The Ayub Years
President Ayub ruled Pakistan almost
absolutely for a little more than ten years. Although his regime made
some notable achievements, it did not eliminate the basic problems of
Pakistani society. Ayub’s regime increased developmental funds to East
Pakistan more than threefold. This had a noticeable effect on the
economy of the province, but the disparity between the two wings of
Pakistan was not eliminated. His regime also initiated land reforms
designed to reduce the political power of the landed aristocracy. Ayub
also promulgated a progressive Islamic law, the Muslim Family Laws
Ordinance of 1961, imposing restrictions on polygamy and divorce and
reinforcing the inheritance rights of women and minors.
In 1959, soon after taking office, Ayub
ordered the planning and construction of a new national capital, to
replace Karachi. The chosen location of the new capital in the province
of Punjab was close to the military headquarters of Rawalpindi, which
served as an interim capital. Islamabad officially became the new
capital in 1967, although construction continued into the 1970s.
Perhaps the most pervasive of Ayub’s changes
was his introduction of a new political system, known as the Basic
Democracies, in 1959. It created a four-tiered system of mostly
indirect representation in government, from the local to the national
level, allowing communication between local communities and the highly
centralized national government. Each tier was assigned certain
responsibilities in local administration of agricultural and community
development, such as maintenance of elementary schools, public roads,
and bridges. All the councils at the tehsil (subdistrict), zilla
(district), and division levels were indirectly elected. The lowest
tier, on the village level, consisted of union councils. Members of the
union councils were known as Basic Democrats and were the only members
of any tier who were directly elected.
A new constitution promulgated by Ayub in
1962 ended the period of martial law. The new, 156-member National
Assembly was elected that year by an electoral college of 120,000 Basic
Democrats from the union councils. After the legislative elections
political parties were again legalized. Ayub created the Pakistan
Muslim League (PML) as the official government party. The presidential
election of January 1965, also determined by electoral college rather
than direct vote, resulted in a victory for Ayub, although opposition
parties were allowed to participate.
Ayub was skillful in maintaining cordial
relations with the United States, stimulating substantial economic and
military aid to Pakistan. This relationship deteriorated in 1965, when
another war with India broke out over Kashmir. The United States then
suspended military and economic aid to both countries. The USSR
intervened to mediate the conflict, inviting Ayub and Prime Minister
Lal Bahadur Shastri of India to meet in Toshkent (Tashkent). By the
terms of the so-called Toshkent Agreement of January 1966, the two
countries withdrew their forces to prewar positions and restored
diplomatic, economic, and trade relations. Exchange programs were
initiated, and the flow of capital goods to Pakistan increased greatly.
The Toshkent Agreement and the Kashmir war,
however, generated frustration among the people and resentment against
President Ayub. Foreign Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who opposed
Pakistan’s capitulation, resigned his position and founded the Pakistan
People’s Party (PPP) in opposition to the Ayub regime. Ayub tried
unsuccessfully to make amends, and amid mounting public protests he
declared martial law and resigned in March 1969. Instead of
transferring power to the speaker of the National Assembly, as the
constitution dictated, he handed it over to the commander in chief of
the army, General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, who was the designated
martial-law administrator. Yahya then assumed the presidency.
Yahya Regime
In an attempt to make his martial-law regime
more acceptable, Yahya dismissed almost 300 senior civil servants and
identified 32 families that were said to control about half of
Pakistan’s gross national product. To curb their power Yahya issued an
ordinance against monopolies and restrictive trade practices in 1970.
He also committed to the return of constitutional government and
announced the country would hold its first general election on the
basis of universal adult franchise in late 1970.
Yahya determined that representation in the
National Assembly would be based on population. In July 1970 he
abolished the One Unit, thereby restoring the original four provinces
in West Pakistan. As a result, East Pakistan emerged as the largest
province of the country, while in West Pakistan the province of Punjab
emerged as the dominant province. East Pakistan was allocated 162 seats
in the 300-seat National Assembly, and the provinces of West Pakistan
were allocated a total of 138.
Civil War
The election campaign intensified divisions
between East and West Pakistan. A challenge to Pakistan’s unity emerged
in East Pakistan when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (“Mujib”), leader of the
Awami League, insisted on a federation under which East Pakistan would
be virtually independent. He envisaged a federal government that would
deal with defense and foreign affairs only; even the currencies would
be different, although freely convertible.
Mujib’s program had great appeal for many
East Pakistanis, and in the December 1970 election called by Yahya, he
won by a landslide in East Pakistan, capturing 160 seats in the
National Assembly. Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) emerged as
the largest party in West Pakistan, capturing 81 seats (predominantly
in Punjab and Sind). This gave the Awami League an absolute majority in
the National Assembly, a turn of events that was considered
unacceptable by political interests in West Pakistan because of the
divided political climate of the country. The Awami League adopted an
uncompromising stance, however, and negotiations between the various
sides became deadlocked.
Suspecting Mujib of secessionist politics,
Yahya in March 1971 postponed indefinitely the convening of the
National Assembly. Mujib in return accused Yahya of collusion with
Bhutto and established a virtually independent government in East
Pakistan. Yahya opened negotiations with Mujib in Dhaka in mid-March,
but the effort soon failed. Meanwhile Pakistan’s army went into action
against Mujib’s civilian followers, who demanded that East Pakistan
become independent as the nation of Bangladesh.
There were many casualties during the
ensuing military operations in East Pakistan, as the Pakistani army
attacked the poorly armed population. India claimed that nearly 10
million Bengali refugees crossed its borders, and stories of West
Pakistani atrocities abounded. The Awami League leaders took refuge in
Calcutta (now Kolkata) and established a government in exile. India
finally intervened on December 3, 1971, and the Pakistani army
surrendered 13 days later. East Pakistan declared its independence as
Bangladesh.
Yahya resigned, and on December 20 Bhutto
was inaugurated as president and chief martial law administrator of a
truncated Pakistan. Mujib became the first prime minister of Bangladesh
in January 1972. When the Commonwealth of Nations admitted Bangladesh
later that year, Pakistan withdrew its membership, not to return until
1989. However, the Bhutto government gave diplomatic recognition to
Bangladesh in 1974.
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