First Martial Law in Pakistan 1958-1969 Flashcards
October 7, 1958
President Iskander Mirza abrogated the Constitution and declared Martial Law in the country.
October 7, 1958
The Constitution of1956 was abrogated, ministers were dismissed, Central and Provincial Assemblies were dissolved and all political activities were banned.
October 1958
General Muhammad Ayub Khan, the then Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, became the Chief Martial Law Administrator.
Theparliamentarysystem in Pakistan came to end.
October 27, 1958
Iskander Mirza was ousted by General Ayub Khan, who then declared himself President.
How did the public respond to Martial Law?
This was actually welcomed in Pakistan, since the nation had experienced a very unstable political climate since independence.
Why was the public opinion in favour of Martial Law?
Corruption had become so widespread within the national and civic systems of administration that Ayub Khan was welcomed as a national hero by the people.
What did the military government promise?
The new military government promised that they would carry out reforms in the entire government structure and would cleanse the administration of the rampant corruption.
Screening process for government servants
A thorough screening process of all government servants was conducted and service records were closely scrutinized. Public servants were tried for misconduct by tribunals consisting of retired judges of the Supreme Court or High Court. If charges were proven, disciplinary action such as dismissal or compulsory retirement of the public servant could take place. A public servant could also be disqualified from holding any public office for 15 years.
What was PODO?
About 3,000 officials weredismissedand many other were reduced in rank as a result of these measures. The rest of the government servants were provided with an incentiveto working hard.
What was EBDO?
Similarly, a law called the Elective Bodies Disqualification Order, popularly known as E. B. D. O, was promulgated for the disqualification of politicians. Under this law, a person could be disqualified from being a member of any elective body till December 31, 1966
EBDO
Under this harsh law, several politicians like Suhrawardy and Qayyum Khan were disqualified. The E. B. D. O, particularly its application, was severely criticized in the legal and political circles throughout Pakistan.
Reforms of Ayub Khan
After taking over, Ayub Khan focused on the long-standing question of land reforms in West Pakistan. Ayub Khan also introduced a comprehensive scheme of local government, popularly known as Basic Democracies.
Basic Democracies
his scheme wasenforcedthrough the BasicDemocraciesOrder on October 27, 1959. Basic Democracieswas a pyramidal plan enabling the people to directly elect to Local Council men they knew, who could in turn elect the upper tier of the administration. Altogether there were 80,000 Basic Democrats elected. To lend legitimacy to his rule, Ayub Khan used the Basic Democrats as anelectoral college, holding a referendumto seek a mandate to continue in office as President and to have the authority to frame the future Constitution ofPakistan.
February 14, 1960
Thereferendumheld on February 14, 1960, and Ayub was elected not only as President of Pakistan for five years, but also got the mandate to give Pakistan aConstitution ofhis choice.
Constitution commission
Ayub Khan set up a Constitution Commission which was not only given the responsibility to make recommendations on the future Constitution, but was also to examine the causes of failure of parliamentarygovernment in Pakistan.
