sheikh Mujib launched a protest campaign against the central government. On 25 March he gave a strike call for 27 March 1970. To check the law and order situation, the president appointed Lt Gen Tikka Khan as governor of East Pakistan. Sheikh Mujib and some top leaders of the Awami League were arrested while some fled to India. The government of Pakistan declared the seats of the absconding Awami League MPs as vacant and bye-elections were held on these seats. A national government under Nurul Amin (1897-1974)66 was formed. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was made the foreign minister. Tikka Khan took stern action against the infiltrators, a large number of whom were either killed during the military action or sent to jail as traitors. The law and order situation was hard to control in the East Pakistan, and before peace could be restored, India launched an all-out attack on East Pakistan on 22 Novembera war which ended on 16 December 1971 in the dismemberment of East Pakistan. The Eastern wing became Bangladesh and the western wing was badly shaken. It was the greatest tragedy that Pakistan had to experience during the first 25 years of its life.

He was one of the two non-Awami League MPs from East Pakistan. The other was Raja Tridev Roy.

66

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Pakistan Unpolitic

Putting the Pieces TogetherA Fresh Start

Pakistan now made a fresh start. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto became first the president and the prime minister of Pakistan. After the East Pakistan debacle in 1971, he restructured the institutions, improved the economy, and conducted foreign affairs vigorously. But as time passed he became more and more authoritarian until his popularity graph fell drastically. To cover the lost ground, Bhutto announced the general elections to be held on 7 March 1977. Nine political parties formed an alliance Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) - to contest elections against the ruling Pakistan Peoples PartyPPP.67 The results of the elections did not, however, correspond to the popular expectations at all. The PPP had won the elections with an overwhelming majority.68 The opposition refused to accept the election results and launched a massive protest movement against the PPP government. Country-Wide agitations, Strikes, demonstrations, and public meetings became a daily feature of life. Army had to be called most of the time to control the law and order situation in Karachi, Hyderabad and Lahore.

These parties were: Muslim League, National Democratic Party, Pakistan Jamhori Party, Jamiaat-i-Islami Pakistan, Jamiat Ulema-i Islam, Muslim Conference, Khaksar Tehrik, Trhrik-i-Istiqlal, and Jamiat Ulammae Pakistan. Their manifesto was the imposition of the Shari'ah (Islamic way of life) While the PPP promised to better the lot the poor.
68

67

PPP obtained 154 seats while 38 seats went to the PNA.

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Pakistan Unpolitic

The Third Martial Law

Talks with the opposition alliance were initiated, but before they could yield any result the country once again was put under another martial law when Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (1924-1988) - the chief of the army staff - overthrew Bhuttos government, dissolved the national assembly, and suspended the Constitution on July 1977. The interesting feature of the movement against Bhuttos government was that it had started as a protest against the alleged rigging in the general election, but within no time it converted to a movement for the imposition of Shari'ah (Islamic Law)A goal which Gen. Zia promised to achieve when he acquired power. Various defunct political parties joined hands in a movement for the restoration of democracy in the country. The movement was known as MRD (Movement for Restoration of Democracy).69 Earlier, on 24 March 1981, Gen. Zia-ulHaq (1977-1988) had promulgated the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO), which gave legal cover to all the acts of the military government. Provisions relating to the elections, provincial assemblies, parliament, and the fundamental human rights were removed. The president also assumed the authority to amend the Constitution.70
69

The MRD was formed on 6 February 1981 at Lahore. Pakistan People Party, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference, Jamiyayt Ulama-I Islam, Council Muslim League, Paksitan Jamhori Party, National Democratic Party, Qaumi Mahaz-i- Azadi, Pakistan Mazdoor Kisan Party and Tehrik-i-Istiqlal were the nine Parties constituting the MRD. The Awami National Party also later joined the movement. All these political parties had been declared defunct on 16 October 1979, when elections were postponed for the second time and the press was subjected to pre-censorship under the Martial Law Regulation No.49.
70

The PCO proved to be serious blow to the independence of judiciary, as it was robbed of the right to hear cases against the acts of the martial law authorities. All the judges were required to take fresh oath under the PCO. On 25 March, President Zia ul Haq administrated oath to the judges of the Supreme Court and

29

Pakistan Unpolitic On 25 February 1985, non-party general elections to the national and provincial assemblies were held by the martial regime. Muhammad Khan Jonejo (1932-1993) was nominated the prime minister by the president. The Assembly, thus elected, passed the infamous 8th Amendment to the 1973 Constitution.71 On 29 March 1988, the National Assembly was dissolved and the government of Muhammad Khan Jonejo was dismissed under article 582(B) of the constitution by the President Gen. Zia ul Haq. The dissolution and the dismissal had been preceded by the important events of Ojhri Camp disaster (10 April 1988)72 and the signing of the Geneva Accord (15 April 1988).73 On the other side, the constituent of the MRD

the Federal Shariat Court. The chief justice, Justice Anwar ul Haq, Justice Durab Patel and Justice Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim refused to take oath. They were subsequently retired from their offices; the president had taken the decision regarding promulgation of the PCO in view of the Supreme Court verdict of the doctrine of necessity in the Nusrat Bhutto case.
71

The amendment empowered the president to dissolve the national assembly and dismiss the central government under article 58-2(B), if he was satisfied that a situation has[d] arisen when the government could not be run in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. Article 90, further vested the entire executive authority in the office of the president, making the form of government virtually presidential in letter and spirit.

The Ojhri Camp disaster had occurred due to explosion in an ammunition camp of the army at Rawalpindi, leaving tens of the people killed and hundreds of them wounded. The report submitted by the Committee, formed to probe into the causes of the tragedy is generally termed as one of the major causes of the hasty dismissal of the government. The Geneva Accord, signed by Pakistan and Afghanistan as a result of a series of UN sponsored indirect talks. The Accord had laid down the time schedule of the withdrawal of the Soviet forces from Afghanistan. The United States of America and the then Soviet Union acted as guarantors of the treaty. To most observers the accord was not to the liking of Pakistans western allies.
73

72

30

Pakistan Unpolitic held an unprecedentedly large public gathering at Liaqat Bagh, Rawalpindi on 15 August 1988. The tone of the speeches made by the MRD leadership in the gathering was markedly agitational and rebellious. They were confident that the change was now not a matter of months and years but of days. Agitation had once again started but the country was spared a new wave of the inevitable violence, which accompanies all such agitations, by a tragic C-130 crash on 17 August 1988. The President, a large number of senior military officers, and two American diplomats, including the ambassador, lost their lives in the crash.

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Pakistan Unpolitic

Decade of Quasi-Democracy
Rather than resorting to the imposition of emergency or another martial law, the establishment preferred to let the constitution take its course. The Chairman Senate - Ghulam Ishaq Khan (1915-2006) - assumed the office of the acting president. Party-based general elections were held in November 1988, the PPP emerged as the single largest party and the president invited its leader Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007) to form government at the centre. As the PPP did not enjoy absolute majority in the lower house (the position was even worse in the upper house), the weak government and the hung parliament failed to give a stable picture throughout the two years of their existence. The opposition under Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi attempted an in-house change through a noconfidence move, but horse-trading and floor crossing saved the day for Benazir Bhutto. At the end, after a hectic activity both on the part of the treasury benches and the opposition, the vote could not be carried. During this period administrative, political, and even constitutional chaos prevailed over the national scene. The Federal Government had serious differences with the provincial governments - both of policy and interests - leading the situation to an almost constitutional deadlock. Law and order situation in Sind was especially unsatisfactory. The governments performance in the field of national economy was also not very encouraging. There were also charges of large-scale corruption on the government. On the international front, the Gulf crisis had direct repercussions for Pakistan. It was in such a national and international environment that President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, under article 58-2 (B) of the constitution, took the drastic action of dismissing the central government and dissolving the National Assembly on 6 August 1990.74 The major opposition parties had earlier formed an alliance for removal

Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, the leader of the opposition in the dissolved National Assembly, formed the care taker interim government.

74

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Pakistan Unpolitic of the government. The alliance, known as the Islami Jamhori Itihad (IJI), emerged victorious in the consequent general election. It was now the turn of PPP to join hands with the disaffected political groups and parties to dislodge the IJI government of Nawaz Sharif (b.1948). The politics of agitation characterized by long marches once again got in vogue. The task was made easy by the differences between the president and the prime minister, and the opposition Pakistan Democratic Front (PDF) resolved to use them to theirs and the presidents mutual advantage. The opposition submitted their resignations from the membership of the National Assembly.75 The president, on 18 April 1993, used article 58-2 (B) of the constitution and dissolved the National Assembly, and the central government ceased to exist.76 This order of the president was challenged in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, which declared the dissolution order as unconstitutional. The government and the assembly were subsequently restored. Situation, however, had reached to an extent where rapprochement between the president and the prime minister was out of question. It was in such circumstances that the prime minister had to advise the president to dissolve the National Assembly. A former senior World Bank functionary - Moen Qureshi - was made the care-taker prime minister, who, apart from holding general elections, introduced far reaching economic reforms in the country and brought the country in line with the International Monetary Funds instructions and demands. The elections of 1993 brought back the PPP into power. There was a replay of the earlier drama. Once again, a movement was started in 1996 to get rid of the PPP government. This time the Jammat-i-Islami was in the vanguard of the agitation. Dharna was the title of the movement led

These resignations were, however, declared null and void when the Assembly was restored by a controversial verdict of the then Supreme Court of Pakistan.
76

75

Mir Balakh Sher Mazari formed the care taker interim government.

33

Pakistan Unpolitic by Qazi Husain Ahmad. It yielded instant results and the government and the assembly had to go in the wake of growing differences between the president and the prime minister.77 The main charge against the government was corruption and favouritism, its failure to control law and order situation, and its poor performance in the economic field.

77

Malik Meraj Khalid, a former speaker of the National Assembly formed the care taker government. A senior World Bank functionary, Shahid Javed Burki became his advisor on financial matters bringing about major changes in the economic system of the country.

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Pakistan Unpolitic

Epilogue
Elections thus held brought Muslim League (N) president, Mian Nawaz Sharif back to power. Again, an alliance to dislodge him was formed ARD. Interestingly, he and his party joined the same alliance after they were ousted from power by Gen. Pervez Musharaf through a military coup. The new military regime continued to enjoy power, first directly under Supreme Court allowance and then through a handpicked parliament, until the general had dismissed the chief justice of Pakistan in a rather unceremonious and unconstitutional manner on 9 March 2007. The dismissal led to an unprecedented movement by the lawyers. After the Chief Justice had been restored by a full bench of the Supreme Court in July 2007. Again, in November 2007, the uniformed president (Pervez Musharaf) sent home majority of the judges (including the Chief Justice). Protests and rallies started again. It is believed that the departure of Perez Musharafs regime was more of a consequence of the lawyers Movement rather than of any other political manoeuvring.

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Pakistan Unpolitic

Conclusion
Before partition, the Muslim League had resorted to the politics of agitation only where arguments had failed to yield results. The postindependence leadership resorted to it when they could not make a success in the assemblies. And despite the lapse of more than half a century, these politicians have not been able to change the basic principles and tactics of agitation. It can be seen that the results of almost all these agitations were pre-planned, which rendered the whole exercise to be something like a command performance. Congress - the founder political party of India - used agitation as the principal tool towards their ultimate goal, but their post-independence politics presents a picture where reason and sense have prevailed on most occasions. Political and constitutional crises have been averted through dialogue and debate. We, in Pakistan, unfortunately could not get rid of the legacy inherited from the days of the freedom struggle. The factors that have plagued Pakistan by strengthening agitational politics are varied. Our political struggle shows that time and again agitational methods were employed to achieve the goals, whether it was the Khilafat Movement, the Muslim League movement for Pakistan or any other movement. The success rate of agitational politics in the chequered history of Pakistan has been too high to tempt the in-haste politicians for the instantaneous realization of their objectives. During a major part of Pakistans history, the representative debating forums have remained non-existent. This resulted in lack of training in the political culture and restricted opportunities of social catharsis. To suppose that national independence and free society are equivalent terms would be highly misleading. The temperamental tendencies of the Pakistanis did not allow political harmony and the accommodation of diverse opinions. The self-defeating vendetta politics has also greatly harmed the possibilities of arriving at amicable solutions to problems, and has hindered the trend of resolving disputes through peaceful means. Hence, 36

Pakistan Unpolitic political differences have resulted in personal rivalries of the most serious nature. In Pakistans politics, the tradition of bringing about change through no-confidence moves is almost non-existent, while long marches, ghaeros (besiege) and dharnas (sit-ins) have always yielded the desired results. This non-feasibility of in-house changes through constitutional means may also have led the aspirants. The alarmingly low rate of illiteracy in the country has been of great help to the politicians who can induce the common man, without much effort, to come out on the streets, raise slogans and render sacrifices for either the restoration of democracy, or human rights or the introduction of Islamic tenets in their spirit. The uneducated and untrained masses have little ability to judge for themselves between the right and wrong. Lastly, it has been observed that interim or unrepresentative governmental set-up has proved best suited to allow the introduction of major policy shifted in the statechanges which a representative government cannot afford to cause due to the fear of popular resentment.78 Can we avoid the recurrence of agitational politics? The answer is not very simple. It is linked with grass-root modifications in our socioeconomic, educational, and political fabric. The social inequalities require to be substantially abridged. And even more importantly, political and constitutional process enjoins to be allowed to function without encumbrance. There is also a greater want of decentralizing the less important subjects of governance. The common man deserves to be included in the decision-making process which may affect his living; at least he should have the feeling that he too is an important part of the socio-economic and political web of the country.

78

The performances of Ayub Khans martial law regime, the Zias military government, the steps taken by interim care taker governments of Jatoi, Moin Qureshi, Miraj Khalid, and Pervaiz military regime bear ample testimony to this phenomenon. They went to the extent where angles would fear to tread.

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Bibliography
Abbott, Freeland, Islam and Pakistan, New York, 1968 Afzal, M. Rafique, Political Parties in Pakistan, Vol. I, Islamabad, 1996 Ahmad, Jamil-ud-Din, (ed.) Historic Documents of the Muslim Freedom Movement, Lahore, 1970 Ahmad, Riaz, Constitutional and Political Developments in Pakistan, 1951-54, Rawalpindi, 1981 Aziz, K. K., Britain and Muslim India, Lahore, 1987 Brown, W. Norman, The United States and India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1972 Chaudhri Muhammad Ali, The Emergence of Pakistan, Lahore, 1988 Chaudhry, Muhammad Azam, Tehrik Pakistan main Punjab ka Kirdar, (Urdu), Karachi1996 Khalid bin Sayeed, Politics in Pakistan: the Nature and Direction of Change, New York, 1980 Khan, Muhammad Ayub, Friends Not Masters: A Political Autobiography, London, 1967 Landau, Jacob M., The Politics of Pan-Islam: Ideology and Organisation, New York, 1994 Maududi, Maulana Syed Abul A'la, Qadiani Masala, (Urdu), Lahore, 1973 Nicholas, Mansergh, (ed.) The Transfer of Power, Vol. X, London, 1982 Papanek, Gustav F., Pakistans Development: Social Goals and Private Incentives, Cambridge, 1967 Pirzada, Sharifuddin, Quaids Correspondence, Lahore, 1987 Quarterly Economic Review of Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1st quarter, London, 1969 Qureshi, M. N., Pan-Islam in British Indian Politics: A Study of the Khilafat Movement, 19181924, Brill, 1999 Report of the Court of Inquiry Constituted under Punjab Act II of 1954 to Enquire into the Punjab Disturbances, Lahore, 1954 Shah, Syed Waqar Ali, Pir Sahib Manki Sharif Syed Amin ul Hassanat aur Unki Siasi Jadujuhad, Islamabad, 1990 Stephens, Ian, Pakistan, London, 1963 The Civil & Military Gazette The Gazette of Pakistan (Extraordinary), Karachi, 1953 The Viceroys Journal Zaidi, Z. H., et al, Khattak, Arif, (ed), Jinnah Papers: Prelude to Pakistan, 20 February 1947-2 June 1947, Vol. I, Part I, Islamabad, 1993 Zaidi, Z. H., et al, Khattak, Arif, (ed), Jinnah Papers: Prelude to Pakistan, 20 February 1947-2 June 1947, Vol. I, Part II, Islamabad, 1993

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Zaidi, Z. H., et al, Khattak, Arif, (ed), Jinnah Papers: Prelude to Pakistan, 20 February 1947-2 June 1947, Vol. II, Islamabad, 1994

Websites
Websites accessed during between 20 and 28 February 2011
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iskandar_Mirza http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khan_Abdul_Qayyum_Khan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ayub_Khan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Zafarullah_Khan http://www.chowrangi.com/blooming-lotacracy.html http://www.witnesspioneer.org/vil/Articles/misc/moududsc.htm

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Index
A
Abbott, Freeland 42 Abdul Qayyum Khan 14, 23 Afzal, M. Rafique 42 agitation 7, 17, 20, 28, 37, 39 Agitation 4, 22, 34 agitational methods. 20 Ahimsa 8 Ahmad, Jamil-ud-Din 42 Ahmad, Riaz 42 AIML 9, 10, 13 Allan Octavian Hume 6 All-parties Convention 18 Awami League 29 Ayub Khan 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28 Aziz, K. K., 42

G
Gandhi 8 Ghulam Ishaq Khan 35 Ghulam Muhammad 17 Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi 35 Governors Rule 13

H
Hindu 7, 8, 9, 10 Hyderabad 31

I
India 6, 7, 9, 10, 20, 30, 39 Indian National Congress 6, 9 International Monetary Fund 37 Iskandar Mirza 19, 22, 25

B
B. G. Tilak 7 Bangladesh 22, 30 Bara Gali ii Basanti 14 Bengal 6, 7, 9, 39 Partition 6

J
Jami'atu'l-'ulama-yi Islam 13 Jammat-i-Islami 37 Jawaharlal Nehru 14

C K
Chaudhri Muhammad Ali 7, 42 Chaudhry, Muhammad Azam 42 Chauri Chaura 8 Chief Justice 38 civil disobedience movement 11, 12, 14, 15 Civil Disobedience Movement 11, 13 Clement Attlee 15 Karachi 12, 18, 20, 31 Khalid bin Sayeed 4, 26, 42 Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan 23 Khan, Muhammad Ayub 42 Khattak, Arif 43 Khawaja Nazimuddin 17 Khilafat Movement Khilafat 8, 9, 39 Khizar Hayat Khan Tiwana 13 Khizer Hayat Khan Tiwana 11 Khudai Khidamtgars 16 Khwaja Nazimuddin 20

D
Daulatana 17, 20 Dr. Khan Sahib 11, 14

E
Evan M. Jenkins 13

L
Lahore 6, 7, 10, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 31

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Pakistan Unpolitic
Landikotal 27 Lord Curzon 6 Lord Dufferin 6 Lord Mountbatten 15

Q
Qadianis 17, 18 Qazi Husain Ahmad 37 Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah 9, 10 Qureshi, M. N., 42

M
Majlis-i-Amal 18 Malik Firoz Khan Noon 12, 24 Malik Ghulam Mohammad 19 Ghulam Mohammad 21 Maududi, Maulana Syed Abul A'la 42 Mian Iftikharuddin 12 Mian Mumtaz Daulatana 12, 19 Moen Qureshi 36 MRD 32, 34 Muhammad Khan Jonejo 33 Muhammad Zaman 14 Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq 32 Muslim League AIML 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 23, 39 Muslim League National Guards 12

S
Sardar Shaukat Hayat 12 Shah, Syed Waqar Ali 42 Sir Khizar Hayat Khan Tiwana 11 Sir Olaf Caroe 16 Sir Syed Ahmad Khan 6 Six Points of Sheikh Mujib 30 Stephens, Ian 42 Supreme Court 33, 36, 38 Supreme Court of Pakistan 36

T
The Civil & Military Gazette 14, 43 The Viceroys Journal 10, 43

N
National Assembly 30, 33, 36, 37 Nawab Iftikhar Hussian Khan Mamdot 12 Nicholas, Mansergh 42 NWFP 9, 11, 13, 15

U
Unionist Ministry 11

O
Ojhri Camp disaster 33

W
War of Independence 1857 6

P
Pakhtunistan 16 Pakistan i, 4, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 35, 36, 39 Pakistan National Alliance 31 Papanek, Gustav F 42 PDF 36 Pervez Musharaf 38 Pir Sahib Manki Sharif Syed Amin ul Hassanat 14, 42 Pirzada, Sharifuddin 42 politics of agitation 15, 16, 22, 36, 39 PPP 31, 35, 36, 37

Y
Yahya Khan 29

Z
Zafarullah Khan 18 Zaidi, Z. H., 43 Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto 30, 31

41