The year was 1977, as Prime Minister (PM) Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) was brimming with confidence. Lt. Gen. Ghulam Jillani Khan (Jill) was heading ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) which also included the ‘Political Surveillance Wing’. On the input from Jill, ZAB decided to surprise the divided opposition. He dissolved the assemblies ahead of schedule and announced national elections. An alliance of nine political parties called the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) was waiting in the wings to take on ‘Quaid-e-Awam’. They even applied for a single ‘Election Symbol’ for the one-on-one contest with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). So, the contest was between the ‘Sword’ (Talwar) and the ‘Plough’ (Hul). In the original 1973 constitution, there was no provision for a Caretaker set-up so ZAB continued as an interim PM and so did the four Chief Ministers (CMs).
Elections were held for the National Assembly followed by the Provincial a day later. The PM and the four CMs managed to get elected un-opposed which created doubts in the mind of the people about the fairness of the contest. It was ZAB’s dream to get an absolute majority in the legislature thus enabling him to amend the constitution. He realized his lifelong desire but it sparked an organized protest against his regime. The religious card was also thrown in, it was called the ‘Nizam-e-Mustafa Movement’. While Air Marshal Asghar Khan was the star of this uprising, the ‘Religious Right’ took control of the streets.
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Though the protests were nationwide, Lahore was the epicenter of the conflict
Punjab under Nawab Sadiq Hussain Qureshi had insulated the party leadership from the grass-root workers. Chants of ‘Hul Chalado’ were all over. Armed Forces were called for the maintenance of law and order. When it was evident that ZAB was politically done with, General Zia deposed the elected PM on July 05, 1977. The PM was kept in confinement at the Murree Governor’s house. Fresh elections were announced in accordance with the ninety days constitutional requirements. Before his release, the General went to see ZAB who gave him his piece of mind. The threat of Article 6 was not taken seriously at that time. ZAB arrived at the Lahore airport to a hero’s welcome that surprised everyone.
He was staying at the Nawab’s residence located in Shadman II. There was a sea of supporters who refused to go away. Occasionally ZAB would appear on the balcony with a request to the people to go home but they kept chanting “Quaid-e-Awam” and “Fakhar-e-Asia ” (Leader of the masses, Pride of Asia). As I had to go to work in the morning, finally I left around midnight. The establishment had miscalculated the public support of the fallen leader. Events that followed are now a part of our checkered political history. ZAB was physically eliminated through ‘Judicial Murder’ on April 04, 1979, but his legacy lives on.
On April 09, 2022, another elected PM was voted out of power by a coalition of diverse political alliances called the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). It started as a ‘Mehangai March’ (Unaffordable Prices) but ended up as a ‘Freedom Movement’. While the personal credibility and honesty of Imran Khan (IK) were not an issue, the performance of his team was. After failing to win public support, the opposition decided to work on a ‘ No Confidence Motion (NCM) in the parliament. Within days the pieces started to fall in place. PDM, establishment and the judiciary all seemed to be working in tandem to remove the PM.
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The movement gained strength by the hour
IK termed it a foreign conspiracy while the establishment admitted it was only interference. In the past sovereignty of several developing countries has been trampled through external involvement with the connivance of compromised local support. For major part of its existence, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has been a Satellite State obeying orders of foreign masters even against its national interests. The involvement in the Afghan Crisis has been disastrous for the nation with massive collateral damage yet no leader had the courage to say ‘No More’.
Only IK had the moral strength to say “Absolutely Not” which was not taken lightly. As the PM held his ground, it was decided to get rid of him as the popularity ratings of his government were very low. Another gross miscalculation was done by the establishment. While the performance evaluation of the regime was marginal, the personal popularity of the PM was intact.
When he decided to expose the foreign interference as a direct attack on the freedom of the nation, the people responded to his call as they trusted his leadership. His demand for fresh elections is gaining grounds. National elections are now unstoppable. Any attempts to keep IK out through the traditional rigging or manipulation will result in massive street protests. Unfortunately, it may prove to be a rerun of the 1977 imbroglio from which the country has still not recovered. History is witness to the fact that in developing countries popularly elected leaders who stand up for national interests are physically eliminated.
The personal security of IK has to be taken very seriously
From his death cell in 1979, ZAB predicted that if he is harmed, ‘Himalayas would cry and the water of River Indus would turn red’. It did not happen then but it may happen this time around. All stakeholders must exercise extreme caution in the best interests of Pakistan to contain destabilization of any kind.
Establishments worldwide have historically failed to sense the sentiments of the people as such they usually miscalculate their actions which then leads to disastrous consequences. Gone are the days when the will of the people could be suppressed through ‘Thanas and Patwarkhanas’. Information highways cannot be blocked. In the 20th century Tagore remarked that a country with a free press has never faced famine.
I am sure in the 21st century with the available technologies of mass communication, the uproar of the masses will reach every corner of the country from Khyber to Karachi and Gwadar. From the election results from the NA 33 constituency of Hangu, the voters have spoken, and Kaptaan has come ahead. As already claimed the establishment should be a political which is a good sign but then the stables have to be cleansed of the Siasi Basta whose record it has been keeping/updating followed by the necessary surveillance.
Either the entire record of the Bad Characters should be returned to the original ‘Police Stations’ from where it came or made public together with details of their misdeeds and crimes against the nation. Pakistan has been a constitutional democracy since August 14, 1973. Every state institution must operate within its own domain thereby ending the Zia Dark Ages that have denied the entry of light needed to march forward in the new millennium.
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The scrouge of external interference has to be totally wiped out, law of the land must come hard against perpetrators who sell national interests for short-term personal gains. People’s mandate has to be respected, assemblies should be allowed to complete their terms. The entire state apparatus has to be ‘Apolitical’, major reforms are needed in the bureaucracy, judiciary and law enforcement agencies. Establishment calculations do not work, never have, and never will in the future. To put the country of over 220 million people back on track, a free, fair and credible election is the only way forward.
The writer is Ex-Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation. He can be reached at fmaliks@hotmail.com. The views expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.