Chapter 12: Ministries (1947-1970)

Liaquat Ali Khan (1947-1951)

➔ He was the 1st Prime Minister of Pakistan
➔ Although he was unable to handle many of the problems which Pakistan faced at that
stage, there was no doubt that he wanted to see Pakistan developed
➔ After the death of Quaid e Azam, he gained good popularity as the first Prime Minister of
Pakistan. He kept the economy going but did not frame a constitution for the country
➔ He was assassinated in October 1951

Objectives Resolution (1949)

➔ On 12 March 1949, the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan passed a resolution
➔ It was made by Liaquat Ali Khan the 1" Prime Minister of Pakistan
➔ The basic principles of Objective Resolution were:
➔ 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 Success:
➔ It was the 1st step towards the constitution making and most important occasion in the
life of Pakistan
➔ In Objective Resolution, the Islamic and ideological character of the newly established
state was preserved
➔ In view of these basic principles, the Objective Resolution contained fundamental
principles on which the future constitution of Pakistan was to be based

Criticism
➔ The Objective Resolution was criticised by Ulemas that the new government had not
made Pakistan a proper Islamic state, with constitution based on the Shariah
➔ There was no agreement that how these objectives would be implemented
➔ Furthermore, no timetable was given for the holding of elections and drafting of
constitution
➔ East Pakistan had a larger population than West Pakistan, and resented the idea of equal
representation in the National Assembly
➔ The idea of Urdu being made the official language was also resented

Public and Representative Officers Disqualification Act (PRODA)

➔ This act allowed the ministers to bar from office those officers whose service was not up
the mark
➔ It was introduced in Liaqat Ali Khan's time (1949)
➔ This act showed that Pakistan was yet to become the democratic country Jinnah had
visioned
➔ It was also seen as a way for politicians to bar from office those officers who they did not
like (the elite could remove those they wanted)

Liaquat-Nehru Pact (1950)

➔ The treaty was signed in New Delhi
➔ It was signed between the Prime Minister of India Lal Nehru and the Prime Minister of
Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan on April 8, 1950
➔ It was signed to deal with the issue of Rights of minorities in both countries
➔ This pact introduced visa system for refugees and free passage of refugees across border
was restricted
➔ Minority commissions were set up in both countries

Khawaja Nazimuddin (1948-1953)

➔ He was from East Pakistan
➔ He lacked firmness and was an honest and God fearing person
➔ Unfortunately he could not stop the influence of executive branch of government in the
politics
➔ In 1951 Malik Ghulam Mohammed who was Finance Minister at that time, persuaded
him to step down from the post of Governor General and become PM
➔ In 1953 Malik Ghulam Mohammed dismissed Khawaja Nazimuddin and appointed
Muhammad Ali Bogra as new Prime Minister Malik Ghulam Muhammad (1951-1955)
➔ In 1951, Malik Ghulam Muhammad sworn in as Governor-General of Pakistan
➔ He was the 3rd GG of Pakistan
➔ He was responsible for the 6 Year Plan for Pakistan
➔ The 6 Year Plan covered agriculture, power, industry and transport
➔ It played an important part in bringing about economic development in Pakistan
➔ However, there were severe problems in Pakistan that hampered development at this
time, such as food shortages and a drought
➔ Rioting followed and the government found difficulty in dealing with these matters. This
resulted in many changes in personnel and little constitutional development could take
place because of these problems
➔ Malik Ghulam Muhammad resigned in 1955 due to ill health

Constitutional Crisis (1954-55)

➔ M. Ali Bogra the Prime Minister had little political experience
➔ However, Governor General, Ghulam Mohammad expected him to support his authority
and do as he was told
➔ Bogra wanted to curb power of GG
➔ Malik Ghulam Muhammad was out of country, so Bogra introduced an amendment to
1935 Act, trying to take away some power which caused a political crisis
➔ Ghulam Muhammad declared a state of emergency and dissolved the Assembly
➔ Legal challenges were made against GG who eventually won through

Basic Principles Committee

➔ The Basic Principles Committee was established on 12th March 1949 by Khawaja
Nazimuddin on the instruction of Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan
➔ This committee presented its first report in 1950 but was severely criticised, particularly
in East Pakistan so it referred back to the Constituent Assembly
➔ The final and complete report was presented to the Constituent Assembly in 1952
➔ Federal legislature consisted of two Houses and the House of Units consisted of 120
members.
➔ The East Bengal legislature was to elect 60 members according to the principle of
proportional representation and the rest of the members were to be elected from the west
by the same rule.
➔ The House of People had real authority and comprised of 400 members, 200 from West
and 200 from East Pakistan
➔ The prominent features of the report were:
➔ The Head of the State should be a Muslim .
➔ Federal legislature consisted of two Houses, the House of Units consisted of 120
members.
➔ The East Bengal legislature was to elect 60 members according to the principle of
proportional representation and the rest of the members were to be elected from the west
by the same rule.
➔ The House of People had real authority and comprised 400 members, 200 from West and
200 from East Pakistan .
➔ Religious minorities would have representatives at National and Provincial levels. ➔ The
cabinet was to be responsible to the National Assembly, not the Head of the State. ➔ The
Head of State would choose a committee of Islamic specialists to ensure the legislation
conformed to Islamic Law . ➔ The official language should be settled by the Assembly

Major General Iskander Mirza (1955-1958)

➔ He became Governor General of Pakistan after Malik Ghulam Mohammed in October
1955
➔ He had joined the British Indian Army but he had been on political service by the British
➔ Therefore, he was a perfect bridge between military and civil service
➔ He also used his power in an unconstitutional manner by overthrowing political
governments
➔ In 1956, he became the 1st President of Pakistan (According to the 1st Constitution of
Pakistan in 1956, the designation of Governor General was changed into President) ➔ He
was successful in formulating 1st Constitution of Pakistan on 23rd March 1956 - 64 ➔ He
also invited General Ayub Khan to take over and proclaimed 1st Martial Law in Pakistan in
1958
One Unit Scheme (1955)
➔ In October 1955, Governor General Iskander Mirza imposed a scheme known as One Unit
Scheme. This scheme was about joining all the four provinces and ten princely states of
Pakistan into a single administrative system
➔ The federation of Pakistan would then officially consist of West Pakistan as one province
with a population of 34 million
➔ And East Pakistan as other province with a population of 44 million
➔ The main reason given for creating the unified province of West Pakistan was to improve
administration and economic resources
➔ However, East Pakistan took it as a mean of denying them a majority of seats in the
National Assembly (criticism)
➔ In the constitution of 1956, equal number of seats was given to East and West Pakistan ➔
The ministry of Iskander Mirza was unstable
➔ There were a number of Prime Ministers who were dismissed between 1956 and 1958
➔ On 12 September 1956, Chaudhry Muhammad Ali was resigned
➔ And Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy was made the Prime Minister
➔ On 8th October 1957, Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy was dismissed
➔ And Ibrahim Ismail Chundridar was appointed as the Prime Minister
➔ In December 1957, Ibrahim Ismail Chundridar was dismissed
➔ And Feroze Khan Noon was made the Prime Minister
➔ On 7th October 1958, Mirza proclaimed Martial Law ➔ Pakistan began its first period of
military rule

Muhammad Ayub Khan (1958-1969)

➔ were a number of Prime Ministers between 1956 and 1958 and it reached a stage when
Ayub Khan achieved the status where he felt the army should take control until stability had
been restored
➔ East Pakistan’s politicians wanted more say in the running of the central government
which increased tension
➔ On 7th October 1958, Iskander Mirza abrogated the constitution of 1956 and proclaimed
Martial law in the country
➔ He appointed General Ayub khan, the C-in-C of Pakistan army as Chief Martial Law
Administrator on 27th October
➔ It was to be the 1st period of military rule in the country Social Reforms:
➔ Ayub Khan took action to deal with refugees
➔ He appointed General Azam Khan as the Rehabilitation Minister
➔ The government set about improving housing for refugees
➔ A massive new housing development provided new homes for refugees in Karachi, which
clearly had a beneficial effect on the lives of these people
➔ Ayub Khan set up family planning systems and family ordinances
➔ The population growth could be controlled by the family planning
➔ Under the ordinances, all marriages and divorces had to be registered, and women were
granted rights such as husbands needed permission of first wife before remarrying
➔ Therefore, this was a success because the growing population of Pakistan could be
controlled, women were granted rights and marriages were more organised
➔ He also made reforms for Pakistan's education
➔ Many educational institutes were set up, such as schools and colleges to educate more
students
➔ He reorganised the educational curriculum
➔ This was a success, it was to increase the literacy and improve the level of education in
Pakistan

Agricultural Reforms
➔ Land was redistributed to farmers with medium sized farms and agriculture was
revitalised to such extent that crop outputs were at record levels
➔ No landholder could retain more than 500 acres of irrigated and 1000 acres of non-
irrigated land surplus would be taken by the state and distributed among the tenants
➔ If agricultural land remained uncultivated for consecutive two terms it would confiscated
by the government
➔ Three major dams were built to help irrigation
➔ Farmers were also loaned money to build wells and reduce the need for canal irrigation
➔ These reforms revitalised agriculture and crop yields were at an all-time record
➔ This brought about a 'Green Revolution'
➔ However, the increased productivity was due to mechanisation, which could generally
only be afforded only by the big landowners

Industrial Reforms
➔ There were also many industrial reforms during his time
➔ Foreign aid was used to develop industrialization
➔ An Export Bonus Scheme was introduced to offer incentives to people who exported
goods
➔ In 1962, an oil refinery was found and a Mineral Cooperation was also formed
His policies like cuts in taxation such as the abolition of the Business Profits Tax encouraged
industries to expand during 1960
➔ 1965: manufacturing output grew at an annual average rate of around 11.5 %
➔ Gross national product rose by 45 % and manufactured goods began to overtake such
traditional exports as jute and cotton
➔ During this period, people’s income went up by an average of 14 %
➔ Annual economic rate rose by 7 % which was three times more than any South Asian
country at that time
➔ Pakistan achieved faster economic growth than India
➔ However, only the rural and urban middle classes were able to benefit
➔ In 1959, Basic Democracies were introduced which a four tier structure of government
was allowing elections at various levels
➔ After the introduction of 2nd Constitution in 1962 martial law was lifted and ban on
political parties was removed
➔ Both Urdu and Bengali were recognized as two of the national languages
➔ The National Assembly Session was to be held in both Dhaka and Islamabad
➔ If the President were from West Pakistan, then the Speaker of the National Assembly was
to be from East Pakistan

Fall of Ayub Khan from Power

➔ Class difference created by Ayub Khan’s economic policies eventually led to his downfall
➔ The creation of new wealth was concentrated in few hands
➔ It was revealed that only 22 families controlled 66% of the industrial assets as well as 80%
of the banking and insurance companies
➔ The fact that most of these families were located in West Pakistan angered East
Pakistanis
➔ A small group of wealthy elite class had almost complete control of Pakistan’s wealth
➔ Such economic drawbacks resulted in Ayub Khan's downfall Discontentment of the
People
➔ By 1968, many people were discontented with the government
➔ Economy was improving, but only few people were benefited
➔ There was a rise in agricultural production, but food prices were increased
➔ Widespread protest and riots led to major political crisis for Ayub Khan
➔ Students protest erupted in West Pakistan in Oct 1968
➔ His visit to Peshawar was marred with assassination
➔ This agitation in both the wings paved the way for his resignation Opposition by Political
Parties:
➔ Opposition by political parties and resignation of Basic democrats led to his downfall
➔ In January 1969, eight opposition parties united to form Democratic Action Committee ➔
They demanded proper election, lifting up of emergency powers and greater provincial
autonomy for East Pakistan
➔ Ayub did made attempts of negotiation and pacifying them, but he had done too late
Soon, large number of Basic democrats resigned and so it was impossible to replace them
➔ On 25 March 1969, Ayub Khan resigned
➔ He handed over the power to the army, and once again, Martial Law was imposed

General Yahya Khan (1969-1971)

➔ He took over as CMLA in March 1969 and abrogated the 1962 Constitution and imposed
Martial law
➔ He gave the same reasons for dismissal of government as Ayub Khan that civil
government was incapable of effective functions
➔ The One Unit plan and the 1962 Constitution were annulled and Pakistan's four provinces
were re-established
➔ He promised to shift power to democratic political institution
➔ He assumed the office as the President of Pakistan in April 1969
➔ He stated that elections would be held in country by December 1970 for a smooth
transfer of power to the political representatives on the basis of "One Man, One Vote”
➔ Election results showed that Awami League won majority (160/162) in East Pakistan and
PPP won majority (81/138) in West Pakistan
➔ Both parties refused to share power
➔ Sheikh Mujib-urRehman gave his famous 'Six Points' and refused to compromise on them
➔ This created constitutional crises in Pakistan
➔ This resulted in Pakistan losing its Eastern wing and the formation of Bangladesh