chap 14: how successful was Pak in the 20 yrs following the decade of progress

Question 1

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

Answer 1

20/12/71 he became president and chief martial law administrator
Pak at low ebb; EP seceded and Pak still under martial law
1970 election had given PPP an overwhelming majority in NA
Bhutto intended to use that majority to introduce radical measures to bring about changes in Pak

Question 2

controlling the army

Answer 2

he was determined to limit the powers of the army so that it would not intervene and thwart his policies
unless he did so PPP would not have a free hand to make changes
control established by:
1. removing most imp army leaders (29 in Bhuttos first 4 months of power) eg head of air force air Marshal Rahim Khan and CIC of army General Gul Hasan
2. appointing his own leaders eg General Tikka Khan placed in charge of the army in a new position named ‘chief of army staff’
3. setting up federal security force (FSF) from Oct 1972, a govt controlled military force was set up to assist the police force

Question 3

The Simla Agreement

Answer 3

it was vital to restore displomatic rs w India so that prisoners of war captured by Indians in EP could be returned
2/7/72: Bhutto signed simla agreement w Indian PM Indira Gandhi
India agreed to return prisoners of war in return for a promise for Pak that Kashmir problem would be discussed directly w India and not in International forums eg United Nations
Bhutto had not given up the claim that Pak spoke for Kashmir bec it was rightly a part of Pak
he:
- reduced his dependence on the army by making further fighting w India less likely
- improved his govt’s international rep by being seen as willing to negotiate to maintain peace
- increased his popularity in Pak by bringing home prisoners of war

Question 4

establishing a new constitution

Answer 4

Bhutto determined to return Pak to parliamentary democracy
April 1972: Martial law lifted and new assembly called reflecting voting of the 1970 elections in which the PPP had gained overwhelming majority
committee set up w representative from different parties in the assembly to draw up a new constitution
committee reported in April 1973
its recoendations received almost unanimous support in Assembly

14/8/73: new constitution which relied heavily on the principles of the 1956 constitution became law
most significant features:
- 2 houses, senate and assembly.
assebly would be elected for a period of 5 yrs
members of senate would be nominated in equal numbers from each of the 4 provinces
- leader of the party w a majority in assembly would become PM and select a cabinet
- president became largely a figurehead whose orders had to be signed by the PM
- Pak = Isl republoc hence PM and President had to be Muslim
- Pak was a federal state. each province had its own assembly elected by universal adult suffrage w the majority party forming the provincial govt . NA could only change the political leadership in provinces by amending the constitution which required at least a 75% majority in a vote
-All fundamental basic human rights guaranteed

as leader of PPP, Bhutto = PM and President = Chaudry Fazal Elahi

Question 5

Party politics

Answer 5

1971 constitution revived power of NA = party politics became more imp
PPP biggest and most imp party in NA in S and P
provincial assemblies
in Balochistan and NWFP provinicial assemblies PPP did not have many seats as National Awami party and Jamiat-ul-ulama-i-islam (JUI) were stronger there and working tgt as a coalition held most seats
this gave the 2 parties enough strength that they would force thru changes that would maintain autonomy of Provincial assemblies

27/4/72: PPP and NAP/JUI coalition signed an agreement
1. NA could not appoint provincial governors w out agreement of provincial assembly concerned
2. in return for their support for PPP in the NA,
NAP/JUI could have a free hand in their provinces

the agreement came to an end a year later when central governors dismissed governor of Balochistan
an uprising ensued which took 5 yrs to suppress
after committing thousands of troops and large supplies of military equipment loaned by Iran, the Pak army was successful
it had brought the army into politics once again (at time when new constitution was trying to re establish parliamentary democracy
the uprising had destroyed any ideas of provincial autonomy

april 1974: constitutional amendment allowed the govt to limit press freedom anf ban any political parties it felt were a threat to the sovereignty and integrity of the country

Question 6

Industrial reforms

Answer 6

Bhutto wanted to promote economic growth and bring inflation down from its high level of 25%
introduction of nationalization
sugar, cotton, veg oil and rice industries tgt w banking and insurance sectors were taken under govt control
70 major industrial units were placed under the control of a federal ministry of production
these changes were to:
- control industrial output anf channel investment into industrialization
- raise workers living and working standards including provision of cheap housing
allow the workers to set up unions
even out inequalities that had collected ost industrial wealth in a few hands; 20 industrial houses owned 80% of Pak’s large scale industry
- create wealth to help fund other govt reforms
- raise popularity of PPP w urban populace, which was an imp sector of the party’s support

difficulties:
- Paks education syste not producing sufficiently educated workers capable of taking managerial positions; those who were capable factory owners were often replaced by civil servants w little understanding of commerce
- federal ministry had a huge job to coordinate nationalization across the country during a time where the world was going thru a recession where newly nationalized industries faced a declining demand in their goods
priv companies forced to close whereas nationalized companies continued to operate

success: inflation dropped to 6% in 1976 and economic growth began to increase

Question 7

agricultural reforms

Answer 7

two major reforms
1. land ownership
under Ayub, ceiling on land ownership:
500 acres irrigated, 1000 non irrigated
Bhutto believed that improved technology and better farming methods had raised production hence landowners could maintain their income on smaller more productive areas of land
cut ceiling to 250 acres irrigated and 500 unirrigated
surplus land sold to smaller peasant farmers to make better profits
land available for many people to own their own farms for the first time
reforms undermined by landowners-
many anticipated these reforms and had transferred some of their landholdings to members of extended family or they transferred it to trusted tenants and then leased it back on long term leases

2. security of tenure
   Butto introduced a measure giving tenants the first right of purchase of land farmed by them.
   landowners could not sell land to a third party who might evict the tenants
   such measures encourages the tenants to make improvements on their lands as they knew they would not be evicted
   undermined
   mass eviction of tenants from farms to prevent the receiving security of tenure
   if landowner did not want to sell to a tenant it was extremely difficult for the tenant to stand up to the landowner, to raise finance to buy the land, and find funds to fight a legal case
   many landowners also used their social positions to persuade revenue officers to record the land as owner cultivated when it was actually in hands of tenants

Question 8

education

Answer 8

official literacy rate = 25%
article 37 of 1973 constitution stated that it was the govts duty to provide free and compulsory education
8 goals:
eradicate ignorance
provide edu for all
(women, mentally impaired, illiterate adults)
ensure that curriculum meets Paks social, economic and political needs
ensure uniformity of every subject in every schewl and college in Pak
raise self confidence among common man
raise aspirations for higher edu among youth
develop each persons personality and potential
develop Pak identity and culture and National pride
problems:
administration needed to coordinate reforms
only 13% of govt edu budget allocated to primary edu = implementation difficult
ppl in rural areas did not see the need for edu and literacy even when it was free as they could not afford the loss of earnings if their child went to school instead of work
drop in standard of education in many of the selective schools which had been nationalized as they were unable to cater to the increased number of students w out additional trained staff
takes time. not possible to change curriculum, train teachers and provide necessary equipment in a short time. even after 5 years the literacy rate had not risen by more than 1%

Question 9

health and social reforms

Answer 9

poor health care facilities, one of the highest infant mortality rates, low life expectancy
health scheme launched in aug 1972:
intro of Rural health care centres and Basic health units in urban areas to provide more widespread healthcare. plan: 1 RHC for 60k ppl and 1 BHU for every 20k ppl
training colleges for docs and nurses
qualified = doc work the first year wherever govt places hence they could be assigned a post in small villages and towns too instead of js big cities
sale of medicines under brand names banned = reduced cost of medicines
reforms improved medical service but shortage of docs and nurses still, fall in income of chemists and many international drug companies closed down their operations in Pak as they could not make a profit

Question 10

1977 election

Answer 10

Bhutto called general election
confident PPP would win due to his govts effective record and lack of effective opposition
when called, 9 various opposition parties combined to form Pak national alliance PNA
two issues which united this opposition:
all wanted to end rule of Bhutto and PPP
united in their desire to rule Pak according to Islamic law
PNA = big audiences
law passed limiting public gatherings to js 5 ppl to stop public demonstrations of support to PNA and ensure law and order

result: landslide victory of PPP
154/200 seats against PNA 38 seats
immediate outcry that the govt rigged results
demand for new elections

Question 10

administrative reforms

Answer 10

Bhutto wanted modern and efficient Civil service
felt CSP was inefficient and full of unnecessary rules and regulations
reorganized CS into smaller number of levels
unified pay scales
removed some old unnecessary distinctions bw types of CServants
reformed entry requirements so ppl could join at any lvl
opponents complained that all he was doing was setting up a system of patronage where he could reward his followers w posts in CS

Question 11

steps to downfall

Answer 11

Bhutto refused fresh elections
PNA organized mass protests against govt
rioting in many towns and cities and FSF could not stop unrest
Bhutto forced to negotiate w PNA
offered fresh elections in soe disputed constituencies and to appease religious factions, banned gambling, restricted sale of alcohol and declared friday weekly holiday

at the same time he turned to army for help
19 april: declared state of emergency and placed Pak under martial law
PNA leaders arrested and by beginning of June, some 10k supporters in prison

army leaders saw Bhutto’s concessions as a sign of weakness which could lead to greater unrest
5 July: Operation Fairplay = Bhutto and other political leaders arrested that night

2 days later: chief army staff, General Muhammad Zia ul Haq announced suspending of constitution and dissolution of all National and Provincial assemblies
once again, army in control of Pak

Question 12

general Zia ul Haq

Answer 12

he and the army took control of Pak on 5/7/1977
2 days later: martial law announced and assemblies suspended
he stressed this was only until peace was restored
he said he hoped that within 90 days it would be possible to hold elections, but this relied on the unrest stopping so that election campaigns could be held in peaceful environment
accused Bhutto’s govt of corruption and misusing govt money

he announced that his govt had been corrupt and that those responsible for misusing the govt money would be held accountable and punished
urgent tasks:
restoration of peace
exposure of injustice
fresh elections

Question 13

death of Bhutto

Answer 13

Bhutto had been dismissed for allegedly rigging 1977 elections
zia had js taken control but wanted to show that he was a wise statesman thru the decision he made regarding Bhutto
his decision was difficult as he himself had been appointed chief of army staff by Bhutto and didn’t wanna appear disloyal

Bhutto released at end of July but when he made it plain that he intended to reassert his political authority he was rearrested on 3 sept
along w 3 others he was accused of murdering a political opponent by sending FSF to kill him

trial lasted almost 2 yrs before Bhutto found guilty and sentenced to death
zia (had placed Fazal Elahi as president on sept 1978) had the power to commute the sentence to life imprisonment and many ppl in pak & abroad asked him to do so but zia was unmoved hence Bhutto hanged on 4/4/79

Question 14

Balochistan

Answer 14

Zia had inherited a rebellion in Balochistan and settled this by declaring amnesty for all those who were prepared to give up their arms
tried to re-estalblish good rs bw Balochistan tribal leaders and the central govt
began a number of development projects in the province in a bid to improve living conditions and increase support for his rule

Question 15

accountability

Answer 15

zia disbanded FSF in Nov/77
he knew that it was extremely unpopular and had been discredited by its behavior in Bhuttos time
wanted to show political oppression that Bhutto had introduced towards the end of his rule was a thing of the past

investigations began into the corruption of the prev govt
zia keen to discredit Bhutto’s govt and wanted to demonstrate that it was being replaced by a new, more moral and Islamic govt
not difficult to find evidence of corruption during Bhutto’s time and zia was also able to show that the civil service and legal system, both supposed to be impartial and not involved in politics, had been filled w Bhutto’s supporters

Question 16

Islamisation

Answer 16

zia committed to holding elections and returning to parliamentary democracy, but was aware that in an underdeveloped country like pak, the army was the most stable and organized force, hence he was unwilling to give up his position as the chief of army staff

announced that elections would be postponed indefinitely as what Pak needed was a strong govt based on Islamic values
benefits of intro of more islamic-based ideology:

Bhutto attempted to introduce socialist measure in Pak. Islam = excellent counter ideology to Bhutto’s beliefs
intro of Islamic measures would win support of religious elements within pak eg Jamaat-i-Islami which was influential both in administration and the army
when russians invaded Afghanistan, zia was able to portray his govt as pro-islamic fighting the ‘pagan communist’. this would win support from west and would further highlight anti-west socialist ideas of PPP

from 1979 a series of Islamic laws introduced
1979: Federal Shariat Court was set up to consider existing laws and legal judgements and decide whether they were in keeping w Islamic principles or not
court had 5 judges + chairman w three ulama
if court decided that existing laws were not in keeping then they could be repealed eg one of the courts early decisions was stoning to death for adultery should be annulled
federal Shariat court was also to act as the court appeal for cases originally tried by lower courts under Shariat laws
Hudood ordinance promulgated in country in 1977. according to this different punishments were prescribed for various crimes
offence against property ordinance
offence of zina ordinance
offence of Qazaq ordinance
prohibition ordinance
these oridnances introduced Islamic punishments for gambling, drinking, theft and adultery eg amputating right hand for theft, 80 stripes of cane for drinking alcohol and also introduced laws affecting women

new offence of disrespect for Hazrat Muhammad SAW introduced w imprisonment or fine as the punishment
zia introduced council of Islamic ideology to suggest ways in which the legal framework of Pak could be brought closer to Islamic ideology
attempt to enforce Islamic principles in economic field by replacing payment of introduce w profit-sharing:
June 1980: Zakat ordinance imposed 2.5% wealth tax on savings over a certain amount. this was a wealth tax in keeping w Islamic principles. money raised given to Zaakat commities in villages and towns to meet the needs of the poor. Shia Muslims protested, saying that their view of Islamic law was that such giving should be voluntary. they organized huge demonstations in Islamabad in 1984 and forced zia’s govt to exempt them from having to pay the tax
at same time Ushr ordinance imposed 5% tax on agricultural income. income raised was paid to zakat fund to assist poor
Islamiat and Pak studies made compulsory in schools and colleges
candidates who took PCS examinations were given extra marks if they learnt the Quran by heart
efforts made for promotion of Arabic language. Radio Pak introduced arabic courses and a daily new bulletin in Arabic was presented on Pak television

Question 17

the position of women

Answer 17

zia had introduced a series of reforms, sme of which undermined advances of woman rights
tho Isla grants equal rights to women, zia’s opponents argued that his new policies would end up favoring males
women encouraged to stay at hime and avoid working in public places
census 1981: women: 5.6% men: 72.4% in employment
women affected by laws eg Hadood ordinances and measures such as the Qanun e shahadat which in some circumstances gave their testimony half the weight of a man’s
zia did induct 20 women as members in the Majlis-e-shoora and increased their rep in 1985 in NA, doubling women’s reserved quota to 20%
despite these measures, zia’s policies led to some female academics forming organisations to protest abt their treatment
one of the best known was the Women’s Action Forum
limited impact

Question 18

afghan miracle

Answer 18

25/12/1979: Soviet tanks rolled into Afghanistan
west had not taken zia srsly and some western leaders were unhappy that military dictatorship replaced democracy
invasion = immediate impact of international rs
zia was now the leader of a Muslim nation on the frontline against communist forces of oppression
west (US) ready to provide unconditional economic and military support to establish Pak as the base of anti-soviet activities
Pak was the west’s only ally in the region

soviet union proved to be windfall for zia
established Pak as leading country in world politics
huge sums of money poured into pak to pay for rehabilitation of refugees and to develop pak army
zia was able to increase defence budget and build up such an effective military that soon he was able to sell military assistance to other Muslim countries
Pak became the second largest supplier of military manpower in the developing world

1985: estimated 50k pakistanis serving abroad in countries eg ksa, libya, oman, kuwait and uae
karachi became best naval base in the region
influx of funds in 1980s allowed zia to undertake a degree of economic reform
funds from western allies matched by even larger amounts being remitted to pak by working overseas
2M Pakistanis working in ME alone and their remittances have been estimated to be in the region of $4B a year

zia’s govt denationalized many companies that had been nationalized by Bhutto’s govt. some returned to former owners, others sold to new investors
laws passed that stated that industries could not be nationalized in future except in exceptional circumstances w fair compensation paid to owners. this removed investor’s fears that they might lose their money
few industries that remained nationalized were reformed in an attempt to make em more efficient
though the large number of Pakistanis working abroad = wages in Pak to rise, influx funds created inflationary pressures, bw 1977 and 86, Pak’s average annual growth in GNP was 6.2%, highest in the world

Question 19

law and govt

Answer 19

despite his assertion inn 1977 that the legal system should be independent of govt, zia passed several laws restricting the power of courts
the constitution (amendment) act of 1979 established military courts to try offenders according to martial law
March 1980: provisional constitutional order took away rights of courts to challenge any political executive decision
when 19 judges protested they were removed from their positions and replaced w judges who accepted the order
civil services, which zia declared should be impartial, was also brought under military control

zia filled many posts w military officers and a fixed quota of military men were transferred into csa each year, thus zia was able to reduce opposition and provide career opportunities for his supporters in the army
military nature of his govt was further emphasized by the fact that by 1982 40% of Pak’s ambassadors abroad were military men

though zia was becoming more autocratic, he continued to create the impression that he was more than an army general who seized power under martial law and was using support of the army to rule Pak
formed majlis-e-shoora, the isl parliament to advise him on his govt
however, the members were appointed by zia and they had no legislative powers, so it was rlly not an effective parliament. what it did do was show zia in a good light and allow them to win over potential opponents by appointing them to the parliament

Question 20

elections

Answer 20

12/8/83: zia announced that elections, national and provincial would be held in March 1985
zia did not intend that elections should be fought by political parties
intention was the he should continue as president after elections
several opposition parties united = Movement f the restoration of democracy (MRD) which campaigned for free elections w political parties fielding candidates

zia resisted pressure from MRD and cntinued w his plans. to ensure that the elections would not result in a reduction of his power, he passed a series of amendments to the constitution:
- article 48 gave automatic validity to any decisions taken by the president. all his actions were deemed legal
- all military decisions and actions taken since 1977 were legal and not open to enquiry or later prosecution
- no decision taken under martial law could be changed w out president’s consent
- the president could appoint PM and other senior govt officials w out need for any other consultation

these changes = wtv the result of the election, president would hold all power in the country and any assembly would be merely advisory

Question 21

referendum

Answer 21

1/12/84: zia announced that the govt was to hold a referendum, first ever in Pak
referendum was on whether ppl wanted islamisation to continue in Pak. however, it was announced that a yes vote would also mean that the ppl of Pak agreed w Zia’s policies and thus wanted him to continue as president for a further 5 yrs
MRD considered this to be an unfair proposition and called on the ppl of Pak to boycott the referendum
overwhelming majority of votes cat supported zia but the turnout was v low

Question 22

1985 election

Answer 22

zia continued w the feb 1985 elections for national and provincial assemblies
MRD urged ppl to boycott elections, saying that it would give support to zia’s undemocratic form of democracy if anyone took part
no political parties involved in campaigning, but candidates had to be proposed by 50 persons who were not members of political parties

MRD had miscalculated. many ppl ignored MRD and campaigned within zia’s rules
52% turnout as electors voted their landlords or tribal chiefs who had put themselves forward
for election
9 cabinet ministers defeat, but election was triumph for zia
- tame and obedient assembly had been elected which was not dominated by the PPP
- though some cabinet ministers and 63 members of shoora lost their seats, many of those elected were loyal to zia
- zia had also defeated MRD. it had called for a boycott which had not been supported by pak ppl. indeed many members of MRD stood as candidates in the elections

following the elections, zia chose a former PPP member from sindh Muhammad Khan Junejo as PM
junejo = uncontroversial figure who was acceptable to a wide range of ppl
zia considered it would be safe to form a political party from among the elected members w Junejo as its head
the new party was to be called ML (a deliberate reference to the days of the Quaid)
junejo worked effectively to help ML develop
assisted by chief minister of Punjab Nawaz Sharif who according to some historians is considered to be spearhead behind the growing influence of the league
various grps of PPP began to quarrel among themselves so that it lost power as an opposition force (good for ML)

30/12/85 martial law lifted
constitution of 1973 restored though amendments still gave zia almost total control over govt whether there was an elected NA or not
zia only agreed to lifting of martial law after 8th amendment of constitution was passed which said:
- all previous acts of martial law period became law w no right of appeal
- president could appoint PM, governors of provinces and other officials
- presidents could dismiss PM and NA

Question 23

problems for zia

Answer 23

in second hald of 1980s zia found it hard to govern pak
1. afghan miracle brought economic support to Pak at a cost. west freely supplied guns to help the afghanis but these guns were common on streets of Pak too (smuggling) w a subsequent threat to law and order
increased rate of drug use and drug trafficking = pak became one of the leading countries for drug trading
killing and violence common on streets of Karachi + large sums of money involved in drug trade = inevitable increase in lvl of corruption in society
2. widening gap bw aims of provinces
Punjab strong supporter of central govt but this was not the case elsewhere
sindh almost ungovernable w regular outbreaks of violence so common that armed escorts were necessary for safe travel. demanding secession for rest of Pak
NWF becoming increasingly critical of zia’s rule esp as it had to bear the brunt of the refugee problem resulting from afghan war. though Balochistan had officially ended its uprisin in 1977, there was still a strong anti central govt thos among many ppl
3. by 1988 the world’s superpowers were trying to find ways to resolve their differences
they had alr signed agreements of arms control and now were looking for a way to end the afghanistan crisis
resolved when russia agreed to withdraw its troops from afghanistan in return for an american commitment to not support the mujahideen
Pak had lil choice but to agree to stop providing arms to afghan miscreants
4. junejo and ML saw this as an opportunity for them to play a greater role in political events and junejo called an all party conference in March 1988 to discuss situation in Afghanistan
he was keen to show that the civillian wing of the govt had sufficient influence to act independently of the army. army took srs note of junejo’s action but no action taken
5. 10/4/88 ar army weapons dump at ojhri camp blew up
dump located in middle of a densely populated area bw Isl and rawalpindi and 100s dead 1000s injured
PM junejo announced immediate inquiry into the explosion and promised that whoever was to blame would be brought to justice
Junejo appeared to be gaining far too much influence hence on 28/5/88 zia dismissed him and dissolved the NA

Question 24

zia death

Answer 24

1973 constitution said that elections should be held within 90 days of a NA being dissolved
v lil expectation that zia would adhere to this timescale
1977: he accused Bhuttos govt of corruption and delayed elections until corruption could be weeded out
as junejos govt had been dismissed as corrupt, there was no knowing how long clearing up that corruption would take
zia set a date in oct for elections but no one knew whether he would honor was for sure

however on 17/8/88 as zia flew away from army base is southern Punjab his plane was blown up mid flight
everyone on board including senior army officers, american ambassafor to Pak killed
clearly sabotage but death not solved
chairman of senate Ghulam Ishaq Khan became acting president to supervise election process which took place in oct as arranged
PPP led by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s daughter Benazir Bhutto won by a majority and she became the first female PM of Pak