The dream awaited

Pakistan was a fruit of political and democratic struggle to form a modern nation-state for the Muslims of ‘Northwestern and Northeastern regions of the sub-continent. The miracle which we call Pakistan was envisioned by our forefathers to be a place for Muslims of the region where they could freely and devoid of any suppression of internal or external entities. The freedom did not only mean to be from any kind of suppression at the hands of the majority of another religion but from social, religious, and economic exploiters as well.

Reflecting upon the 74 years journey of Pakistan since independence any impartial commentator would say that Pakistan may have achieved independence, however, the goals for which Pakistan was created are still a far cry. The struggle for the rights of Muslims in colonial India started with a zeal of instilling democratic principles in the Muslim masses so they could understand their deprivation and stand for the attainment of their rights. The soul of the Muslim nationalist movement was to get an adequate representation of Muslims in the representative bodies all across India where they could raise their issue and resolve them according to their wishes.

In ‘Simla Deputation’ (1906) Muslim community, led by Sir Agha Khan III, demanded a separate electorate and weightage for Muslims in areas where they were in minority. Since then, the journey of political representation was initiated and with time and political enlightenment the Muslim community of colonial India inched towards independence against all odds. The formation of the Muslim League in the same year was an indicator of the fact that Muslims have sufficient political acumen to establish their own political party and further their political agenda on their own.

Later in Lucknow Pact 1916 Muslims accomplished a political compromise and convinced Congress in favour of a Separate Electorate. This was the only time Congress, on paper, accepted Separate Electorates in all provinces of India. Quaid-i-Azam emerged as the main protagonist in the rapprochement between the two opposite poles and he was able to demand sufficient representation of Muslims in various bodies of colonial India.

The 1920s was the decade that decided the fate of Muslims. The political warmth between Congress and Muslim League started to fade away over the same issue of representation which was coupled with provincial autonomy later. Nehru Report was presented in August 1928, and it did not cater to the wishes of Muslims. Lack of ‘provincial autonomy’ along with separate electorates surfaced as the main bone of contention between the two major communities of India. To salvage the situation Quaid-i-Azam proposed three amendments to it which were not entertained. In 1929, the Quaid drafted his famous Fourteen Points as a political demand on behalf of Muslims of India in which he encompassed their political aspirations. The soul of these points was based on democratic principles which envisioned India as a federation with adequate and ‘uniform’ autonomy to all provinces.

The Allahabad address by Allama Muhammad Iqbal further explained the issue of representation and provincial autonomy. In his address, he stressed on the right of Muslims to have a strong autonomous province. He presented a plethora of arguments in support of ‘adequate’ provincial autonomy for the integrity of the Indian federation. His presidential address serves as a road map for the democratic federation of people of diverse backgrounds.

The Round Table Conferences affirmed the federal structure as the only possible political solution in India which proved the political wisdom of Muslim leadership. The Act of India 1935 introduced provincial autonomy in the newly extended eleven provinces of India and transferred ‘responsible government’ in the hands of the Chief Minister, to be elected amongst the Indians. Muslims for the first time enjoyed provincial autonomy in four provinces where they were in majority. The newly transferred autonomy was jeopardised by the emergency powers of ‘Governors’ to dissolve assemblies on the directives of the Viceroy.

The “Lahore Resolution” of 1940 univocally demanded a federation of Muslim provinces independent of India where provinces would be fully ‘autonomous’, completely devoid of any interference from the federal government and other provinces. The founding fathers were very clear about the fact that masses are the actual harbinger of national integrity.

The same provincial autonomy was the reason Pakistan came into being in 1947. After the election of 1945-46, Muslim League emerged as the single most popular party of the Muslims all across India. The main electoral agenda Muslim League followed was the attainment of independence which was supported by Muslims. British finalised the process of separation and in the ‘Act of Indian Independence 1947’ gave the power of joining either of the new countries to the provincial assemblies. Accordingly, initially, provincial assemblies of Bengal, Sindh and Punjab passed a resolution with the majority in favour of Pakistan and the federation came into being.

The creation of Pakistan is a realisation of democratic federal principles. The debate about the political structure of Pakistan must consider the fact that the land and map of Pakistan was subject to the decision of provinces to become part of Pakistan or not. Pakistan fulfils all the seven postulates, KC Wheare described in his famous work ‘Federal Government’ (1964). Pakistan was destined to become a strong and prosperous federation and a role model for others and the country had to implement the principles of federalism that its founding fathers had been demanding from the British government and Congress majority.

The script of the democratic inclusive system was lost after the independence and the propositions on which Pakistan was created were not drafted, implemented, and followed. From the very beginning, the power corridors were infested by ideas of concentration of power rather than the dogma of delegation of power. The implementation of the ‘One Unit Plan’ from 1955 till 1970 was the annihilation of the dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers. It amalgamated all the provinces in the West into one province. The first constitution of 1956 was prepared by the non-political elite of Pakistan. This constitution concentrated all the power in few hands and granted emergency powers in the hands of provincial governors and president of Pakistan like it was given to Viceroy in 1935

The constitution of 1962 once again failed to deliver the promise to the people of Pakistan. This times all the executive authority (directly) and legislative authority (indirectly) was given to President and Ayub Khan exercised it in its letter and spirit. All the powers were vested in the office of the President so much so that no office or institution had any constitutional remedy against the office of president.

The Constitution of 1973 was the first constitutional document that hinted at provincial autonomy, however, that had to be implemented later. The constitution did not see its full course and was suspended on July 5, 1977, due to the intervention of Zia-ul-Haq who maimed it beyond recognition in 1985 through the 8th Amendment and the question of provincial autonomy was overshadowed. The restoration of democracy from 1988 till 1999 did not help the cause of provinces and the country hungered for the principles of federalism whispered in Lahore Resolution.

After 63 years of independence finally, the constitution was amended with national consensus in 2010 to deliver the long-awaited provincial autonomy through the 18th Amendment. The modus operandi of its implementation are still a debate more than a decade later. The transfer of power from the federal government to the provinces faces countless impediments. Up until now few subjects have been transferred to provinces in true spirit. Consecutive governments since 2010 have dealt with the delicate issue insensitively.

Pakistan is a society of diverse cultures. In such societies, federalism is the ideal political structure that allows constituent units to govern themselves according to the wishes of their own. The time has arrived when we all need to prioritise the constitutional structure for Pakistan to establish stability in the political journey of Pakistan. The political structure of the USA was based on the vision in the debates of their founding fathers depicted in ‘Pubilius’ (Federalist Papers 1787-88). Since then, the US political system has a solid base and Pakistan is still in search of a structural base. To achieve this goal the policy makers must look into pages of history of freedom struggle of Pakistan which will provide a more vivid definition than currently debated amongst our political elite.

-The writer is an Assistant Professor of the Department of History at the University of Karachi. He can be reached at: moiz200@yahoo.com