Chronicles of Pakistan: Bhutto & Zia
Pakistan was founded in the name of Islam, founded to be home to equality and justice for all, founded as the first democratic nation in the Islamic world. But today, 73 years on our democratic system continues to fail. But where did it all go wrong, why are our democratic institutions susceptible to continuous military interventions, why can political parties not govern for the sake of national interests. To understand all this we need to go back to the eras of Field Marshal Ayub Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB).
Ayub Khan after coming into power introduced a five-year economic plan designed to drastically revolutionize the grave economic situation of Pakistan; Khan promoted heavy industries, agriculture, textiles and introduced science for the better industrial growth. This had a drastic effect on the economy as it increased revenues by 20% and the GDP jumped from 1.4% to 5.3%. He also signed the Indus Water Treaty with India, which prevented any water-wars from taking place.
However, Ayub Khan’s era was continuously marred by controversy arising from bad governance, destruction of the democratic system and its principles, and the failure to deliver on his manifesto of free and fair elections. The political reforms introduced by Ayub Khan after taking control of the government following the martial law were highly controversial and made him unpopular in the public’s eye. Khan set up a constitutional commission led by formed CJP Justice Shahabuddin, the commission’s aim was to analyze the progressive failure of parliamentary form of government which would later lead to the abolition of the 1965 constitution. Unsurprisingly, in true military dictator fashion, Ayub Khan ordered his cabinet to civilize the report of the Shahabuddin Commission and to conform it to his political beliefs. The final report was entirely opposite to the recommendations and findings of the commission and so the 1962 Constitution was a blow to the expectations of the commission and politicians across Pakistan. It is vital to understand here the political beliefs of Khan, he was of the opinion that politicians are not loyal and reliable. He was also well versed with the weaknesses of the politicians and their greed for giving preference to their own personal interests above the collective interest of the country.
He banned political parties in Pakistan and stopped their operations throughout the country, three years earlier he had introduced the Public Office Disqualification Order (PODO) in March, 1959, this barred politicians from holding public offices. Five months later he introduced the Elected Bodies Disqualification Order (EBDO). The goal behind EBDO was to cleanse the country from the political elite. People who would be convicted under EBDO were forced to retire and pay up losses caused by their nonchalant actions. Khan developed the Basic Democracies System consisting of an electoral college of 80,000, presidential; this electoral college would go on and be part of the most vehement electoral rigging in the history of Pakistan in the 1965 elections. The BD system was subservient to the regime of Ayub Khan due to the bureaucratic interventions in the BD system granted under the 1959 BD Order. In the 1962 constitution political parties continued to be banned and any person affiliated to a political party was barred from contesting elections. However, the military dictator revived political parties later on in 1962 under the Political Parties Act (PPA). The PPA granted constitutional framework to political parties so that they could contest elections, however persons disqualified under EBDO were still in lieu of contesting elections. The Presidential elections of 1965 were a mockery of an election, the electoral college was bought off, threatened and forced to vote for the military dictator.
The political system introduced by Ayub Khan was strongly opposed by all major political parties. But since there was no single party strong enough to rebel against the regime, Ayub Khan continued his dictatorship. Pakistan was founded to be a democratic nation, not an autocratic or a dictatorship. The actions of Field Marshal Ayub Khan paved the way for the constant military interference in the democracy of Pakistan. When Zia-ul-Haq imposed Martial Law in 1977, he too banned political activists and blamed the politicians for everything wrong in Pakistan, he too destroyed the due democratic principles. Ayub Khan undermined the democratic institutions and failed to own democratic principles, moreover, his promises to hold a free and fair election were futile. It took nine years for the first constitution to be enacted, and was replaced only after two years, the 1962 constitution that followed was a mockery to democracy and made the President responsible to none but all powerful. There is no doubt that the damage caused to democracy in Ayub Khan’s regime was responsible for the breaking up of Pakistan. Abraham Lincoln once remarked democracy as “government of the people, by the people, for the people”, the damage done to democracy in Ayub Khan’s tenure can still be seen in the weak democratic institutions of our country today.
In 1967, following the 1965 Indo-Pak war, ZAB founded the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). ZAB publicly took on Ayub Khan’s regime and vowed to bring back democracy. Ironically, ZAB was a minister in the federal cabinet of Ayub Khan and was deemed as his ‘political son’. However, ZAB led protests in West Pakistan, whereas Sheikh Mujibur Rehman led them in East Pakistan, in 1969 Ayub Khan stepped down and elections took place in 1970. Although, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman won the popular mandate, it was ZAB who formed the first government. Had ZAB been truly democratic he would have accepted the mandate and let Mujibur Rehman form the government. Following the separation of East Pakistan, ZAB was committed to bringing about a socialistic economy. In 1973, the PPP government legislated the 1973 constitution. ZAB under the socialistic banner of “roti, kapra, makan” appealed to the masses. The role played by the opposition parties whilst legislating the 1973 constitution cannot be overlooked, the National Awami Party (NAP) advocated for the inclusion of constitutional principles that would protect minority rights, this was outright rejected by the PPP.
The NAP disappointed at the uncompromising behavior of the government boycotted the proceedings. According to a report out of four hundred amendments proposed by the opposition parties merely one was accepted. A majority of the constitution was adopted without the presence of the opposition, who came on the final day to ratify the draft constitution at the threat of persecution and being charged for treason. ZAB had initiated the Federal Security Force to target his opposition and show no mercy to criticism of any kind; ZAB had in a way become a dictator elected through democracy. ZAB was faced with rising criticism and unrest among opposition, who had now gathered under a single umbrella labelled “Pakistan National Alliance (PNA)” and levelled serious electoral rigging allegations against ZAB in the 1977 elections. It was then that ZAB asked the then COAS Zia-ul-Haq to take over on interim basis and hold elections that would calm the violent unrest. Although, Gen Zia promised to hold elections in 90 days, he too decided to look up to and be inspired by the military coup of Ayub Khan. Zia had ZAB tried for the murder of the father of Sheikh Ahmed Qasuri and the rest is embedded in the pages of history.
The extent of ZAB’s political intolerance was and constitutional amendments weakened democracy greatly. ZAB promoted himself at the expense of national interests and democratic institutions, additionally he strengthened his political power now by strengthening democratic institutions but rather by cozying up to the COAS. The excessive use of the FSF to silence the opposition had made him largely unpopular. However, ZAB provided a sense of pride and dignity to Pakistan’s impoverished population. The extent of the 1977 elections led to violent unrest throughout the country and was eventually followed by a coup d’etate. The division of West and East Pakistan can be easily put on the shoulders of three people, namely ZAB, General Yahya Khan and Sheikh Mujibur Rehman. Had ZAB accepted the mandate of Mujibur Rehman, Bangladesh would never have formed, had ZAB upheld the democratic principles, Pakistan would have never broken.
If we were to compare the political eras of ZAB and Ayub Khan we find stark differences. On one hand, a military dictator who abolished the constitution, banned legitimate forms of democracy and political parties for the majority of his tenure. A dictator who constantly undermined democracy and failed to create any legitimate parliament arising from free and fair elections. And on the other hand, the political son of the very same military dictator, but one who vowed to bring back true democracy to the country and partially succeeded. The son who ended the regime. The son who first became president and then prime minister of the country not once but twice, the son who broke up Pakistan because he could not stand to see another individual take power at the helm of the nation. The son who turned into an elected dictator, the son who could not stand any criticism, the son who was ousted by his own general. Alas, the son who was hanged by his most trusted general.
Pakistan has a very dark history, filled with tales of power struggles of weak men wanting to sit in big chairs. The damage done to the democratic institutions in the eras of ZAB and Ayub Khan is still being paid to this very day, had they upheld the democratic principles and worked for the collective national interest; we would not be in the sinkhole we find ourselves in today.
