Section A (Part two)

Problems after Partition

Canal Water Dispute
 With the division of Punjab, some of the headworks of rivers of Pakistani
Punjab were left in the Indian Punjab. On 1st April 1948, India closed the
Firozpur and Madhupur headworks, Pakistan faced serious shortage of
water as its irrigation system of 6 rivers and 30 canals was seriously
affected. Millions of acres of agricultural land were threatened.
Negotiations began between the two states, and in May 1948 some water
was reinstated by India. The issue was fully settled under the Indus Water
Treaty (IWT) in September 1960.
The refugee problem
 Communal violence had started in India in the summer of 1947 when the
3rd June Plan was announced. Although Congress and the Muslim
League called for peace, violence grew across India with the passage of
time. Several Muslims wanted to live in their independent homeland.
They began to migrate, and these migrating families were attacked by
angry mobs led by extremist Hindus and Sikhs.

 The Radcliffe Award divided Bengal and Punjab along religious lines into
the Indian and Pakistani provinces. With this many people found
themselves living in the wrong country. Muslims in many parts of Punjab
and neighbouring provinces were forced to leave India. It is alleged that
the Indian government deliberately created difficulties for the newly
created state of Pakistan. In non-Muslim princely states, the local
authorities used troops to support attacks on Muslims, forcing them to
migrate. Karachi alone received about 2 million emigrants.

 Things got so worse that martial law was imposed on Delhi in September
1947 to stop the massacre of Muslims. Hindus and Sikhs living in
Pakistan were, in retaliation, targeted by the Pakistani Muslims. They
attacked their houses and forced them to leave Pakistan. Consequently,
round 20 million people became homeless in both the countries. Nearly
one million deaths were reported of the Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. It
became difficult for Pakistan to accommodate so many refugees as it did
not have enough resources to provide food, shelter, clothing and medical
aid to a huge population of refugees
 The problem of the division of the financial assets
 The British decided to divide all financial assets on the ratio of 17 to
India and 5 to Pakistan. In June 1947, the British agreed to pay 750
million rupees to Pakistan out of a total of 4 billion rupees in the Reserve
Bank. First 200 million rupees were paid but the remaining amount was
stopped as the first Kashmir war broke out in 1948. India feared that
Pakistan could use the money to buy weapons to fight against India. On
Gandhi’s insistence, a further 500 million rupees were given to Pakistan
and the remaining 50 million rupees were never paid
The problem of the division of the military assets
 In August 1947, all weapons were left in India. The British were initially
reluctant to divide the armed forces and the weapons, but eventually
agreed to give 36% of the assets to Pakistan and 44% to India. India
deliberately gave worn out and damaged weapons to Pakistan. The armed
forces personnel were given the option of joining either Pakistan or India.
Majority of the Muslim regiments went to Pakistan and non-Muslim to
India. Pakistan got only 2,500 trained Muslim officers against its need of
4,000.
Geographical problems
 Two wings, 1600Km Indian territory b/w E & W Pakistan;
communication difficult b/w the two wings; gulf b/w E & W Pak would
widen also due to cultural, political and historical differences; E.Pak,
mainly Bengalis; W,Pak, diverse racial graph; Punjabis, Sindhis, Pathans,
Baloch.
Political problems
 India had an established govt infrastructure; state buildings, officials,
team of experienced politicians, guidance of Mountbatten; Ist Gov
General; Pak’s 1st Govt & Constituent. Assembly; mainly rich
landowners, some civil servants with little experience; E.Pak; above 50%
population but bulk of civil and military establishment from W.Pak;
Jinnah had to find a capital, form a govt & inculate feeling of national
unity among the people; falling health of Jinnah; tuberculosis with
overwork; performed most executive duties though G.G.was not required
to do (later this precedent would be misused by selfish politicians).
Economic Problems
 Mostly underdeveloped parts; 90% rural population; 8 towns with
population over 100,000+ Karachi, the only developed city; no surplus
agricultural production except for jute; world’s 70% jute in E.Pak but no
jute mill’ few other industries cotton textile, cement & sugar. (4) Social
Problems: Diverse regional & linguistic group lacking common values
except for Islam; lack of nationalism of a single nation; Bengal &
Baluchistan reluctantly joined Pakistan, so did the NWFP; Urdu not
accepted sincerely as the national language.
Princely States:
 462 princely states; choice of accession to Pak/India; most states joined
either country based on location & population composition; problem in
Hyderabad, Junagarh & Kashmir; Hyderabad and Junagarh; Muslim
rulers, non-Muslim majority, geographically closer to India; Muslim
rulers wanted to join Pak, India forcibly took over both (Aug 1948,
Hyderabad; Nov 1947 Junagarh). Trouble in Kashmir; largest state,
Muslim majority, Hindu Maharaja, Hari Singh, wanted accession to India;
forced Muslims to leave Kashmir; unrest, Indian troops, 1st war over
Kashmir; UN mediated a ceasefire, January 1948; Azad Kashmir & IHK
(Indian Held Kashmir) by a Line of Control; issue; Unresolved, no
referendum as promised by Nehra.
 Kashmir was a serious issue for Pakistan as the territory borders Tibet,
China, Afghanistan and the USSR. It is of great strategic importance and
Pakistan did not want India controlling it
 Kashmir was important to Pakistan because the majority of its inhabitants
were Muslims. Pakistan was set up as a homeland for Muslims and
wanted to protect the Kashmiri Muslims
 Kashmir was symbolically significant. Pakistan was a new nation which
needed to show that it could support itself and stand up to its larger
neighbour. Letting India do as it liked with the princely states would not
do that.
Jinnah as Governor-General
 Mr. Jinnah became the first Governor General of Pakistan, in August
1947. India had withheld Pakistan’s share in the financial and military
assets. Mr. Jinnah negotiated with the Indian government for the
release of 750 million rupees. He took several other steps to run the
newly created state. He inaugurated the State Bank of Pakistan in July
1948, and Pakistan issued its own currency. A Development Board
was set up in 1948 for planning a strategy for the industrial
 development. When India closed the Firozpur and Madhupur
headworks, Pakistan faced serious shortage of water. Mr. Jinnah
persuaded the Indian government to release some water so that
Pakistan’s agriculture was not destroyed. The issue of canal waters
was, however, fully resolved as late as 1960.

 The Government of Pakistan presented its first budget in 1948-49. It

was a balanced budget which indicated Pakistan’s stable economic
conditions. However, despite his best efforts, there was no major
industrial development till the 1960’s. India gave 700 million rupees
to Pakistan but the remaining 50 million were never paid. Jinnah took
various steps for the formation of a government. He declared Karachi
as the capital of Pakistan and inaugurated the headquarters of the
armed forces and the civil secretariat. He made it clear that the sole
role of the army was to be ‘the servant of the people’. However, the
future governments could not keep army from politics.

 Jinnah appointed the first Constituent Assembly and the first cabinet
with Liaqat Ali Khan as the Prime Minister. The 1935 Act was
adopted as the interim constitution with some amendments. He urged
the civil servants to dedicate their lives to the service of the nation. In
order to highlight Pakistan’s peaceful aims, Pakistan joined the UNO
in September 1947. Jinnah wanted peaceful relations with India just
like the US-Canada relations.

 However, Jinnah retained executive powers which, according to the

parliamentary form of government, should have been relegated to the
PM. He used to chair the Cabinet meetings, and take important
decisions. This was used as a wrong precedent by the future Governor
Generals. The process of constitution making was lingered on even
after his death as he had to induct some non-political figures in the
cabinet due to a shortage of genuine politicians. His dream of good
relations with India was also shattered and both countries had their
first war in 1948.

 For building a nation, Jinnah declared Urdu as the national language,

so that it could unify various linguistic groups in Pakistan. In order to
ensure the protection of religious minorities Jinnah declared himself as
the “Protector General of Minorities”. In his address to the Constituent
Assembly, he had made it clear that all Pakistanis were free to follow
 their religion without any fear. Declaring Urdu as the only national
language was strongly resented by East Pakistan where all people
spoke Bengali. They considered this as a step of West Pakistan’s
domination over East Pakistan. The Quaid was opposed to religious
intolerance, provincialism and racialism. In order to safeguard the
rights of the minorities, and project Pakistan as a tolerant state he
adopted the symbolic title of the ‘Protector-General’ of religious
minorities. His advice was often sought by the non-Muslims, and he
inducted a Hindu minister in the cabinet.

 To help the refugees, he set up the Quaid-e-Azam Relief Fund, and

temporarily shifted his headquarter to Lahore to personally supervise
the process of their accommodation. Unfortunately, millions of
refugees would continue to suffer after his death because of shortage
of the required resources. All of them could not get medical care, jobs
and accommodation. He also negotiated with the Indian government
for the Canal Water dispute, and persuaded it not to stop the water
altogether. The conflict was, however, fully resolved years after his
death in 1960.

 In order to resolve the conflict of the three princely states of

Hyderabad, Junagadh and Jammu and Kashmir he could not get any
success as India occupied the first two states by force and imposed a
war on Pakistan for Kashmir in April 1948. Thus, Jinnah’s dream of
peaceful relations with India was shattered. To conclude it may be said
that Jinnah was quite successful in overcoming most of the early
problems because, against all odds and wishes of India, Pakistan not
only survived but also began to make progress in various sectors of
economy and became an important country in the regional and global
politics.

How successful was Jinnah’s Governor-Generalship

 Jinnah faced many serious challenges to run the newly created state of
Pakistan. After the 3rd June 1947 Plan, the ML had a little over two
months to make preparations for handling the largest Muslim state in the
world. In order to frame a constitution, he established the Constituent
Assembly on 10 August 1947, under his Chairmanship. He addressed the
Assembly on 11 August, and urged the need of making a constitution for
Pakistan. The 1935 Act was adopted as the interim constitution with some
 amendments. He declared Karachi as the Capital of Pakistan. There he set
up the first Civil Secretariat, and urged the civil servants to dedicate their
lives to the service of the nation. He inaugurated the headquarters of three
armed forces, and negotiated with India for the release of military and
financial assets for the defence of Pakistan. An ordinance factory, the
POF, was set up in Wah. In order to highlight Pakistan’s peaceful aims,
Pakistan joined the UNO in September 1947. Jinnah wanted peaceful
relations with India just like the US-Canada relations.

 However, it is to be noted that Jinnah retained the executive powers

which, according to the parliamentary form of government, should have
been relegated to the PM. He used to chair the cabinet meetings, and take
important decisions himself. This was used as a wrong precedent by the
future Governor Generals. The process of constitution making was
lingered on even after his death as he had to induct some non-political
figures in the cabinet due to a shortage of genuine politicians. His dream
of good relations with India was also shattered and both countries had
their first war in 1948. However, due to his failing health, other problems
of partition created by India, and a lack of sincere and experienced
constitutional experts, there was no progress on constitution making.

 Jinnah inaugurated the State Bank of Pakistan in July 1948 so that

Pakistan introduced its own currency. The Government of Pakistan
presented its first budget in 1948- 49. It was a balanced budget which
indicated Pakistan’s stable economic conditions. He also announced the
First Industrial Policy of Pakistan. However, despite his best efforts, there
was no major industrial development till the 1960’s. India gave 700
million rupees to Pakistan but the remaining 50 million were never paid

 The Quaid was opposed to religious intolerance, provincialism and

racialism. He advised the people to think, feel and act as Pakistanis and
be proud of it. He toured all the areas of Pakistan to spread the message
of Pakistani nationalism. In order to safeguard the rights of the minorities,
and project Pakistan as a tolerant state he adopted the symbolic title of the
‘Protector-General’ of religious minorities. His advice was often sought
by the nonMuslims, and he inducted a Hindu minister in the cabinet. He
emphasized the Islamic ideas about justice and equality demanded that
any non-Muslims who chose to remain in Pakistan should be treated
fairly. Jinnah could do little about the geographical distance of 1,000
miles between East and West Pakistan. This geographical distance would
 gradually become a political gulf that would lead to the separation of East
Pakistan in 1971.

 To help the newly arrived refugees he set up a Relief Fund to rehabilitate

them as quickly as possible, and temporarily shifted his headquarter to
Lahore to personally supervise the process of their accommodation.
Unfortunately, millions of refugees would continue to suffer after his
death because of shortage of the required resources. All of them could not
get medical care, jobs and accommodation. He also negotiated with the
Indian government for the Canal Water dispute, and persuaded it not to
stop the water altogether. The conflict was, however, fully resolved years
after his death in 1960.

 Jinnah wanted to resolve the issue of the three princely states of

Hyderabad, Junagadh and Jammu and Kashmir but could not get any
success as India occupied the first two states by force and imposed a war
on Pakistan for Kashmir in April 1948. Thus, Jinnah’s dream of peaceful
relations with India was shattered.

 To conclude it may be said that Jinnah was quite successful in

overcoming most of the early problems because of his firm
determination, political insight and strong leadership qualities. He made
all achievements while suffering from the terminal stage of pulmonary
tuberculosis that could not deter him from his mission.

Liaqat Ali Khan’s tenure:

Objectives Resolution
 The first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan set up a Basic Principles
Committee of 25 members to draft the constitution. It presented the
Objectives Resolutions on 12th March 1949. It recommended observance
of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice so that
Muslims and non-Muslims could follow their faith comfortably. It also
recommended a bicameral parliament. It was sharply criticized by the
Ulama/religious scholars and the East Pakistan. This draft was presented
to the Constituent Assembly on 28th September 1950.
The PRODA/Public and Representative Officers Disqualification Act
 It was passed by the government of Liaqat Ali Khan and Khwaja
Nazimuddin in 1949. It was aimed at curbing corruption and misuse of
power by the politicians and civil servants. Complaints in this regard
could be made to the Governor-General or Provincial Governors who
could order an enquiry by judges. Anyone found guilty could be debarred
from office for a suitable period of time. However, it was seen as a device
that allowed the ruling elite to remove those it did not like. It was
repealed in September 1954 by the Assembly of Malik Ghulam
Muhammad.
The constitutional crisis of 1950
 On 28th September 1950, the draft of the Objectives Resolution was
presented before the Constituent Assembly. East Pakistan immediately
opposed it as it wanted a share in the parliament according to the size of
its population whereas the Resolution recommended equal seats of East
and West Pakistan. It also opposed imposition of Urdu as the official
language. The provincial politicians opposed the powers of the head of
state and the central government. The Ulama considered the draft
insufficiently Islamic. In November 1950, Liaqat Ali Khan had to
withdraw it.
Liaqat-Nehru Pact/the Minorities Pact
 It was signed to stop the movement of minorities across the Pak-India
border. In April 1950, Pakistani PM Liaqat Ali Khan and Indian PM
Jawahar Lal Nehru signed this agreement. It was agreed that each country
would provide protection and religious freedom to the religious
minorities living in Pakistan and India so that these minorities would be
encouraged to stay back in their native state. However, the movement of
people belonging to religious minorities continued to migrate across the
border as they did not trust any such statements made by the government
about giving them protection.
The Rawalpindi conspiracy case
 Some army officers were not happy with the government, and they
plotted a coup to overthrow the government. In March 1951, the
‘Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case’ was discovered by General Ayub Khan
and the conspirators were arrested, tried and imprisoned. They included
senior officers like Major-General Akbar Khan and 14 other officers
including the famous poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz. This proved to be a
forerunner of the involvement of army in the politics of Pakistan.
Liaqat Ali Khan’s tenure overall outlook
 Liaqat Ali Khan acted as PM first with Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Khawaja
Nazam ud Din became 2nd Governor General in September, 1948 and
Liaqat Ali Khan made some achievements. His major contribution was
the passage of the Objectives Resolution in March 1949. It was a
constitutional draft that outlined the objectives and principles of the
future constitution of Pakistan. It was reviewed by the Basic Principles
Committee in September 1950 and the revised draft recommended a
bicameral legislature/parliament with both houses having equal powers.
Urdu was kept as national language and President was to be elected by
the joint session of the parliament., The resolution was the preamble of all
future constitutions of 1956, 62 and 73. Thus this was a success, as the
resolution proved to be the base of all future constitutions.

 However, the religious parties declared it insufficiently Islamic. East

Pakistan objected to equal share in the parliament as it had 10% more
population than West Pakistan. It also criticized on Urdu being the only
national language because Bengali was also a developed and only
language spoken throughout East Pakistan.

 Liaqat Ali Khan managed to keep Pakistan’s economy growing by

presenting surplus budgets. Also, he implemented the PRODA (Public
and Representative Officers Disqualification Act) in order to curtail
corruption in Pakistan. However, corruption would continue to bother
future governments.

 Liaqat Ali Khan was able to foil a coup of about 20 military officers who
were unhappy over the presence and influence of British officers in the
Pakistan Army by appointing General Ayub Khan. In March 1951, in the
famous Rawalpindi Conspiracy case, Major Akbar Khan and fourteen
other officers were arrested. However, in October 1951. Liaqat Ali Khan
was killed in Rawalpindi while addressing a public rally.
Why was the first report of Basic principle committee 1950 criticized?
 LAK introduced the first report of BPC in 1950, which stated that there
would be equal seats from both East and West Pakistan in the national
assembly. East Pakistanis criticized it by saying that they had a much
larger population (54%) than West Pakistan and so it was their right to
 have more seats. Thus, because of such criticism L.A.K had to withdraw
the report from further consideration which delayed the constitution.
 LAK introduced the first report of BPC in 1950, which stated that Urdu
should be made the official language. However, this was resented by East
Pakistanis. They wanted their language, Bengali to be the official
language as it was important for their culture. Thus because of this
criticism, by East Pakistanis, LAK had to withdraw his report from
further consideration, which led to delay in constitution making.
 LAK introduced the first report of BPC in 1950, which stated that Federal
Government and Head of State should be given the main powers. This
was rejected by provincial politicians, as they wanted full provincial
autonomy. Thus because of this criticism, LAK had to withdraw his
report from further consideration, which led to delay in constitution
making.

Malik Ghulam Muhammad’s tenure (Oct 1951 – Aug 1955):

 Malik Ghulam Muhammad became the 3rd Governor General in Oct.
1951. He persuaded Khawaja Nazam ud Din to step down as Prime
Minister enticing him that he would enjoy more executive powers. Being
an expert in financial affairs he introduced the scheme of 6 Year Plan that
was later changed into a 5 Year Plan. Its aim was to make economic
planning regarding agriculture, industry, power and transport sectors. He
set up a Planning Board in 1953 to review various developments
schemes. A major jute processing plant was set up in 1952 in East
Pakistan

 Large reserves of Natural gas were discovered at Sui, Baluchistan. Thus,

this strengthened Pakistan's economy as it fulfilled the requirement of
Pakistan's industries and power sector.

 MGM had to face criticism from the common people because of food
shortages during 1950's as the people felt that the Government did
nothing to resolve the issue. Hence MGM lost the support of people.
However, his government was able to get a million ton wheat from USA,
Canada & Australia, which helped to fix these shortages and thus satisfied
the people to some extent.
  There were also protests on religious grounds as many ulemas wanted
that Ahmadis should be declared non-Muslims and should be removed
from senior posts e.g. Zafar Ullah Khan (foreign minister). The
Government of MGM couldn't handle these riots and at last Martial law
was imposed to restore peace in different parts of Punjab. This was failure
as MGM brought army to resolve the political issue which was a step
towards future martial law.

 KN (the PM) introduced the Second report of BPC in 1952, which stated
that there would be equal seats for both East and West Pakistan in the
national assembly. East Pakistanis criticized it by saying that they had a
much larger population (54%) than West Pakistan and so it was their right
to have more seats. Thus, Because of such criticism KN had to withdraw
the report from further consideration which delayed the
constitution.

 In 1953, MGM dismissed KN believing that he did nothing to resolve the

food crisis. However, it was a highly undemocratic step as KN had the
support of majority of the assembly.

 Muhammad Ali Bogra, the new PM, worked on constitution making. He

was ready to implement the constitution in December 1954. A clause
about restricting the powers of the Governor General was passed in just
15 minutes in the absence of Malik Ghulam Muhammad. PRODA was
also abolished as G.G could misuse it. When M.G.Muhammad came to
know about this he quickly acted and dismissed Bogra’s government and
dissolved the Constituent Assembly in September 1954. The new
Constituent Assembly was elected in June 1955. In August 1955 M.G.
Muhammad fell ill and Iskandar Mirza became the new Governor
General

Foreign Policies
 Now MGM appointed M.A Bogra as the P.M who signed SEATO and
CENTO which were anti-communist agreements signed by Western
powers in order to curtail the power of the Russian expansionists this
improved Pakistan’s relation with USA which provided a lot of economic
and military aid hence strengthened Pakistan’s economy and defence.
However, it worsened Pakistan’s relation with Soviet Union as working
against communist ideology.
Why was the first constitute assembly dissolved in 1964?
 The first constitute assembly was dissolved by MGM. He claimed that
the assembly had lost the confidence of the people and therefore it could
no longer function, which was evident from the criticism of senior
Muslim leaders as well
 When MGM was out of country P.M Muhammad Ali Bogra with the help
of constitute assembly, abolished PROPA to limit the powers of the G.G
when MGM returned to Pakistan in retaliation, he dissolved to assembly
to punish it
 The constitute assembly was set up after the partition which was meant to
make the constitution of Pakistan but since 1947 no constitution was
formed thus the constitute assembly was dismissed so a fresh assembly
might draw up a constitution for Pakistan
The 1954-55 constitutional crisis
 Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad wanted to retain the executive
powers whereas his PM, Muhammad Ali Bogra opposed him. He was in
favour of a purely parliamentary form of government with the PM as the
executive head of state. On 21st September 1954, Bogra got an important
bill passed by the Assembly while Ghulam Muhammad was abroad.
Under the bill, it was binding on the Governor-General to take the advice
of his Ministers. The Assembly also repealed the PRODA (Public and
Representative Officers Disqualification Act). Ghulam Muhammad,
acting quickly, dissolved the Constituent Assembly and dismissed the
Bogra government on 29 September 1954.
Why was there a constitutional crisis 1954-55?
 Jinnah the founder of Pakistan died in 1948 and LAK died in 1951. They
were two leading leaders of Pakistan this after their death there was no
main leader to guide the inexperienced constitute assembly which mainly
consisted of landlords creating a constitutional crisis in Pakistan
 Secondly in 1957 the GG MGM dismissed Khawaja Nazimuddin, the PM
who was replaced by M.A Bogra the former Pakistan ambassador to the
USA as a diplomat he had little experience of the politics and
constitutional affairs leading to delay in constitution making
 The P.M Bogra made an amendment to the GOIA in 1954 in order to
curtail the powers of the G.G while he was abroad when he returned, he
dissolved the assembly and declared a state of emergency that Bogra and
 the assembly had lost the confidence of the people. This was challenged
in court but MGM prevailed this delayed the constitution making even
further as the new assembly was elected in June 1955 so a lot of time was
wasted.
Iskandar Mirza’s tenure (As G.G, Aug 1955 – March 1956; As President, March
1956 – Oct 1958)
The 1956 constitution
 It was approved by the 2nd Constituent Assembly elected under the rule
of Iskander Mirza. It was a compromise between the Muslim League and
the United Front. Pakistan was officially called Islamic Republic of
Pakistan and Mirza became the President. It empowered the president to
choose the PM and dissolve the National Assembly and the Cabinet under
his emergency powers. The President had to be a Muslim. There were
equal seats of East and West Pakistan in the Assembly under the One Unit
Scheme. It was abrogated in October 1958 under the first martial law of
Pakistan.
The One Unit Scheme
 On 14th October 1955, Governor-General Iskander Mirza implemented
the One Unit Scheme. Under this, all provinces of West Pakistan were
unified to become a single province against the single province of East
Pakistan. Both East and West Pakistan were given equal seats in the
National Assembly though East Pakistan had 10 million more people than
West Pakistan. Therefore, it was opposed by East Pakistan and the
smaller provinces of West Pakistan. However, it remained valid in the
1956 and the 1962 constitutions. It was scrapped by General Yahya Khan
in March 1969.
Iskandar Mirza’s tenure overall outlook
 Iskandar Mirza introduced One Unit scheme according to which four
provinces of West Pakistan and 10 princely states were made into one.
Now Pakistan had two provinces East and West Pakistan. Thus, this was a
success as OUS helped to reduce feeling of provincialism and promoted
unity in Pakistan.
 Secondly, it also helped to resolve the constitutional issue of division of
seats in the assembly as both East and West Pakistan were given equal
number of seats in the constitution of 1956.
  However, it was criticized by East Pakistanis who believed that it was a
deliberate attempt by the west Pakistanis to reduce their majority.
 OUS was also unpopular in provinces of West Pakistan e.g. Sindh. They
felt that they would always be dominated by larger provinces like Punjab,
and their political, economic and cultural rights would be ignored. This
criticism was so strong that I.M had to dismiss the chief minister of Sindh
before introducing the OUS, which highlights its
unpopularity.
 Mirza also started some industrialization and development plans as well
as rural development schemes. Karachi airport was completed in 1955,
railways were modernized and telephone network was expanded. Steps
were taken for provision of health and education. However, these were
not always as extensive as the government made out.
 On 23rd March 1956, the first constitution of Pakistan was introduced.
According to this, Pakistan was declared an Islamic republic and it also
stated that the President of country would always be a Muslim. Such
provisions satisfied the ulemas who saw that now Pakistan would be
governed according to Islamic ideology. However, this disappointed the
religious minorities who believed that the increased role of Islam in
politics would relegate their status as second-class citizens of Pakistan.
 The constitution also said that Urdu and Bengali would be the National
languages. This pleased East Pakistanis as they had demanding this since
1947. Thus, it was an important step as it respected the cultural feelings
of all Pakistanis.
 Between 1956-58, 1.M dismissed four PM e.g. Ch. Muhammad Ali, I.1
Chundrigar, Feroz Khan Noon and Hussain Suhrawardy as he was
searching for a "Yes man" who could allow him to work with full
authority without any interference. This selfish approach created
administrative problems & political instability in the country and
provided an opportunity to Ayub Khan, CNC, to impose Martial law in
1958.
Why was the One Unit Scheme introduced?
 It would increase efficiency and development. By unifying all of the
provinces of West Pakistan into one unit it was make government more
centralised and cost effective.
  It would be a step towards a united country. People tended to see
themselves as from their local province, rather than ‘Pakistan’. This move
would bring about greater unification.
 It would maintain the supremacy of West Pakistan. The country was
dominated by politicians and administrators from West Pakistan,
particularly the Punjab. Unification would strengthen the position of the
west.
 It would prevent East Pakistan gaining a majority in the Assembly. The
One Unit Scheme divided Pakistan into two official halves East Pakistan
and West Pakistan, thus prevented the more populous East gaining a
majority
Why was the One Unit Scheme criticized?
 He introduced One Unit scheme according to which four provinces of
West Pakistan were amalgamated into one. Now Pakistan had two
provinces East and West Pakistan. However, this was criticized by East
Pakistanis who believed that it was a deliberate attempt by the west
Pakistanis to reduce their majority as both E.P and W.P were given equal
number of seats in the constitution of 1956.
 OUS was also unpopular in provinces of West Pakistan e.g. Sindh. They
felt that they would always be dominated by larger provinces like Punjab,
and their political, economic and cultural rights would be ignored. This
criticism was so strong that I.M had to dismiss the chief minister of Sindh
before introducing the OUS, which highlights its
unpopularity.
 The Smaller units (provinces) also did not like that their resources should
be used by other units, which was possible in the unified province of
West Pakistan. This is because provinces like Punjab were more
populated and more developed and so would use these resources for their
benefit. Thus, they criticized it as it hindered their
economic development.
Why were there so many governments 1951-58?
 Jinnah who had died in 1948 and LAK was assassinated in 1951. The
country was struggling to establish itself without these 2 experienced
leaders as most of the politicians were inexperienced who faced great
difficulty in running the country. As a result, there was a lack of stability
in the government and this led to many government changes during this
time period.
  The formation of E.P created many problems e.g the capital was located
in W.P (Karachi) and the refusal to have Bengali the language of E.P as
the main language. This was a source of discontent and conflict, thus it
not only delayed constitution making but also cause serious political
problems in running the country effectively. Hence leading to the frequent
change in governments.
 Another reason was the lust of power of MGM and IM who were the G.G
btw 1951 and 58. They frequently changed the P.M just to maintain their
authority as they were looking for a ‘Yes’ man e.g. MGM dismissed KN
in 1953 and IM dismissed 4 P. Ms in the span of 2 years e.g. Chaudry
Muhammad Ali, I.I Chundrigar, Feroz Khan Noon and Hussain
Suhrawardy. Such changes caused many administrative changes caused
many economic, political and administrative problems which led to
further changes in the government as Ayub Khan the CNC felt that the
only solution left to bring order was to impose martial law which was
declared in 1958.
Why was martial law imposed in Pakistan in 1958?
 Political instability worsened between 1955 and 1958 as several Prime
Ministers were dismissed in this period. Differences between West and
East Pakistan grew as the latter wanted a share in the government
according to its population size that was 10% greater than that of West
Pakistan but it was given equal seats in the National Assembly under the
undemocratic One Unit Scheme and the rule of parity. West Pakistan’s
dominance over the political affairs was strongly resented by East
Pakistan as it was already backward economically.

 The 1956 Constitution empowered the President to nominate and dismiss

the Prime Minister. President Iskander Mirza terminated as many as four
governments between 1955 and 1958 as a result of which he began to
lose popularity and power. PM Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy gave very
tough time to Mirza by uniting the major political leaders of Punjab and
Bengal against him. He challenged Mirza to hold a vote in the Assembly
to test his popularity. Mirza feared a defeat and, therefore, decided to
declare martial law on 7th October 1958 and appointed General Ayub
Khan as the CMLA (Chief Martial Law Administrator).
  Ayub was appointed Prime Minister by Mirza on 24th October 1958.
Ayub had already declined an offer from Ghulam Muhammad to take
over the country as its executive head. Now he could see the nominal
powers of Mirza who was holding his post forcefully. Therefore, Ayub
decided to assume power himself. He removed Mirza from office and
himself became the executive head of state on 27th October 1958.
Ayub Kahn’s tenure (1959-1969)
The Basic Democracies
 These were the local governments announced under the Basic
Democracies Order of 26th October 1959. People elected the Basic
Democrats of the union councils in the 1959-60 elections held on non-
party basis. They then elected the councils for tehsil, district and division.
80,000 Basic Democrats thus elected, formed the Electoral College to
elect the President. 95% of them elected Ayub Khan in a referendum on
17th February 1960. These were abolished by General Yahya Khan in
1969.
The 1962 Constitution.
 It was implemented on 1st March 1962 by a Constituent Commission
appointed by Ayub Khan. The President was the executive head of the
state elected by the electoral college of the Basic Democrats. He
nominated the Cabinet from the members of the National Assembly. He
also nominated the provincial governors and the heads of the judiciary.
The National Assembly had equal seats of East and West Pakistan, and
could not pass a law without the approval of the President. Urdu and
Bengali were declared as the national languages. It was abrogated by
General Yahya Khan in April 1969.
The Green Revolution
 Ayub’s agricultural reforms are called the Green Revolution. Under this
HYV (High Yield Variety) seeds, chemical fertilizers, insecticides and
pesticides were used to maximize the crop yield. Tractors, harvesters and
threshers were also introduced to speed up various processes. Under the
Land Reforms Act of 1959, smaller land holdings were consolidated
while an upper limit or a land ceiling was fixed for the ownership of the
land holdings. As a result, the agricultural output increased significantly.
Ayub’s fall from power
  After the signing of the Tashkent Accord in 1966, Ayub’s foreign minister
Z.A. Bhutto resigned and formed his own political party, the
PPP/Pakistan People’s Party in 1967. He mobilized masses against Ayub
with the help of the Democratic Action Committee. In East Pakistan,
Sheikh Mujeeb had emerged as the most popular leader. Ayub’s
celebration of the Decade of Development from 27th October 1967 to
27th October 1968 was greatly resented by a majority. Ayub failed to
negotiate a settlement with the opposition and declared martial law on
17th March 1969. A week later, he resigned on 25th March 1969 and
handed over power to the army chief General Yahya Khan.
Ayub’s Agricultural Reforms:
 Ayub Agricultural reforms were very successful. He wanted to modernize
agriculture and ensure a fair distribution of land holdings. Majority of
farmers were poor and possessed smaller than standard size land holdings
(fragmented holdings of less than 12.5 hectares) which caused poor yield.
On the other hand, a small percentage of rich land owners (zamindars)
were in possession of unusually large land holdings that were under the
tenant cultivators. Under the 1959 land reforms, no land owner could
possess more than 1000 acres of un-irrigated or 500 acres of irrigated
land holdings. The excess land was to be taken by the government and
given to the poor farmers. The smaller holdings were joined under the
land consolidation. Due to strong social position of landed aristocrats
(many of whom were members of parliament), the success rate of these
reforms was very poor, though some people benefitted from it. most of
the land reforms remained on paper as Ayub underestimated the power of
landlords who passed their surplus lands to their relatives etc. and easily
escaped the law.

 In order to produce agricultural raw material and feed a growing

population agriculture was modernized. Under this, mechanization,
chemical fertilizers, HYV (High Yield Variety) or GM (genetically
modified) seeds, insecticides /pesticides and modern irrigation methods
were introduced. Under the Indus Water Treaty 1960, three new dams and
several perennial canals were built. Loans were given to poor farmers.
Land productivity increased impressively and therefore Ayub’s
agricultural reforms were called Green Revolution. However, these
caused economic disparity between the rich and the poor farmers because
the main beneficiaries were the rich farmers.
Industrial Policies:
 Industry had remained neglected throughout the 1950’s and due to the
Green Revolution agricultural raw material was abundantly available.
Moreover, foreign aid was given to Pakistan by the USA, UK and
Germany. And Oil refinery was setup at Karachi to reduce the import cost
of oil. To extract minerals, the Mineral Development Corporation was
setup. To encourage the private sector, a number of incentives were
offered that included subsidies and taxes, tax holiday and the Export
Bonus Scheme (EBS). Large scale industrialization took place in the
1960s that resulted in a robust economic growth rate of 7%, one of the
highest in the world.

 However, these reforms too caused huge disparity between the rich and
the poor. By 1968 only 22 families (mostly from W. Pakistan) owned
66% industries and 80% banking and insurance. Hence, sense of
deprivation grew among the E. Pakistanis as most of the development
was in W Pakistan.
Social Reforms
 Ayub's government also tried to control the population growth and set up
the family planning program, funded largely by American loans. The
program was not particularly successful because of the negative attitude
by the ulemas as they considered it un-Islamic; however, it shows the
government effort of making Pakistan a welfare state.

 Ayub's social reforms also aimed at raising the status of women. The
major step in this regard was Family Laws 1961 which introduced the
registration of marriage and divorce. These laws also said that a man had
to take permission of his first wife for a second marriage. Though they
were criticized of being unIslamic but in reality, they helped women in
getting some rights in male-dominated Pakistani society.

 There was also an attempt to deal with shelter-less people. A large

number of refugees from India had still not been able to find permanent
homes. Ayub Khan appointed General Azam khan as the rehabilitation
minister and he settled 75000 refugees in newly built dwellings near
Karachi and so the problem was resolved to some extent. Ayub khan also
 introduced reforms in educational sector. He drew new curricula for
schools and suggested new text books to be published. These reforms
sound fair as the level of education was raised and modern education was
promoted.

Constitutional Reforms
 In politics, Ayub opposed the western democracy and believed in a kind
of “controlled democracy” or “democracy with discipline” because there
was high degree of instability in the 1950s, specially 1955 to 1958. Ayub
also, a new constitution was needed as the 1956 constitution had been
abrogated into Oct., 1958. Ayub introduced the Basic Democracies
(BD’s) under the Basic Democracies Order, Oct., 1959 it was a four-tier
system under which elections were held at village, tehsil, district and
division level to elect the union council, tehsil council, district council
and divisional council. In the first elections of 1959-60, 80,000 BDs were
elected which were later increased to 120,000. This was a system
according to Ayub which people could understand and work with. It
helped to put the nation on a path of national reconstruction, development
and progress as problems of common people could be redressed at grass
root level without any delay. These BDs were responsible for local
development including health, education, local taxes, water and sanitation
and roads. They also formed an Electoral College to elect the members of
the assemblies and thence to elect the President. Two PDAC’s (Provincial
Development Advisory Councils) were created to coordinate between
BD’s E & W Pakistan. Ayub shifted the Capital from Karachi to
Islamabad.

 The new Constitution was enforced in March 1962 and it introduced

Presidential form of government. President, elected by the Electoral
College for five years, had all executive powers. He could pass any laws
and reject / annul any laws made by the National Assembly. He could
dissolve the assemblies under his emergency powers. The National
Assembly, also elected by the Electoral College, had equal seats of East
and West Pakistan under the One Unit Schemes. There were two
provincial assemblies one each for East and West Pakistan. These reforms
ensured political stability for many years but the indirect election and
powers of the President were criticized specially by East Pakistan. The
constitution also had many successes and many steps were taken to
 satisfy the people of East Pakistan. Both Urdu and Bengali were
recognized as two national languages, national assembly sessions were to
be held in both Dhaka and Islamabad. To disqualify their claim that the
Government of Pakistan was controlled by West Pakistanis, it was said
that if the president was from West Pakistan, then the speaker would be
from East Pakistan and vice versa. These steps helped to reduce tension
between the two wings of Pakistan and promoted unity.
Why did Ayub fall from power in 1969?
 One of the reasons was Tashkent agreement between Pakistan and India
due to which Pakistan had to return all the areas of India which were
captured in the war of 1965 this was unacceptable to the general public
who withdrew support for Ayub Khan which weakened his support and
power and his decline began.

 Tashkent Accord also led to the dismissal of Bhutto he became the focal
point of opposition against Ayub Khan he mobilized the masses and
politicians who put up a firm opposition which Ayub could not face.

 Another reason was resignation of Basic democrats in large numbers.

Basic democrats were the major supporters of Ayub Khan but their
resignation meant drastic decrease in support for him thus Ayub was
forced to quit due to his unpopularity
Why was Islamabad made the capital of Pakistan?
 It was felt that government officials should be moved away from
commercial districts of Karachi as it might have an unwanted influence
on them, thus Islamabad was made the new capital so that the civil
servants should fully concentrate on their official duties without any
corrupt financial distinction.

 Karachi was located on the coast. It was considered vulnerable to Indian

attacks from the Arabian sea thus it was moved to a relatively safe inland
area i.e. Islamabad.

 The Army command headquarters was located in Rawalpindi; thus, Ayub

Khan shifted the capital from Karachi to Islamabad as it was near the
military headquarters and helped to strengthen the political position
especially at the time of martial law.
Yahya Khan’s Tenure:
Sheikh Mujeeb’s six points
 Sheikh Mujeeb, the most popular leader of East Pakistan, presented his
six points in February 1966. He wanted direct elections on the basis of
universal suffrage and a federal government that would control only
defence and foreign affairs. All other powers, including foreign trade,
were to be given to the provincial governments. He also demanded two
separate and mutually convertible currencies as well as paramilitary
forces for East and West Pakistan. His party, the Awami League, won a
decisive majority in the 1970 elections because of his six points. Failure
of any negotiation between Sheikh Mujeeb and the West Pakistani leaders
led to the separation of East Pakistan in December 1971.
The Operation Searchlight
 It was a military operation launched by General Yahya in March 1971. Its
aim was to crush Bengali nationalism as Yahya thought the Awami
League’s campaign was a threat to Pakistan’s unity. Under the operation,
Bengali intelligentsia, academics and Hindus were targeted. Thousands of
Bengalis were killed and press censorship was imposed in East Pakistan.
In retaliation, on 26th March 1971, the Bengalis announced in a secret
radio broadcast the formation of the ‘Sovereign People’s Republic of
Bangladesh’. Yahya sent more troops but the situation continued to
worsen and escalated to the third Pak-India war in December 1971.
Yahya Khan’s Successes:
 Firstly, when Yahya khan became the president; he abolished "One unit
scheme" and redistributed the four provinces of West Pakistan. Thus this
was a success as it satisfied the smaller provinces of West Pakistan like
Sindh, who previously felt economically and politically suppressed by a
larger unit like Punjab.

 Secondly, President Yahya Khan ended the "Parity of seats" between

East and West Pakistan in the national assembly and now the East
Pakistan was given seats according to their majority population. Thus, it
delighted them as they had been demanding this since 1947 and now, they
could protect their political rights with ease.

 Thirdly, Yahya khan also announced that there would be a properly

elected government and so elections were held in East and West Pakistan
 in 1970 on the principle of "One man One vote". Thus, this was a
success as the people of Pakistan were able to choose the leader of their
own choice by exercising their basic democratic rights after a long period
of dictatorship.
Failures
 In 1970, East Pakistan was hit by severe flood (Bhola Cyclone).
However, the rescue and rehabilitation by the government was slow.
Thus, it was a failure as such half-hearted attempt by Government
annoyed the common people of East Pakistan and this decreased his
support even further.

 President Yahya postponed the first assembly session after the elections
of 1970. Thus, it was a failure, as the East Pakistanis felt that they had
been betrayed as their democratic right to form the government was
denied even though the Awami League had won a clear majority in the
elections.

 Furthermore, when the assembly session, which was to take place at

Dhaka, was postponed, this created unrest in East Pakistan. In order to
deal with this opposition, President Yahya commanded General Tikka
Khan to start a military action in East Pakistan known as "Operation
search light". Thousands of them were killed which aggravated the
situation. Thus, it was a failure, as the poor policies of Yahya khan
divided Pakistan as in retaliation to this operation the East Pakistani's
secretly announced in a radio broadcast about the establishment of
Bangladesh.

 Lastly, Yahya Khan, the president and the Chief Martial Law
Administrator commanded the army to surrender in the war of 1971. So,
Pakistan not only lost the war but East Pakistan also became Bangladesh.
This made Yahya khan extremely unpopular as the people were
dissatisfied with his rule.
Why did Mujib give his 6 points (5 Feb 1966)
 Mujib-Ur-Rehman demanded that E.P should be given Provincial
autonomy thus Mujib gave his 6 points in order to ensure that the rights
of E.P were protected and that they would not be dominated by W.P in the
future.
  Mujib wanted that taxes should be collected by the provinces not by the
centre this was as E.P felt that the revenue was unfairly spent on the
development of W.P thus he gave his 6 points to gain economic
independence from W.P and so that they would not be exploited in the
future

 Mujib believed these points contained the main demands of E.P e.g
provincial, economic, military autonomy. He made them the manifesto of
his party in the 1970’s election for his success thus he gave his 6 points to
become the P.M of Pakistan.

Why did the victory of the Awami League cause a constitutional crisis?
 The Awami League got a decisive majority in the 1970 elections. It won
160 out of a total of 162 seats of East Pakistan and 300 seats of the
National Assembly against the PPP of West Pakistan that managed to win
only 81 seats. Such a huge victory of the Awami League allowed it to
form the government on its own. In other words, the future Prime
Minister and his entire Cabinet could come from East Pakistan without
involving the PPP of West Pakistan.

 Bhutto kept all his MNAs from attending the National Assembly session
scheduled to be held in Dhaka. He, in February 1971, threatened to break
the legs of those who tried to attend the session. This promoted anger
among the Bengali MNAs as they felt betrayed. The scheduled session of
NA was thus indefinitely postponed. General Yahya and Mr Bhutto
visited Dhaka, in March 1971, and assured Sheikh Mujeeb that he would
be the future head of state. Yahya invited Mujeeb to West Pakistan but the
latter declined the offer thus losing a good opportunity to gain popularity
in West Pakistan.

 Victory of the Awami League was also problematic as it had won the
election on the basis of Mujeeb’s six points that asked for a complete
internal autonomy of East Pakistan. He wanted provincial governments
controlling foreign trade and taxation policy. This would greatly reduce
the funds available to the central government in West Pakistan in addition
to limiting its powers in general. Yahya Khan and the West Pakistani
politicians were not prepared to accept such a major change though
Mujeeb believed that the six points were negotiable. Instead of
 negotiating with him, he was arrested and this marked the start of the
worst kind of constitutional crisis in the history of Pakistan.
CREATION OF BANGLADESH
Economic reasons
 Economic disparity between East and West Pakistan grew with time. East
Pakistan had been poorer than West Pakistan since 1947 as its weak
industrial base was repeatedly damaged by floods. Unfortunately, this gap
was widened mainly due to the economic policies of Ayub Khan in the
1960s. West Pakistan became the major beneficiary of his industrial and
agricultural reforms. The 22 richest families of West Pakistan owned
66% of the industries and 80% of banking and insurance companies of
Pakistan. East Pakistan was the largest producer of jute in the world
(producing 75% of the total world jute) but its economic growth was
slower than that of West Pakistan. Earnings from the jute export and
taxes collected from East Pakistan were mainly spent on the development
of West Pakistan. The per capita income of East Pakistan was 85% that of
West Pakistan by 1970. This means that every West Pakistani was 15%
richer than his East Pakistani counterpart on the average. The Bengalis
also questioned the justification of spending of the Kashmir issue while
keeping East Pakistan under developed. All this promoted a sense of
deprivation and frustration among the people of East Pakistan.
Political Reasons
 Political factors also contributed to the separation of East Pakistan. It
wanted a share in the government according to the size of the population
that was 10% greater than West Pakistan (55% of the total population).
This was denied to them under the One Unit Scheme and rule of parity as
enforced in the 1956 and 1962 Constitutions. Most of the political
decision making was done in West Pakistan. East Pakistan was
underrepresented in the armed forces and the Civil Services as the
headquarters of the armed forces were located in West Pakistan.

 The Awami League of Sheikh Mujeeb in East Pakistan won an overall

majority in the 1970 elections. Mujeeb got this victory on the basis of his
six points that asked for full autonomy of East Pakistan in all matters
except for defence and foreign affairs. Mujeeb wanted separate fiscal,
taxation and foreign trade policy of the two wings which West Pakistan
could not accept as it would weaken its traditional dominance in politics
and economy. Mujeeb was denied power and arrested that led to a civil
war in East Pakistan. Situation worsened as General Yahya ordered a
military operation in March 1971. There was massacre of Bengalis who
 retaliated with the help of India. The Indian army had been training and
funding the Mukti Bahini, the militant Bengali separatist army. Finally,
the 1971 war led to West Pakistan’s defeat and creation of Bangladesh.
Cultural Reasons
 Cultural factors also contributed towards the tragic separation of East
Pakistan. Jinnah declared Urdu as the only national language on the basis
of “One Nation One Language”. This was resented by East Pakistan as
Bengali was a fully developed and the only language spoken throughout
East Pakistan. The Bengalis took this as a step of West Pakistan’s
attempts to dominate them. After protests and violence, Bengali was also
declared as the national language with Urdu.
Military Reasons
 The intervention of Indian troops in E.P in Dec 1971 resulted in the
creation of Bangladesh as Pakistan lost the war of 1971 and Indians
allowed E.P to declare its independence.
 E.P also resented the fact that they were underrepresented in Army,
Judiciary and Civil Service as most of the high post officials were
occupied by W.P’ies this frustrated the people of E.P as they were being
overlooked
 The political parties which won the election in 1970 were regional in their
approach Awami league worked for the interests of E.P alone while the
PPP worked for the interests of W.P this promoted regionalism and
created a rift between the 2 wings and lack of patriotism.
Other Reasons
 East and West Pakistan were separated by a 1600 km long Indian territory
and this caused difficulties in communication between the two wings.
East Pakistan was regularly ravaged by floods and cyclones that further
weakened its economy. Failure of West Pakistan to provide timely help in
such emergencies also promoted a sense of separatism in East Pakistan. It
was affected by devastating floods only a couple of months before the
1970 elections but West Pakistan did not show any concern in providing
relief to the flood victims. India offered aid ostensibly on humanitarian
grounds but West Pakistan did not allow it and this further hurt the people
of East Pakistan.