Indo Pak History-4

Presidential Election (1965)

Miss Fatima Jinnah, popularly acclaimed as the Madar-i-Millat, or “Mother of the Nation” for her role in the Freedom Movement, contested the 1965 elections at the age of 71. Except for her brief tour to East Pakistan in 1954, she had not participated in politics since Independence. After the imposition of Martial Law by Ayub Khan, she once wished the regime well. But after the Martial Law was lifted, she sympathized with the opposition as she was strongly in favor of democratic ideals. Being the Quaid’s sister, she was held in high esteem, and came to symbolize the democratic aspirations of the people. The electoral landscape changed when Miss Fatima Jinnah decided to contest the elections for the President’s office in 1965. She was challenging the incumbent President Ayub Khan in the indirect election, which Ayub Khan had himself instituted.

Presidential candidates for the elections of 1965 were announced before commencement of the Basic Democracy elections, which was to constitute the Electoral College for the Presidential and Assembly elections. There were two major parties contesting the election. The Convention Muslim League and the Combined Opposition Parties. The Combined Opposition Parties consisted of five major opposition parties. It had a nine-point program, which included restoration of direct elections, adult franchise and democratization of the 1962 Constitution. The opposition parties of Combined Opposition Parties were not united and did not possess any unity of thought and action. They were unable to select presidential candidates from amongst themselves; therefore they selected Miss Fatima Jinnah as their candidate.

Elections were held on January 2, 1965. There were four candidates; Ayub Khan, Miss Fatima Jinnah and two obscure persons with no party affiliation. There was a short campaigning period of one month, which was further restricted to nine projection meetings that were organized by the Election Commission and were attended only by the members of the Electoral College and members of the press. The public was barred from attending the projection meetings, which would have enhanced Miss Fatima Jinnah’s image.

Ayub Khan had a great advantage over the rest of the candidates. The Second Amendment of the Constitution confirmed him as President till the election of his successor. Armed with the wide-ranging constitutional powers of a President, he exercised complete control over all governmental machinery during elections. He utilized the state facilities as head of state, not as the President of the Convention Muslim League or a presidential candidate, and didn’t even hesitate to legislate on electoral maters. Bureaucracy and business, the two beneficiaries of the Ayub Khan regime, helped him in his election campaign. Being a political opportunist, he brought all the discontented elements together to support him; students were assured the revision of the University Ordinance and journalists the scrutiny of the Press Laws. Ayub Khan also gathered the support of the ulema who were of the view that Islam does not permit a woman to be the head of an Islamic state.

Miss Jinnah’s greatest advantage was that she was the sister of the Founder of Pakistan. She had detached herself from the political conflicts that had plagued Pakistan after the Founder’s death. The sight of this dynamic lady moving in the streets of big cities, and even in the rural areas of a Muslim country, was both moving and unique. She proclaimed Ayub Khan to be a dictator. Miss Jinnah’s line of attack was that by coming to terms with India on the Indus Water dispute, Ayub had surrendered control of the rivers over to India. Her campaign generated tremendous public enthusiasm. She drew enormous crowds in all cities of East and West Pakistan. The campaign however suffered from a number of drawbacks. An unfair and unequal election campaign, poor finances, and indirect elections through the Basic Democracy System were some of the basic problems she faced.

Miss Fatima Jinnah lost the election of 1965 and Ayub Khan was elected as the President of Pakistan.

It is believed that had the elections been held via direct ballot, Fatima Jinnah would have won. The Electoral College consisted of only 80,000 Basic Democrats, who were easily manipulated. The importance of this election, lay in the fact that a woman was contesting the highest political office of the country. The orthodox religious political parties, including the Jamaat-i-Islami led by Maulana Maududi, which had repeatedly declared that a woman could not hold the highest office of a Muslim country, modified their stance and supported the candidature of Miss Fatima Jinnah. The election showed that the people had no prejudice against women holding high offices, and they could be key players in politics of the country.

Indo-Pak War [September, 1965]

The long-standing border disputes, communal tensions, and conflict over the question of Kashmir flared up in a full-scale war between India and Pakistan in September 1965.

The War of Rann of Kutch

Skirmishes at the Rann of Kutch flared up almost accidentally in the Spring of 1965, and India and Pakistan found themselves drawn into the first of their two undeclared wars.

The dispute goes back to the days of the British rule in India. The Rann was the bone of contention between the princely state Kutch, and the British Indian province of Sindh.

When British India was partitioned, Kutch acceded to India and Sindh to Pakistan. The issue was inherited by these two states along some 3,500 sq. miles of territory. From January 1965 onwards, border incidents became frequent. By all accounts the Indian forces were badly defeated in the Kutch area by the Pakistan army.

At the Commonwealth Conference in Britain, the British Prime Minister Harold Wilson successfully persuaded both India and Pakistan to sign an agreement on June 30 to resolve the dispute. Failing to do so bilaterally, a tribunal was set up to resolve this dispute. This tribunal announced its verdict on February 19, 1965. It gave 350 sq. miles in the northern part to Pakistan and the rest of the Rann area to India.

The War in Kashmir

Events in Kashmir were also moving towards a climax. The Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri added more fuel to the fire by taking steps to absorb Kashmir further into the political body of India and stated that the Kashmir problem occupied a secondary place in successful relations between India and Pakistan.

The application of articles 356 and 357 of the Indian Constitution to the Kashmir State which enabled the President of India to establish Presidential Rule in Kashmir and legislate, there was an effort to amalgamate Kashmir completely into the Indian Union.

Sheikh Abdullah, the Kashmiri leader took extensive foreign tours to enlist international support for the Kashmir cause. But he was arrested and the Kashmir Legislative Assembly adopted the Constitutional Amendments Bill on March 30, providing:

1. The Sardar-i-Riyasat would henceforth be known as Governor and would be appointed by the President of India instead of being elected by the local assembly.

2. The Prime Minister would be styled as a Chief Minister, as in the states of the Indian Union.

The Kashmiri people called for an all out war against Indian imperialism and established a National Government of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. In a spillover effect, Azad Kashmir became increasingly restive. The Indian army made a series of new moves across the ceasefire line with her regular armed forces.

The Lahore Offensive

At 30 AM on September 6, 1965, without a formal declaration of war, Indians crossed the international border of West Pakistan and launched a three-pronged offensive against Lahore, Sialkot and Rajasthan. There was a fierce tank battle on the plains of Punjab. The domestic Indo-Pak conflict transformed into an international conflict and raised Super Power concerns.

The U. S. suspended military supplies to both sides during the Indo-Pak War. Both the Soviet Union and the United States took a united stand to curtail the conflict within the boundaries of the Sub-continent from escalating into a global conflict. China threatened to intervene and offered military support to Pakistan. It was to keep China away from this conflict that both the Soviet Union and the United States pressured the U. N. to arrange for an immediate ceasefire.

The main diplomatic effort to stop the fighting was conducted under the auspices of the United Nations and a ceasefire came into effect on September 23, 1965.

The Soviet Union, which had remained neutral while India and Pakistan were at war, played broker at Tashkent afterwards. A Soviet Government communique formally announced on December 8 that the Indian Prime Minister Shastri and the Pakistani President Ayub would meet at Tashkent on January 4, 1966.

The Tashkent Conference lasted from January 4 to January 10. The Soviet Premier Kosygin earned praise as a peacemaker. The main achievement of the Conference was to withdraw, no later than February 25, 1966, all armed personnel to the position held before August 5, 1964.

The Tashkent Declaration [1966]

In September 1965, the long-standing border dispute, communal tensions, and conflict over the question of Kashmir flared up in a full-scale war between India and Pakistan. Fearing that this regional conflict within the boundaries of Indo-Pakistan would escalate into a conflict of global dimensions, the Soviet Union and the United States pressurized the U. N. to arrange an immediate ceasefire. The diplomatic efforts of the United Nations resulted in a ceasefire that came into effect on September 23, 1965.

The Soviet Union, which had remained neutral when India and Pakistan went to war in September 1965, played the broker afterwards at Tashkent. A Soviet Government communiquŽ formally announced on December 8 that the Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and the Pakistani President Muhammad Ayub Khan would meet at Tashkent on January 4, 1966. The Tashkent Conference lasted from January 4 to January 10. Largely as due to the efforts of Soviet Premier Kosygin, India and Pakistan signed a declaration that is known as the Tashkent Declaration.

The significant clauses of this agreement were:

1. The Prime Minister of India and the President of Pakistan agree to make all efforts to establish good relations between India and Pakistan in accordance with the United Nations Charter. They affirm to renounce the use of force in the settlement of their disputes.

2. The President of Pakistan and the Indian Prime Minister agree to withdraw, no later than February 25, 1966, all armed personnel to the position held before August 5, 1964.

3. Both India and Pakistan agree to follow the principle of non-interference in their affairs and will discourage the use of any propaganda against each other.

4. Both the countries also agree to reopen normal diplomatic functioning and to return of the High Commissioners of both the countries to their posts.

5. Measures towards the restoration of economic and trade relations, communications, as well as cultural exchanges between the two countries were to be taken. Measures were to be taken to implement the existing agreements between Pakistan and India.

6. Prisoners of war would be repatriated.

7. Discussions would continue relating to the problem of refugees and eviction of illegal immigrants. Both sides will create conditions that will prevent the exodus of the people.

The President of Pakistan and the Indian Prime Minister agreed that both sides would continue to meet at the highest and other levels on matters of direct concern to both the countries. Both the sides recognized the need to set up joint Indo-Pakistan bodies, which would report to their governments in order to decide what further steps need to be taken. In accordance to the Tashkent Declaration, talks at the ministerial level were held on March 1 and 2, 1966. Despite the fact that these talks were unsuccessful, diplomatic exchange continued throughout the spring and summer. No result was achieved out of these talks, as there was a difference of opinion over the Kashmir issue.

Euphoria had built up during the 1965 war, which had led to the development of a public perception that Pakistan was going to win the war. News of the Tashkent Declaration shocked the people who were expecting something quite different. Things further worsened as Ayub Khan refused to comment and went into seclusion instead of taking the people into confidence over the reasons for signing the agreement. Demonstrations and rioting erupted at various places throughout the country. In order to dispel the anger and misgiving of the people, Ayub Khan decided to lay the matter before the people by addressing the nation on January 14.

It was the difference over Tashkent Declaration, which eventually led to the removal of Z. A. Bhutto from Ayub’s government, who later on launched his own party, called the Pakistan People’s Party.

Despite the fact that Ayub Khan was able to satisfy the misgiving of the people, there is no doubt that the Tashkent Declaration greatly damaged the image of Ayub Khan, and became one of the many factors that led to his downfall.

Awami League’s Six-Point Program

In the 1970 National Assembly elections, the mandate of Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman’s Awami League Party was based on a Six-Point Program of regional autonomy in a federal Pakistan. Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman had presented the Six-Point Program as the constitutional solution of East Pakistan’s problems, in relation to West Pakistan.

First enunciated on February 12, 1966, the six points are as below:

1. The Constitution should provide for a Federation of Pakistan in the true sense on the basis of the Lahore Resolution and for a parliamentary form of government based on the supremacy of a directly elected legislature on the basis of universal adult franchise.

2. The Federal Government shall deal with only two subjects; Defense and Foreign Affairs. All residuary subjects will be vested in the federating states.

3. There should be either two separate, freely convertible currencies for the two Wings, or one currency with two separate reserve banks to prevent inter-Wing flight of capital.

4. The power of taxation and revenue collection shall be vested in the federating units. The Federal Government will receive a share to meet its financial obligations.

5. Economic disparities between the two Wings shall disappear through a series of economic, fiscal, and legal reforms.

6. A militia or paramilitary force must be created in East Pakistan, which at present has no defense of it own.

After the elections of 1970, differences arose between the Government and Awami League on the transfer of power on the basis of this Six-Point Program.

There ensued a political deadlock with talks ending in failure and postponement of the first session of the National Assembly. The postponement of the National Assembly session triggered a chain of events that eventually led to the separation of East Pakistan.

Martial Law under General Yahya Khan [1969-71]

The Tashkent Declaration signed by the Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and the Pakistani President Muhammad Ayub Khan was not at all approved by the general public, and was regarded as submission to India and humiliation for the nation. Politicians were already unhappy with Ayub Khan whose Government was celebrating the decade of various reforms. But he fell victim to the then Foreign Minister, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who exploited the whole situation. He resigned from office and after forming a party of his own, Pakistan Peoples Party, announced to “defeat the great dictator with the power of the people”. As a result, he and others were arrested.

Ayub Khan tried his best to handle the situation by releasing a number of political prisoners, including the most popular leader of East Pakistan, Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman. He held a Round Table Conference in Rawalpindi with all the well-known political leaders in March 1969, but it proved to be a stalemate, with the result that Ayub Khan was forced to hand over power to General Muhammad Yahya Khan, on March 25, 1969. Pakistan was now under the grip of another Martial Law.

Being deeply aware of the explosive political situation in the country, General Yahya Khan set in motion moves to transfer power to the elected representatives of the people and announced that the general elections would be held on October 5, 1970.

Legal Framework Order [1970]

After the abrogation of the Constitution of 1962, Yahya Khan needed a legal framework to hold elections. In April and July 1969, he held discussions with prominent political party leaders to learn their point of view. Most of them asked for the revival of the Constitution of 1956 on the ground that its abrogation had been unlawful, and the country should return to the constitutional position prevailing on the eve of the 1958 coup. Yahya Khan initially agreed with this opinion, but had to change his stance due to opposition from the Awami League.

Not being well versed in constitutional affairs, he appointed a team to draft a new constitutional formula. He voiced his ideas about the constitutional issues in his broadcast address to the nation on November 28, 1969. The formula was officially issued on March 30, 1970, and is known as the Legal Framework Order of 1970. According to this order, One Unit was dissolved in West Pakistan and direct ballot replaced the principle of parity.

The National Assembly was to consist of 313 seats, including 13 seats reserved for women. Women were also allowed to contest the elections from general seats. The distribution of seats was to be as follows:

East Pakistan: 162 general and 7 reserved seats

Punjab: 82 general and 3 reserved seats

Sindh: 27 general and 1 reserved seat

N. W. F. P.: 18 general and 1 reserved seat

Baluchistan: 4 general and 1 reserved seat

Centrally Administered Tribal Areas: 7 general seats

The L. F. O. also defined the qualifications of people who would be allowed to contest in the elections. The Constituent Assembly was to stand dissolved if it was unable to frame the Constitution within 120 days. Actually, the Legal Framework Order was to act as an interim Constitution.

The primary function of the L. F. O. was to provide a setup on which elections could be conducted. It was then the duty of the elected Constituent Assembly to draft the Constitution of Pakistan. However, the L. F. O. defined the directive principles of State policy and made it clear that the future Constitution should not violate these basic principles. The directive principles demanded an Islamic way of life, observation of Islamic moral standards, and teaching of the Quran and Sunnah to the Muslims.

The Legal Framework Order also urged the Constituent Assembly to frame a Constitution in which Pakistan was to be a Federal Republic and should be named Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It also called for the preservation of Islamic Ideology and democratic values. The Constituent Assembly was also supposed to frame a Constitution in which all citizens of Pakistan were to enjoy fundamental human rights. Judiciary should remain independent from the Executive and provincial autonomy is protected.

The President was given the power to reject any Constitution framed by the Constituent Assembly if the document did not fulfill the above-mentioned requirements. The President also had the power to interpret and amend the Constitution, and his decision could not be challenged in a court of law.

General Elections 1970

The political history of Pakistan from 1947 to 1970 witnessed no general elections. Thus, when Yahya’s Regime decided to hold the first general elections on the basis of adult franchise at national level, they were not only required to make a new mechanism but were also required to set up a permanent election machinery. A three-member Election Commission was set up and Justice Abdus Sattar was appointed as the first Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan.

The first task before the Election Commission was to enroll as voters all citizens of Pakistan who were at least 21-years old on October 1, 1969. The electoral rolls were put before the masses for corrections on January 16, 1970, and after necessary amendments, the final list was published on March 17. The total registered voters in the country were 56,941,500 out of which 31,211,220 were from the Eastern Wing, while 25,730,280 from the Western Wing. The Election Commission also marked the constituencies, in accordance with the seats allocated for the National and Provincial Assemblies under Legal Framework Order, 1970. One hundred and ninety nine Returning Officers were appointed for the National Assembly and 285 Returning Officers were appointed for the Provincial Assemblies.

Twenty four political parties participated in the elections. They were allowed to begin their election campaigns from January 1, 1970. The public meetings of Awami League in Bengal and Pakistan Peoples Party in the Punjab and Sindh attracted huge crowds. Awami League mobilized support on the basis of its Six-Points Program, which was the main attraction in the party’s manifesto. While Z. A. Bhutto’s personality, his socialistic ideas and his slogan of “Rotti, Kapra aur Makan”, meaning food, clothing and shelter, were the factors that contributed to the popularity of Pakistan Peoples Party. The rightist parties raised the religious slogans, while the leftists raised slogans based on regional and communistic ideas.

A total 1,957 candidates filed their nomination papers for 300 National Assembly seats. While after scrutiny and withdrawals, 1,579 contested the elections eventually. None of the political parties filed nominations of their candidates on all the seats. Awami League nominated 170 candidates out of which 162 were for the constituencies in East Pakistan. The party that filed second highest number of candidates was Jamaat-i-Islami. It filed 151 candidates. There were only 120 candidates contesting the elections on the ticket of Pakistan Peoples Party, out of which 103 were from the constituencies in the Punjab and Sindh. Pakistan Peoples Party didn’t nominate a single candidate from East Pakistan. Convention Muslim League nominated 124 candidates, Council Muslim League 119 and Qayyum Muslim League 133.

According to the original schedule, polling for the National Assembly was to be held on October 5 and for the Provincial Assemblies on October 19. However, due to the floods in the East Pakistan, the dates were changed to December 7 and 17, respectively. Elections on nine National Assembly and 18 Provincial Assembly seats, however, could not be held on these dates because of the cyclone that hit a large part of East Pakistan. Elections for these seats were held on January 17, 1971.

According to the results of the elections, Awami League emerged as the single largest party in the National Assembly by winning 160 seats. It was also able to win 288 out of 300 seats in the East Pakistan Assembly. However, the party failed to win even a single seat in the four Provincial Assemblies of West Pakistan. Pakistan Peoples Party managed to win 81 out of 138 seats reserved for West Pakistan in the National Assembly. The party also performed well in the Provincial Assembly polls of the Punjab and Sindh Assemblies.

The election results showed that the rightist parties were completely routed. The biggest reason for this was the division of votes among several candidates on almost every seat. Qayyum Muslim League, Council Muslim League, Convention Muslim League, Jamiyat-i-Ulema-i-Islam, Jamiyat-i-Ulema-i-Pakistan and Jamaat-i-Islami as a whole could only secure 37 National Assembly seats. National Awami Party and Jamiyat-i-Ulema-i-Islam emerged as the prominent parties in the N. W. F. P and Baluchistan Assemblies.

The Separation of East Pakistan [1971]

The separation of East Pakistan was a great setback to Pakistan. By 1970, sentiments for national unity had weakened in East Pakistan to the extent that constant conflict between the two Wings dramatically erupted into mass civil disorder. This tragically resulted in the brutal and violent amputation of Pakistan’s Eastern Wing.

The physical separation of a thousand miles between the two wings without a common border, and being surrounded by Indian territory and influences, led to constant political, economic and social conflicts between the two wings; embittering relations bringing the country on the verge of collapse.

As a result of the separation of its Eastern Wing, Pakistan’s international credit was depleted and the military, being its most powerful institution, suffered a lot. To some, the very concept of Pakistan as the homeland for the Muslims in Southeast Asia no longer appeared valid.

Trouble started right at the inception of Pakistan in 1947. Almost immediately, East Pakistan claimed that as their population (55 percent as compared to 45 percent in the West) was greater, they were in a majority. Democratically, the Federal Capital, therefore, should have been in Dhaka and not in Karachi.

Since Karachi was the seat of the National Government; ministers, government officials and industrialists exerted immense influence on national and regional affairs, which brought them many benefits. But the East Pakistanis were unable to extract the same kind of advantages, as they were a thousand miles away from the Capital. Moreover, the Capital initially attracted wealthy industrialists, businessmen, administrators, doctors and other professionals who had fled from India.

The location of the Capital, it was said, created great economic imbalance, uneven distribution of national wealth and privileges, and better jobs for the people of West Pakistan, because they were able to sway decisions in their own favor.

Secondly, Bengalis resented the vast sums of foreign exchange earned from the sale of jute from East, which were being spent on defense. They questioned how the expenditure for the Kashmir cause would be justified, when it could otherwise have been productively used to build dams and barriers to control floods, eradicate poverty and illiteracy, and supply food and shelter for the ever-growing population in East Pakistan.

Thirdly, the people of the East believed that it was sheer regional prejudice that all white-collar jobs were taken by West Pakistanis.

Many mistakes were made early in the short history of Pakistan. There lived in East Pakistan about 15 million Hindus who, with the help of their fellow West Bengali Indians from across the border, were able to exploit East-West differences that emerged as a result of these mistakes. Grievances were exaggerated to foster anti-West Pakistani feelings that eventually created Bengali Nationalism and separatist tendencies. Bengali political leaders went around depicting the Central Government and West Pakistan as hostile exploiters. However, no effective efforts were made by the Government to check these anti-national trends.

Awami League, formed in 1951, was headed by Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman. He had always been an ardent Bengali nationalist. He began to attract popular support from Bengalis in East Pakistan. He put forward his Six Points that demanded more autonomy for the Provinces in general, and East Pakistan in particular. He was arrested in April 1966, and soon released, only to be rearrested and imprisoned in June the same year. He languished in prison until February 1969.

Being deeply aware of the explosive political situation in the country, the then Chief Martial Law Administrator, Yahya Khan, set in motion moves to transfer power to the elected representatives of the people, and announced that the general elections would be held on October 5, 1970.

In all his election speeches, Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman reiterated his demand for implementation of his Six Points and provincial autonomy plans.