Pakistan Past Paper PDF

# ED TO LEARNING - What was the name of the One Unit Scheme? - What did the One Unit Scheme include? - Why was there so much resistance to the One Unit Scheme? - What was the main obstacle to the One Unit Scheme working? # Other Policies ## Modernization: - Iskander Mirza's government program...

# ED TO LEARNING - What was the name of the One Unit Scheme? - What did the One Unit Scheme include? - Why was there so much resistance to the One Unit Scheme? - What was the main obstacle to the One Unit Scheme working? # Other Policies ## Modernization: - Iskander Mirza's government program initiated an industrialization and rural development program. - The Karachi airport was completed in 1955, and modernization of the railway continued. - The telephone system was expanded. - Mirza publicized government provision in health and education services. However, these were not always as extensive as the government made out. ## East Pakistan: - East Pakistan was always poorer than West Pakistan, and its people were not involved in the decision-making process of government. - Their natural discontent was made worse by food shortages and other problems caused by severe flooding through 1955. - Chaudhry Muhammad Ali resigned as Prime Minister on 12 September 1956. - Mirza replaced him with Hussein Shaheed Suhrawardy, a politician from East Pakistan. He hoped that giving the most important Cabinet post to a politician from East Pakistan would help to win support from there for his government. - Suhrawardy kept his job for only a year. - He had no desire to be a puppet Prime Minister and pressed hard for Mirza to allow him to have a meaningful degree of authority. - He was dismissed in October 1957. - Suhrawardy showed what a shrewd politician he was by asking Mirza to put his popularity to the test by holding a vote in the Assembly. - Mirza knew that Suhrawardy would probably win this vote and refused. - On 18 October 1957, Iskander Mirza appointed Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar to replace Suhrawardy. - His government was a collection of politicians with differing views which could not even agree on major issues, such as the One Unit Scheme. - Feroze Khan Noon was Mirza's next choice. - Noon's government contained members from a number of political parties and was even more divided than that of Chundrigar. - He was forced to appoint a large Cabinet (26 members out of the 80 in the Assembly) in the hope that this would help bring all shades of opinion into the government and create unity. - Inevitably, it did not. Mirza now found himself in a very difficult position. - His rule was becoming increasingly unpopular and the 1956 Constitution had been introduced with the promise of elections in 1957. - Mirza dare not call these as he knew he would lose. - On 7 October 1958, Iskander Mirza, using the constant disagreements in the government as his excuse, proclaimed martial law with himself as President. - Iskander Mirza had lost the support of many of the leading politicians, and he was alarmed by a plan by Suharwardy to unite the political leadership of Bengal and Punjab against him. - Therefore, Iskander Mirza turned to the military. He asked the Commander-in-Chief of the army, General Ayub Khan, to take charge as Chief Martial Law Administrator. - On 24 October, he appointed Ayub Khan as Prime Minister. - Ayub Khan had on several occasions declined an offer from Ghulam Muhammad to take over the country, but by 1958 he had come to believe that it was now necessary. - On 27 October, he forced Mirza to resign, and he was exiled to London. - Pakistan began its first period of military rule. ## Declaration of Martial Law October 1958: - The 1956 Constitution will be suspended. - All political and civil liberties will be withdrawn. - The Federal Court will be dissolved. - The Central and Provincial Assemblies will be dissolved. - Military personnel will be authorized to enforce martial law. # The "One Unit" Policy - In November 1954, Bogra had proposed that the four provinces and 10 princely states within Pakistan should be joined together to form West Pakistan. - On 5 October 1955, Mirza passed an order unifying all of West Pakistan, in what became known as the 'One Unit Scheme'. - Iskander Mirza claimed that the unification would bring about greater efficiency and enable more rapid development. - It would also be a significant step towards a united country, instead of one where people might show loyalty to their local province and not to the state. - However, there were other reasons for the policy. - In Pakistan, the dominant politicians and administrators were from the West wing, in particular, from the Punjab. - These leading lights in the Pakistan government feared that the East Pakistanis might soon gain influence at their expense. After all, there were 10 million more people in East Pakistan than West Pakistan. - By dividing Pakistan into two wings (West Pakistan and East Pakistan) officially and ensuring equal representation in the Assembly, the One Unit Scheme prevented East Pakistan gaining a majority in the Assembly. - The scheme was highly unpopular in East Pakistan and was also opposed in the individual provinces of West Pakistan. - Such was the opposition that President Mirza had to dismiss the Chief Minister of Sindh and dissolve the state assemblies of Bahawalpur and Khairpur provinces. - West Pakistan formally came into being as a united province on 14 October 1955. :green_square: There will be no Bengalis, no Punjabis, no Sindhis, no Pathans, no Balochis, no Bahawalpuris, no Khairpuris. The disappearance of these groups will strengthen the integrity of Pakistan - *A statement made by Muhammad Ali Bogra in 1954*. ## SOURCE B: - It would end the curse of provincial prejudices. - It would reduce administrative expenses. - It would allow the development of backward areas. - It would make it easier to draw up a new constitution. - It would give East and West Pakistan maximum autonomy. - *The reasons given to the Assembly for adopting the One Unit Scheme by Iskander Mirza in September 1955* ## SOURCE C: - On paper the scheme appeared rational, but the issues that separated the provinces and nationalities were sentimental and emotional, psychological and historic. - No paper reorganization could change, let alone replace, the underlying realities. - *Pakistan in the Twentieth Century, by Lawrence Ziring, Oxford University Press, 1997.* ## Now do Skills Book pages 35-36 - What did Al Ziring mean in saying that the disappearance of groups will strengthen the integrity of Pakistan? - Which of the 5 reasons given by Iskander Mirza for adopting the One Unit Scheme was the most important? Explain your answer. - Why did the author in Source C think the One Unit Scheme could only talk about superficial issues? # Iskander Mirza (1955-58) - Iskander Mirza becomes acting Governor-General. - Muhammad Ali Bogra dismissed as Prime Minister. - 5 Dec 1955 One Unit system introduced. - West Pakistan to be unified as one unit, not four provinces. - 23 Mar 1956 Constitution announced. - 12 Sep 1956 Chaudhry Muhammad Ali made Prime Minister. - 8 Oct 1957 Suhrawardy dismissed. I.I. Chundrigar appointed Prime Minister. - Dec 1957 Chundrigar distressed. Feroze Khan Noon made Prime Minister - 7 Oct 1958 Mirza proclaims martial law. Made himself President. - Ayub Khan made Prime Minister. ## Major General Iskander Mirza: - Was one of the 5 members selected for Ghulam Muhammad's Cabinet, who was not a member of the Assembly. - From May 1954 he was the Governor of East Pakistan. - When Ghulam Muhammad had to retire due to ill health, Iskander Mirza was made acting Governor-General. - He decided that what Pakistan needed was a leader capable of taking decisive action. As a politician, with a military background having served in the British army, Mirza was not afraid to take it. - He dismissed Ali Bogra as Prime Minister and made him the ambassador to the USA again. - He appointed the Finance Minister, Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, as Prime Minister and pressed him hard to have a Constitution drawn up quickly. # 1956 Constitution - On 29 February 1956, Pakistan's first Constitution was adopted by the Second Constituent Assembly. It was formally enforced on 23 March. - The Constitution was a compromise between the wishes of the two most important parties, the Muslim League and the United Front, and neither was completely satisfied. However, the United Front dropped its objections to equal seats in the Assembly, and no longer demanded full provincial army. - In return, Bengali was accepted as an official language. - The Constitution declared that the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was to be governed as shown in the diagram below. - The Constitution was to last only two years before President Mirza (the office of Governor-General was replaced with that of President in the Constitution) declared martial law and scrapped the new Constitution. # The constitutional machinery has broken down… The Constituent Assembly has lost the confidence of the people and can no longer function… - *From a speech by Ghulam Muhammad on 24 October 1954 when he dissolved the Assembly* # The Constituent Assembly is a sovereign body. The Governor General has no power of any kind to dissolve it. - *Part of the decision made by the Sindh High Court, February 1955* # When, on 21 March 1956, the judge studied the (Federal) court’s majority decision upholding Ghulam Muhammad’s dismissal of the Constituent Assembly, one legal scholar said it devastated the political structure of Pakistan. -*From A Journey to Disillusionment by Shariful Muazzam, Oxford University Press, 1999* - What reasons did Ghulam Muhammad give for dissolving the Constituent Assembly? (Source A) - Ghulam Muhammad thought he had the right to dissolve the Constituent Assembly. Did the Sindh High Court agree with him? (Source B) - What do you think the historian meant when he said that the Federal Court judges’ decision was devastating to the political structure of Pakistan? (Source D) # Aid provided by the US till 8 January 1955 | Type of Aid | Amount (in Million US Dollars) | | ----------- | ----------- | | Project aid | 3.5 | | Money for projects | 72.2 | | Technical aid | 34 | | Commodity aid | 122.2 | | Food and other vital supplies | 155.4 | | Industrial raw material | 43.1 | | Consumer goods | 83.6 | | TOTAL | 508.0 | - The 1954-55 economic crisis that Pakistan faced, coupled with Ghulam Muhammad's desire to maintain the power of the position of Governor-General, meant that there was little progress in getting agreement on the new constitution. - Instead, Ghulam Muhammad hoped to dominate Bogra to maintain his own power. - But Bogra did not turn out to be quite as compliant as Ghulam Muhammad had hoped. - On 21 September 1954, while Ghulam Mohammad was out of the country, Bogra persuaded the Assembly to pass laws limiting the powers of the Governor-General by saying: - That all his ministers, including the Prime Minister, must be members of the Assembly. - That the Assembly had to approve the Cabinet. - That the Governor-General had to take the advice of his ministers - However, these were not easy times for the people of Pakistan. - From 1951 to 1953 there was a severe drought in Pakistan. - This affected food production and, in February 1953, severe food shortages led to rioting in most cities throughout Pakistan. - The government was not well-placed to deal with these shortages. - During the Korean War, there had been increased demand for Pakistan's jute and cotton, to supply the thousands of soldiers involved in the fighting, but by 1953 demand had declined. - This meant that Pakistan was making less money just when it needed to buy more foodstuffs. - In April, the USA agreed to donate a million tons of wheat to help Pakistan overcome the food crisis. - The rioting, however, had not been just about food shortages. It also had a religious element. - Some ulamas had begun a campaign against the Ahmadis. - They demanded that all Ahmadis be dismissed from office, including Zafarullah Khan, the Foreign Minister. - It was only after martial law was imposed and numerous arrests were made that the rioting was brought under control. # Constitutional Matters - The recommendations of the Basic Principles Committee presented to the Assembly on 28 September 1950, had proved so unpopular that they were withdrawn for further consideration. - Two years later, on 22 December 1952, a revised Report of the Basic Principles Committee was presented by the Prime Minister, Nazimuddin. It altered the 1950 proposals by suggesting: - The Head of State must be Muslim. - There should be a House of Units with 80 members from East Pakistan and 60 from West Pakistan. The House of People should have 400 members with 200 elected from each wing. - On 17 September 1948, while Pakistan was still coming to terms with the death of the Quaid, India invaded Hyderabad (see page 113). - On 5 January 1948, the United Nations Organization organized a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in Kashmir. However, there was no agreement over the future of Kashmir, so tensions looked likely in time to come. # Army Leaders - In January 1951, Sir Douglas Gracey, the British Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan army, was replaced by General Ayub Khan, a Pakistani. - Since partition many army officers had complained about the presence of the British in senior positions. - By 1951, most army officers were Pakistani. - Despite this, some army officers unhappy with the government began to plan a coup to take over the government. -In March 1951, this Rawalpindi Conspiracy was discovered by Ayub Khan, and the conspirators were arrested, tried and imprisoned. - Amongst them was Major-General Akbar Khan, Chief of General Staff, and 14 other officers. - Liaquat Ali Khan had survived his first coup, but his success was to be short-lived. - He was shot dead by an assassin on 16 October 1951, whilst addressing a public meeting in Rawalpindi. - He had worked tirelessly for the country and was a popular leader. - The government gave him the title of Shaheed-e-Millat (a martyr for the cause of the nation). # Ghulam Muhammad (1951-55) - 17 Oct 1951 Ghulam Muhammad sworn in as Governor-General of Pakistan - 17 Apr 1953 Nazimuddin dismissed from premiership. - Muhammad Ali Bogra appointed Prime Minister. - 29 Sept 1954 Ghulam Muhammad dissolves the Assembly. New cabinet sworn in. - First Five Year Plan for economy introduced. - Feb 1955 Sindh High Court rules that dissolution of Assembly was unconstitutional. - 10 May 1955 Federal Court overturns Sindh High Court ruling. New Assembly elected. - Aug 1955 Ghulam Muhammad resigns - After the death of Khan Liaquat Ali Khan, Ghulam Muhammad became the third Governor-General of Pakistan. - He had been the Finance Minister in the Cabinet. - He persuaded Khwaja Nazimuddin to become Prime Minister (which under Liaquat Ali Khan had become a more prestigious office than Governor-General). - Ghulam Muhammad was the first of a number of major political figures in Pakistan who had risen from amongst the civil service to high office. - In 1950, a Planning Commission was set up to oversee economic development in Pakistan. - In 1951 it launched a Six Year Plan for Pakistan, covering agriculture, fuel and power, industry and mining, transport and communications and social uplift schemes. - In 1953 a Planning Board was set up to review the development that had taken place, and this produced a Draft Five Year Plan in 1956 to follow on from the Six Year Plan. - Both these schemes played a major part to help bring about economic development in Pakistan. - For example, in 1952 a major jute processing plant was opened at Narayanganj (East Pakistan) and the exploration for oil/gas led to the discovery of vast reserves of natural gas at Sui in Balochistan. # Khwaja Nazimuddin (1948-51): - 14 Sept 1948 Khwaja Nazimuddin made Governor-General and Liaquat Ali Khan Prime Minister. - 17 Sept 1948 India invades Hyderabad (Deccan) - 12 Mar 1949 Objectives Resolution passed. - 1949 The Public and Representative (Disqualification) Act (PRODA) - 28 Sept 1950 First Report of the Basic Principles Committee. - 16 Oct 1951 Liaquat Ali Khan assassinated in Rawalpindi. - On 14 September 1948, three days after the death of the Quaid, Khwaja Nazimuddin became the new Governor-General of Pakistan. - Nazimuddin was leader of the Muslim League at the time and was also Chief Minister of East Pakistan. He was respected as an honest and talented politician. - Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan remained in office. - Khwaja Nazimuddin quickly realized that Liaquat Ali Khan had the confidence of the government, administrators and people of Pakistan. People looked up to him because he was a close associate and a most trusted companion of Quaid-e-Azam. - Nazimuddin therefore stood back and allowed Liaquat to run the country. - The role of Governor-General became less important than that of Prime Minister. - One of the first tasks which Liaquat Ali Khan had to address was establishing a constitution which would satisfy the different groups within Pakistan. # ** The Objectives Resolution** - Since 1857 the subcontinent had been completely under the control of the British Crown. - Various Acts of Parliament were passed setting out how India was to be governed. - As you saw on page 81, the final Act, the Government of India Act 1935, said that India should be governed as follows: - There would be a Governor-General reporting to the British Secretary of State for India in London. - The Governor-General would be advised by an Executive Council and have wide powers over all aspects of government in India. - There would also be two Houses of Parliament. - At provincial level, there would be provincial governors, provincial assemblies and provincial ministers. - After independence in 1947, Pakistan was ruled under the Indian Independence Act, which was an amended version of the Government of India Act. - A Constituent Assembly was set up to frame a new constitution, but until it reported, the Governor-General would have control over the entire field of government activity, but under the control of the Cabinet. - However, as Pakistan lacked well-organised political parties and a Prime Minister with a stable majority in the legislature, it also lacked an effective Cabinet. - So the Governor-General became a much more important office, particularly when it was held by the Quaid. # ED TO LEARNING - Explain why the Basic Principles Commission might have wanted to include these points in the Objective Resolution of 1949 # ED TO LEARNING - Was Pakistan a good or bad example of a state that had laws for your freedom? # The Constituent Assembly had set up a Basic Principles Committee to decide the principles on which the new constitution should be based. - It had 25 members, about a third of the Assembly, and its findings were contained in a document called the Objectives Resolution, which was passed on 12 March 1949. It declared: - The constitution should observe the principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice as laid down by Islam. - Muslims would be able to lead their lives according to Islamic principles. - Other religious groups should be able to practise their religion freely. - Minorities and the poor would be legally protected from social injustice. - All fundamental human rights should be guaranteed - The legal system should be independent of government - The Objectives Resolution contained several references to Islam, as it tried to counter criticisms from those who claimed that the new government had not made Pakistan a proper Islamic state, with a constitution based on the Shariat. - Although there was no timescale set down for completing the Constitution, nor for holding the first elections — or indeed any agreement on how to make sure the Objectives were met — they did form the basis for the draft constitution presented to the Assembly by the Basic Principles Committee on 28 September 1950. - The committee recommended a bicameral legislature with equal powers. - The president was to be elected by the joint session of the two houses. - It suggested that Urdu should be the official language of Pakistan. - The proposals came in for much criticism: - East Pakistan had a much larger population than West Pakistan, and resented the idea of equal representation in the National Assembly. - The East Pakistanis also resented having to accept Urdu as the official language, at the expense of Bengali - Provincial politicians objected to the power being given to the Head of State and to the Federal Government. - Religious groups complained that the constitution was not sufficiently Islamic. Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan decided that since there was so much criticism of the proposals they should be given further consideration. - His untimely death meant that constitutional change had to wait until a new leader was found and had time to settle in. - During the time of Khwaja Nazimuddin's Governor-Generalship, several other important measures were taken. # Public and Representative Officers Disqualification Act (PRODA) - This Act showed that Pakistan had yet to become the free, democratic country that the Quaid had envisioned. - It was sub-titled 'an Act for the debarring from public office for a stipulated period of persons judicially found guilty of misconduct in any public office or any representative capacity in any matter therein’. - By this Act, complaints could be made to the Governor-General or Provincial Governors, who could order an enquiry by judges. Anyone found guilty under PRODA was debarred from office. - The law was designed to eliminate corruption, but in reality, it allowed the ruling elite to remove those who it did not approve of. # Refugees - In August 1947, the Quaid had called the refugee problem in Pakistan a grave emergency and had set up the Central Refugee Council to deal with it. - Liaquat Ali Khan met with the Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru and signed the Liaquat-Nehru Pact. It was agreed that each government was responsible for the safety of minority groups within its borders. - Free passage of refugees across the border was restricted, and a visa system for refugees was introduced.