Political Conspiracies in Pakistan

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BOOK NAME: Political Conspiracies in Pakistan

AUTHOR: Jamna Das Akhtar

PUBLISHER: Asia Publishing House - Delhi

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 1969

The following excerpt has been taken from Pages: 127 — 130

DRAFTING OF THE CONSTITUTION

“The upper crust of the Muslim divines led by Jamaat Islami and Jamait Ulema-e-Islam was bent on assuming control over Pakistan's state machinery. Their intervention in domestic and foreign policy and their struggle for power gravely imperiled the country's normal political life and raised additional obstacles in the way of its development. As long as the leaders of the Pakistan movement struggled against the Congress opposition, slogan mongering of these fanatics suited them, but now the same fanatical elements started an organized effort to embarrass the Prime Minster. They demanded foundation of an Islamic State based on their conception of Islam and the establishment of a Muslim block consisting of all the Islamic countries of the world. The Maulvis did not regard the institution of Jagirdars and big landlords as a danger to Islam or to Muslims.

“There were young men in the Muslim League who had eagerly looked forward to Pakistan becoming a modern progressive state. They wanted introduction of land reforms. They realized the problems of East Bengal. Had the Prime Minister sought their support they would willingly have joined hands with him; but the Prime Minister had no courage to embark upon a programme of economic and social reforms. Frustrated these elements thereafter had no chance except to leave the Muslim League and join hands with Suharawardy. The only other option open to them was formation of splinter groups.

“In ‘Pakistan-a Political Study’ Keith Callard points out:

“‘Public life in Pakistan has suffered from a marked tendency to try to act on two contradictory principles at the same time. The people want the country to be founded on the full measure of the inimitable principles of Islam, yet they are willing to abandon none of the advantages of a modern secular state. They want democracy but they also admire an act of strength and rally to support the man who had acted. They want provincial autonomy but are not ready to deny power to the Central Government. They want a foreign policy that will give automatic support to all Muslims causes: yet they also desire all the benefits of a policy of selective self-interest.’

“The question of the future policy of Pakistan was also uncertain. The British wanted to make Pakistan strong so as to check the growing influence of nationalism in other parts of Asia. The young and leftist elements in the country wanted Pakistan also to play its part in international field as an independent progressive nation. But the Maulvis were ploughing another lonely furrow. Some of them were playing into the hands of certain foreign powers. Foreign interests coupled with irresponsible utterances of narrow-minded politicians had created tension between Pakistan and India. Instead of trying to arrive at a solid understanding with India, Liaquat Ali fell prey to cheap politics of his opponents. He started speaking in terms of India's enmity to this country. But finally when he gained nothing, he leaned towards the USA. A large section of the population, press and politicians started a tirade against him. Faced with all these problems, he led the faction-ridden Constituent Assembly to draft the constitution of the newly-created state. The Assembly set up the basic Principles Committee in March 1949 to report on the main principles on which the Constitution of Pakistan was to be formed. In the Interim Report in 1950, it was proposed to lay the foundations of a secular democratic republic, federal in structure, granting complete autonomy to the constituent administrative units and guaranteeing every Muslim equal opportunity to live his life in accordance with injections of Islam. All citizens would be guaranteed fundamental rights including equality of status, of opportunity and before law, social, economic and political justice, and freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith worship and association, subject to law and public morality. According to the proposals made by the Committee the Lower House of the Central Parliament was to be elected on the basis of the population which meant majority for East Bengal. In the Upper House, however, the existing provinces, namely, East Bengal, West Punjab, the NWFP, Sind and Baluchistan were given equal representations and the states and other areas were attached to the province with which they were contiguous. The two Houses were given equal powers in matters including the budget and money bills. In cases of dispute, decisions were to be taken by joint sessions of both the Houses. This meant that even though East Bengal representation would be higher in the Lower House, the West Pakistan representation would be four times that of East Bengal in the Upper House rendering the East Bengal's majority in the Lower House ineffective. It also meant handing over the destinies of East Bengal to the leadership of West Pakistan. No mention was made of the State language, but the Bengalis feared that Urdu alone would enjoy that status. There was considerable opposition from East Bengal. As I have already pointed out, thirteen Bengali members of the Muslim League raised a banner of revolt. They accused the Prime Minister and his West Pakistani colleagues of conspiring to subjugate the East Bengal as a colony of the West Pakistan. The Maulvis rejected the report because it fell short of their expectations. There were angry public meetings and demonstrations throughout East Bengal with the result that Liaquat Ali Khan was forced to withdraw the report, suggesting that its consideration in the Constituent Assembly should be postponed. Liaquat Ali Khan felt humiliated. His country had for all practical purposes, rejected his leadership.

“In his book, ‘Government and Politics of Pakistan,’ Mushtaq Ahmed (a West Pakistani writer) points out:

“‘One of the intractable problems Liaquat Ali had to face, but towards the solution of which no appreciable advance was made during his tenure, was the problem of constitution making. The Objectives Resolution passed by the Constituent Assembly, was elucidation of principles that were to govern the formulation of the fundamental law of the land. Full twenty months were to elapse between the first meeting of the Assembly and the adoption of the Resolution in March 1949, and the Basic Principles Committee took another eighteen months between its appointment on the 12th March, 1949 and the presentation of the interim report on the 28th September 1950. Despite the provision for representation on population basis in the Lower House in which East Pakistan would have got the majority of seats by the weight of the numbers, it opposed the Report because of the equality of representation conceded to the units in the Upper House as all the other units were located within the geographical confines of West Pakistan. Although not much attention was paid to the provisions regarding the responsibility of the Cabinet to both the Houses, the acceptance would have proved constant source of instability, for no party could really command the confidence of the two chambers over any length of time.’

“‘The other attack came from different, though not unsuspected quarters. The advocates of the Islamic State claimed that the scheme was not Islamic enough to inspire a positive religious orientation to society so boldly proclaimed in the Objective Resolution.’

“East Bengal thus became totally hostile to Liaquat Ali Khan as a result of the publication of this report.

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