A leaf from history: Hopes and new pledges

By Shaikh Aziz

Since the Islamic summit was being held after the 1973 Arab-Israel War, also known as the
Ramazan War or the Yom Kippur War, Arab-Israeli conflict attained focal
importance. Although the plight of Muslims drew the attention of all leaders, the Al Aqsa and
Israeli attitude took centre stage.

Syrian President Hafez Al Asad was the first speaker who spoke mostly on the Arab cause and
fervently condemned Zionism in Al Aqsa and Judaisation of Palestinian lands. He said that the
conference should be a source of strength for us. Qadhafi in his speech deplored Israel and called
for adopting a national policy by oil producing nations to help developing states.

Algerian President Houri Boumedienne also expounded on the Arab situation as well as the
situation of developing states. He said that the battle was not military or political; it was about
potential, including energy and oil. This potential must be used for attaining our rights. He said
that through a well-drawn scheme the developed world was hitting our economies.

Tun Abdur Razzak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, condemned the Israeli occupation of Al Quds,
but hoped that the Muslims will be able to regain their past glory. Similarly, Adam Malik,
Foreign Minister of Indonesia, representing President Suharto, emphasised the need to attain a
collective political force through the summit. He also spoke about using oil as an effective
weapon of diplomacy, which had given a new perspective to the future international economic
relations in the world, throwing light on the tremendous potential of united Arab action.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, recalling the events leading to the creation of Israel, hoped that
the summit would be a source of strength for waging a joint struggle that would bring victory for
the subjugated Palestinian people.

As the summit secretariat was giving final touches to the declaration, Bhutto began winding up
the summit. After formal thanks he said: We are a poor nation. We may not be able to contribute
funds for the economic development of the Islamic world but with Allah as my witness, I declare
here today that we, the people of Pakistan, shall give our blood for the cause of Islam.

In all, six resolutions were adopted with a large number of clauses to explain the spirit of the
resolutions. The first one expressed general belief in the unity of the Islamic world. The second
resolution dealt with the Arab cause and the Palestine situation, calling upon the world
community to ensure Palestinians national rights. It also demanded that the countries which
sponsored the partition of Palestine in 1947 work towards redressing the injustices perpetrated
upon the Palestinians. The third resolution condemned any change in the status of the Arab
occupied lands.

In the fourth resolution the summit laid down six objectives: realising the need for eradication of
poverty, disease and ignorance; ending exploitation by developed world; regulating the trade
terms between the developed and developing countries for supply of raw material and import of
manufactured goods and technology; ensuring sovereignty and control over natural resources of
developing countries; and mutual economic cooperation among Muslim countries.

A committee was constituted comprising representatives and experts from Algeria, Egypt, Libya,
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and United Arab Emirates with powers to co-opt other interested
Muslim countries for devising ways and means for attaining the above objectives and for the
welfare of the people of the member states. They were asked to commence work and submit
proposals immediately. The committee was to meet at Jeddah at the invitation of the Secretary
General who had to fix a date of the meeting not later than a month after the conclusion of the
summit.

The participants decided to direct their representatives in the United Nations and other
international bodies to consult together with a view to adopting a joint, and agreed, position for
furthering these common objectives.

The summit changed the mind of Shaikh Mujib who is said to have told some leaders that he
wished he had not released the POWs. Its impact was great, but efforts for the release of 195
POWs facing war crimes charges were still not bringing results. At the Delhi meeting (Aug
1973) it was decided that the representatives of the three countries would meet at some
appropriate time and take a decision. On April 5, 1974, the three foreign secretaries met at Delhi
where India agreed to release these POWs without trial. Their release, as agreed, began at the end
of the same month bringing an end to a very knotty issue developing from the East Pakistan
debacle.

Some jurists think that for the fulfilment of justice they should have been tried but keeping the
issue of debt liabilities and future ties in view, there was no pressure from Bangladesh. From
Pakistans point of view it could have created some untidy situation for the government,
especially the armed forces.

The Islamic summit ended with very high hopes and pledges but many observers were sceptical
about the results. They had the experience of the Rabbat summit. And then every country had its
own interests which overrode all decisions regarding implementation.

shaikhaziz38@gma
A leaf from history: The intra-party squabbles

By Shaikh Aziz

Updated Jan 20, 2013 03:11am

No doubt Z.A. Bhutto had a complex personality. He was extra-intelligent, charismatic and
persuasive but at the same time he was a shrewd and astute person, who always tried to
attain his goal come what may as his old friend retired Air Marshal Zulfikar Ali
Khan remarked many years later: Strange, how unpredictable he was. He could be
charming to one person, and for no reason, jut turn on another person who was close to
him. It was very strange how he did that. No rational explanation. I never understood
that. And this characteristic, sometimes, cost him dearly.

In the initial two years of his leadership as president and martial law administrator he held a
sway over all national and international matters with the assistance of his confidants, close aides
and able party workers. But then his dictatorial attitude and desire to have the whole country
under his thumb created problems. After Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), his two
strong bastions, Sindh and Punjab, also began to show cracks in the party ranks.

At Bhuttos takeover on Dec 20, 1971, Ghulam Mustafa Khar, his close friend, was appointed
governor and martial law administrator of Punjab. With his feudal background, Khar soon
became a strict disciplinarian. With his strong arm, he was able to suppress the police strike in
Punjab within 24 hours, the first disturbance witnessed by the PPP government. He ran the
administration with feudal tactics but at the same time he also undertook a number of projects for
public welfare, which made him popular with the public and earned him the title of Sher-i-
Punjab (Lion of Punjab) and an upholder of Punjabi rights.

It is said that banking on the confidence reposed in him by Bhutto, Khar began to make some
crucial decisions on his own without prior permission of the party head. After the adoption of the
constitution Khar was relieved of governorship and was appointed chief minister of the province
in February 1973. Hanif Ramay, a soft-hearted PPP stalwart replaced him as the governor.

Khar, as chief executive of the province, wanted Punjab to get a prominent place in the
federation. In this regard he went too far which caused the widening of the gulf between him and
Bhutto. People around Bhutto also complained of Khars highhandedness, which alienated party
leaders and workers.

Khar was not unaware of it and in January 1974, he tendered his resignation as chief minister
which Bhutto refused to accept by saying that it was not possible to have a new chief executive
before the Islamic Summit. On March 15, 1974, Khar finally bowed out vacating the position for
Hanif Ramay. Besides being a writer, intellectual, journalist and a painter of great talent, Ramay
even designed book-jackets that came to him for editing and publication. With a middle-class
background he became an admirer of Bhutto when the latter launched his party and initiated a
tirade against Ayub and Yahya. He was a true socialist and wanted the Peoples Partys
programme to be converted into reality. This was an important change. Bhutto wanted to bring
PPP closer to the people, whom he believed were his source of power. This was possible only if
the lower cadre of the party had been listened to and the peoples problems solved. This created
friction in the party ranks and the party workers felt alienated.

This coincided with the changes in Peoples Partys home province and another stronghold,
Sindh. Here party leaders began squabbling among themselves for very trivial things. Mumtaz
Bhutto had been appointed governor during the very first broadcast on December 20, 1971. With
a feudal background, an Oxford-educated Mumtaz still retained the traits of feudal traditions. He
had his own style of working. But then there were many groups within the party i.e., Talpurs,
Syeds, Makhdooms and lastly the vibrant youth. Mumtaz Bhuttos appointment angered Jatoi,
for, he aspired for the slot. Besides, small political families were also at odds with the party
leadership. But Bhutto had to maintain a balance among all a very ticklish task.

Jatoi was a big landlord of Nawabshah district. He too was vying for the provincial slot but for
the time being it was difficult. Jatoi had mustered support of many members of the provincial
assembly but Bhutto had a bigger say; nonetheless, Jatoi kept his group intact. To accommodate
Jatoi, Bhutto appointed him Federal Minister for Communication, Railways, Ports and Shipping
a minister with too many important portfolios.

After the approval of the interim constitution, Bhutto relieved Mumtaz on April 20, 1972, and
appointed him Sindh chief minister on May 1, 1972. The vacated seat of governorship was
awarded to Mir Rasool Bakhsh Talpur, a sincere PPP leader and fighter of democratic
movements of Hyderabad. He rose from low class politics of Hyderabad town and always played
a role of the opposition. He had supported Miss Fatima Jinnah in the 1964 presidential polls.
After the founding of Peoples Party, he and his brother, Mir Ali Ahmad Talpur, joined the party.
During the campaign against Ayub when nobody at Hyderabad would host him, Bhutto used to
stay at Mirs house.

Bhutto knew what would be the result of this change; hence he waited till he had settled some
issues. He was sure that he would be able to settle everything but by then the internal dissensions
in the Sindh PPP gained momentum. Nobody could come out in the open but the differences
within the party had begun to show.

shaikhaziz38@gmail.com
A leaf from history: Call to arms

By Shaikh Aziz

Updated Nov 03, 2013 07:49am

As the nation-wide agitation continued, Prime Minister Z.A. Bhutto decided to negotiate with the
Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) leaders to accommodate their point of view in order to resolve
the situation. Reports of curfew violations and strife were also reaching the leaders in jails which
created additional concern.

In order to hold talks, all the jailed PNA leaders had to be gathered at one place. On April 25,
1977, all leaders were taken to Sihala Police Rest House which was declared as a sub-jail. Bhutto
had already spoken to Mufti Mahmood, the PNA chief, and expressed his desire to negotiate with
them and promised that if the alliance presented a demand for holding fresh elections, he would
agree to it.

As these leaders were huddled at the Sihala Camp, on April 25 Asghar Khan wrote a letter
(calling it a message) to the officers of the defence forces urging them not to obey the orders of
the superiors if they were illegal. It was addressed to the chiefs of staff and officers of the armed
forces and prompted extensive debates on the right of addressing the armed forces. It was also
said that it was an attempt to instigate them to deviate from the duties entrusted to them under
their oath.

The letter reminded the armed forces of their duties but also advised them to differentiate
between a lawful and an unlawful order. Khan wrote, It is your duty to defend the territorial
integrity of Pakistan and obey all lawful commands of superior officers placed over you. To
differentiate between a lawful and unlawful command is the duty of every officer. Everyone
of you must ask yourself whether what the army is doing today is lawful and if your conscience
tells you that it is not and you still carry it out, it means that you lack moral courage and would
be guilty of a grave crime against your country and your people.

Asghar Khan, while recalling past events, tried to justify his claim that the elections of March
1977 were a farce. He further wrote: If you have any interest in national affairs, you must
also be aware that during the election campaign the nation expressed the strong disapproval of
the present regime. Following the peoples rejection of the government, you should have been
surprised at the election results in which the Pakistan National Alliance which could muster
such an overwhelming popular support, could only get eight out of 116 seats in Punjab.

You must surely know that many people were not even allowed to file their nomination papers.
Was it not too much of a co-incidence that no papers were filed against the prime minister and all
the chief ministers of the four provinces? That those who dared to try, ended up spending a few
nights in police custody? One of them has still not been traced.

He reiterated the PNA assertion that rigging on mass scale had taken place. Those of you who
were even remotely connected with duties in connection with the March 7 election would also
know of the blatant manner in which rigging took place. The hundreds of thousands of ballot
papers of the PNA candidates were taken out of ballot boxes and found in the streets and fields
after the polls. You would also have seen the deserted polling stations on March 10, the day of
the provincial polls, following the call for boycott of provincial elections by the PNA.

Nevertheless, the state-controlled media announced that an unprecedented number of votes had
also been polled in the provincial election and presenting the figure as high as 60 per cent. Then
surely you must have also followed the movement which called for Bhuttos resignation and re-
elections in the country.

He condemned the loss of life and noted down: The death of hundreds of our youth and the
beating of our mothers and sisters was a scene that may well have stirred you to shame and
sorrow.

Reminding them of the unfair elections he stressed: My friends, it was not a just and fair
election. Bhutto has violated the constitution and is guilty of a grave crime against the citizens. It
is not your duty to support his illegal regime nor can you be called upon to kill your own people
so that he can continue a little longer in office. Let it not be said that the Pakistan armed forces
are a degenerate police force fit only for killing unarmed civilians.

As a last advice, the retired air force chief counselled them on how they should discharge their
constitutional duties to the nation. As men of honour, it is your responsibility to do your duty
and the call of obligation in these trying conditions is not the blind obedience of unlawful
commands. There comes a time in the lives of nations when each man has to ask himself whether
he is doing the right thing. For you that time has come. Answer the call honestly and save
Pakistan. God be with you. Asghar Khan, (Air Marshal retd).

In the brief history of the country, it was the first time that such a letter had been addressed to the
armed forces.

A leaf from history: The intra-party squabbles

By Shaikh Aziz

Updated Jan 20, 2013 03:11am

No doubt Z.A. Bhutto had a complex personality. He was extra-intelligent, charismatic and
persuasive but at the same time he was a shrewd and astute person, who always tried to
attain his goal come what may as his old friend retired Air Marshal Zulfikar Ali
Khan remarked many years later: Strange, how unpredictable he was. He could be
charming to one person, and for no reason, jut turn on another person who was close to
him. It was very strange how he did that. No rational explanation. I never understood
that. And this characteristic, sometimes, cost him dearly.

In the initial two years of his leadership as president and martial law administrator he held a
sway over all national and international matters with the assistance of his confidants, close aides
and able party workers. But then his dictatorial attitude and desire to have the whole country
under his thumb created problems. After Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), his two
strong bastions, Sindh and Punjab, also began to show cracks in the party ranks.

At Bhuttos takeover on Dec 20, 1971, Ghulam Mustafa Khar, his close friend, was appointed
governor and martial law administrator of Punjab. With his feudal background, Khar soon
became a strict disciplinarian. With his strong arm, he was able to suppress the police strike in
Punjab within 24 hours, the first disturbance witnessed by the PPP government. He ran the
administration with feudal tactics but at the same time he also undertook a number of projects for
public welfare, which made him popular with the public and earned him the title of Sher-i-
Punjab (Lion of Punjab) and an upholder of Punjabi rights.

It is said that banking on the confidence reposed in him by Bhutto, Khar began to make some
crucial decisions on his own without prior permission of the party head. After the adoption of the
constitution Khar was relieved of governorship and was appointed chief minister of the province
in February 1973. Hanif Ramay, a soft-hearted PPP stalwart replaced him as the governor.

Khar, as chief executive of the province, wanted Punjab to get a prominent place in the
federation. In this regard he went too far which caused the widening of the gulf between him and
Bhutto. People around Bhutto also complained of Khars highhandedness, which alienated party
leaders and workers.

Khar was not unaware of it and in January 1974, he tendered his resignation as chief minister
which Bhutto refused to accept by saying that it was not possible to have a new chief executive
before the Islamic Summit. On March 15, 1974, Khar finally bowed out vacating the position for
Hanif Ramay. Besides being a writer, intellectual, journalist and a painter of great talent, Ramay
even designed book-jackets that came to him for editing and publication. With a middle-class
background he became an admirer of Bhutto when the latter launched his party and initiated a
tirade against Ayub and Yahya. He was a true socialist and wanted the Peoples Partys
programme to be converted into reality. This was an important change. Bhutto wanted to bring
PPP closer to the people, whom he believed were his source of power. This was possible only if
the lower cadre of the party had been listened to and the peoples problems solved. This created
friction in the party ranks and the party workers felt alienated.

This coincided with the changes in Peoples Partys home province and another stronghold,
Sindh. Here party leaders began squabbling among themselves for very trivial things. Mumtaz
Bhutto had been appointed governor during the very first broadcast on December 20, 1971. With
a feudal background, an Oxford-educated Mumtaz still retained the traits of feudal traditions. He
had his own style of working. But then there were many groups within the party i.e., Talpurs,
Syeds, Makhdooms and lastly the vibrant youth. Mumtaz Bhuttos appointment angered Jatoi,
for, he aspired for the slot. Besides, small political families were also at odds with the party
leadership. But Bhutto had to maintain a balance among all a very ticklish task.

Jatoi was a big landlord of Nawabshah district. He too was vying for the provincial slot but for
the time being it was difficult. Jatoi had mustered support of many members of the provincial
assembly but Bhutto had a bigger say; nonetheless, Jatoi kept his group intact. To accommodate
Jatoi, Bhutto appointed him Federal Minister for Communication, Railways, Ports and Shipping
a minister with too many important portfolios.

After the approval of the interim constitution, Bhutto relieved Mumtaz on April 20, 1972, and
appointed him Sindh chief minister on May 1, 1972. The vacated seat of governorship was
awarded to Mir Rasool Bakhsh Talpur, a sincere PPP leader and fighter of democratic
movements of Hyderabad. He rose from low class politics of Hyderabad town and always played
a role of the opposition. He had supported Miss Fatima Jinnah in the 1964 presidential polls.
After the founding of Peoples Party, he and his brother, Mir Ali Ahmad Talpur, joined the party.
During the campaign against Ayub when nobody at Hyderabad would host him, Bhutto used to
stay at Mirs house.

Bhutto knew what would be the result of this change; hence he waited till he had settled some
issues. He was sure that he would be able to settle everything but by then the internal dissensions
in the Sindh PPP gained momentum. Nobody could come out in the open but the differences
within the party had begun to show.

A leaf from history: Jam flees but Khar fails

Shaikh Aziz
Updated Apr 20, 2014 07:31am

In the first sweep of arrests by General Chishti, immediately after the promulgation of martial
law, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Ghulam Mustafa Khar, managed to successfully evade
arrest. Even Gen Chishti was stumped; Khar had managed to escape the legion of army and
intelligence personnel pursuing him Gen Chishti later remarked that Khar was difficult to
find.

However, Khar could not stay underground for long as he needed. He needed to get in touch with
his family but any attempts at making contact with them could have exposed him to the military.
Perhaps for this reason, he decided to come out of hiding and wrote a letter to General Ziaul Haq,
seeking a meeting with him.

This letter was marked to Gen Chishti, who then made contact with Khar and summoned him to
the officers mess in Chaklala military airport. Here, Khar told the corps commander that he was
worried about his wife as she was expecting a baby. The corps commander put him under
custody at the mess, and asked him to call his wife and apprise her of his situation.

Next morning, Khar was sent to Murree.

Deposed prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had already been detained in Murree. Soon after
finding out that Khar had also arrived in Murree, an enraged Bhutto called him a disloyal fellow
who was not to be trusted anymore. Meanwhile, Khars plea to Gen Chishti that he be detained
separately was not met. During his meeting with Bhutto, Khar advised Bhutto to escape from
Pakistan a proposition that was both unacceptable to Bhutto and near-impossible to execute.

Khar wanted to meet Gen Zia as soon as possible but could not get a chance. When Gen Zia next
visited Bhutto, Khar requested Gen Chishti to arrange a meeting with the chief marital law
administrator a request that was granted.

The Khar-Zia meeting held at the GHQ; Gen Chishti and Gen K.M. Arif were also present. Khar
told Gen Zia that he had been Bhuttos close friend for a long time, but things had changed now
since Bhutto considered him to be an undesirable person.

Recalling Bhuttos various acts, Khar also told Gen Zia that the prime ministers fall was due to
his own blunders and machinations. In a veiled manner, Khar offered his services to Gen Zia too
but it seems the dictator did not trust Khar.

On July 28, all detainees of both parties were released. Before releasing them, Gen Zia met with
all leaders and told them that during electioneering, they should not exploit the voters emotions.
Justice Mushtaq Hussain had already been appointed as Chief Election Commissioner, replacing
Justice Sajjad Ahmad Jan. A committee had been formed to formulate the rules for elections.

The Election Commission announced on Aug 2 that the elections to both assemblies would be
held on Oct 18. Pressed for time, the Election Commission began work with great speed,
assuring people and leaders that the polls were a definite possibility.

It was difficult to tell where the future was headed. But it appeared that Jam Sadiq Ali, a former
minister in the Sindh government, was privy to some details at least of the actions to be taken
against him, since he was alleged to be involved in the murder of six disciples of Pir Pagaro,
killed in Sanghar on May 17, 1973.
There were other Bhutto loyalists in military custody too: these included Rao Rashid, special
secretary tasked with intelligence matters; Masood Mahmood, director-general of the Federal
Security Force (FSF), cabinet secretary Waqar Ahmad, Federal Investigation Agency Director
Akram Shaikh and FSF deputy director Mohammad Raza. These men all faced different charges
later.

Unlike the loyalists, Khar and Jam both sought clemency. After the July 5 coup, when Gen
Jahanzeb Arbab was appointed Martial Law Administrator of Sindh, Jam decided to employ his
politicking skill to negotiate his way through. First, he tried to cultivate cordial relations with the
new administration. Then he requested them to allow him to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform
Umra. Jam was granted leave; he would later proceed to England, where he lived for 11 years.

It seemed that Ghulam Mustafa Khar was also trying to negotiate a pass out of the country. This
way, he wouldnt have to answer any questions. He would remain safe from the persecution of
the military.

Next week: Hunt for anti-Bhutto evidence

shaikhaziz38@gmail.com

A leaf from history: A warning from Bhutto

From InpaperMagazine
Updated Apr 06, 2014 07:48am

After the imposition of martial law, the Military Council released reports to give the impression
that the army had no interest in politics. It was a deliberate attempt to put the mechanism in place
with such precision that nobody would ever think that the army had any interest in staying in
power for a long period.

On July 9, Zia, as the Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA), engaged a team of journalist
from the APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), the official news agency, for publicising his
agenda. The idea was to emphasise that the armed forces had toppled the civilian government to
save the country from civil war and bloodshed, and that elections would be held on schedule and
the PPP and Bhutto would be free to participate. During the early days the General also had kind
words for Bhutto; in an interview with the Newsweek reporter, Edward Behr, he said: He has
been very kind to me and I have no regrets. Hes is a very determined man with a great sense
of history. He is also a very tenacious fighter and a great politician.

On July 12, Gen Ziaul Haq, along with two generals Gen Chishti and Gen K.M. Arif flew
to Murree to meet Bhutto. He took them along perhaps because he wanted to show Gen Chishti
that he only extended an assurance to Bhutto that he (Zia) was only a temporary custodian. It is
going to be all Mr Bhuttos again and he should manage it as deemed fit, Zia said.

Three days later, Gen Zia again went to Murree accompanied by Gen Faiz Ali Chishti, Gen
Akhtar and Gen Arif, as well as Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the then secretary at the ministry of
defence, and met the PNA leaders Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, Mufti Mahmood and
Professor Ghafoor Ahmad.

On the complaint of the PNA leaders that their detention was unjustified because they were the
victims, the General told them that the elections would be held in 90 days and then the power
would be handed over to the elected representatives. They were told that they would soon be
released and allowed to hold meetings of their central committee and their parties, followed by
election activities. He also told them that election rules were being prepared and also discussed
the line of action in case the PPP boycotted the elections. The General expressed firm will to
hold the elections on schedule.

During the meeting Gen Zia surprised the PNA leaders by expressing the fear that Asghar Khan
and Maulana Noorani might part ways with the alliance; however, he also expressed hope that
the alliance would emerge successful in the polls. Regarding the release of political prisoners, the
General said that both the political groups had agreed to this during their talks and asked for the
list of such detainees.

He also told the PNA that the PPP had planned to take out an armed procession in Lahore on July
5, and he (Gen Zia) had taken the step [of imposing martial law] to prevent bloodshed. At this
stage the PNA leaders were joined by Air Martial (rtd) Asghar Khan who was told by Gen Zia
that his letter to the armed forces was an act of sedition and that he could face trial.

He then had a one-on-one meeting with Bhutto. Bhutto told Zia that he expected that the army
would impose martial law in the country but that he was satisfied that the government would be
headed by my friend. Then he said: the Constitution calls for a death penalty for anyone
who abrogated it or tried to topple the government by force; this was something which the
Army Chief didnt want to hear.

Gen Zia knew it to be a fact but being reminded of it by a deposed and detained prime minister
antagonised him. He realised that if the PPP won the elections he would be the first one to be
hanged and, therefore, made up his mind that come what may he would close all the doors which
could return the PPP to power.

Following this meeting Bhuttos official staff, which he had been allowed to retain, was
immediately withdrawn. At the same time Gen Zia assigned Gen Chishti to find any illegalities
committed by Bhutto and create some cases as soon as possible against him.

The same day Dr Naseer A. Shaikh called on Bhutto in Murree; later a large number of PPP
workers and supporters reached Bhuttos place of detention and raised slogans with great
enthusiasm. The next day also witnessed huge numbers of PPP supporters visiting Bhutto and
other PPP leaders. Bhutto also addressed the party workers and said that when his attendant
informed him about the arrival of the army, he told him that he had been waiting for them for the
last two months. All of this was being observed keenly by the coup-makers.

Next week: First Press Conference and the beginning of corporal

punishmentsshaikhaziz38@gmail.com
A leaf from history: Yahya out, Bhutto in
From InpaperMagazine
Back in West Pakistan, on the evening of December 16, 1971, out of fear, I was waiting for
some earthshaking news and hung on to my desk. A little after 04.00pm the teleprinter in
the congested and somewhat clumsy newsroom of daily Ibrat, Hyderabad, clattered,
sputtering the paper roll wildly and drawing my attention. As I leaned over the machine,
the brief story had almost ended. It read: Following an arrangement between the
commanders of India and Pakistan, fighting has ceased in the Eastern theatre and the
Indian troops have entered Dhaka. It was later added by BBC that Indian army and
Mukti Bahini had captured Dhaka.
For quite some time I stayed over the machine but then it went quiet. I began receiving telephone
calls from frantic readers trying to learn what had happe ned a majority of them dejected, the
rest spoke as if they feared it.

More than half of the country had been lost.

For those who had seen Pakistan come into being, it was quite heartrending and awful; more
painful for those simple-hearted listeners who lived constantly in the world of Radio Pakistan
and PTV, listening to the engineered reports of APP, believing the words of General Niazi
(Tiger), that the Indian tanks would have to roll over his body to enter Dhaka. The Indian tanks
did roll but entered Dhaka without firing a bullet. Even Bhuttos fuming speech at the Security
Council and a boisterous departure from the discussion had become meaningless.

A little later General Yahya appeared on the national broadcasting network; in his address he did
not mention the fall of Dhaka but said that Pakistan had suffered due to stoppage of the supplies.
He said that any single incident could not be treated as defeat. The war was going on and we
would inshaullah win. He told the people that the war would continue in fields and factories and
victory would be ours. He announced that a new constitution would be promulgated on
December 20, which would ensure more provincial autonomy for East Pakistan, a central
government to keep Pakistan unified followed by establishment of provincial governments. He
thanked China and the United States for their support.

The army officers at the GHQ were despondent and furious. Many had protested. An example in
this regard could be cited of a few officers Major General Shamim, Brigadier Iqbal Mehdi
Shah and Farukh Bakht, along with three others who were forcibly retired in August 1972, on
charges of pushing the country into civil war two days before Bhutto assumed charge as
President.

Yahya continued to work on his plan. He wanted to bring General Hamid as Commander-in-
Chief (C-in-C.); however, the mood of officers was different, rather violent. On December 18,
pressure mounted for his resignation. The general feeling was that the people would not accept
any military leadership after the Dhaka debacle. Immediate replacement seemed to be Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto, who was acceptable to many generals. Two generals, General Hamid and General
Gul Hassan, were too active. Yahya wanted Gul Hassan to head the country and Hamid to head
the country and Hamid to become C-in-C. Hamid wanted to discuss it with other officers. When
the meeting took place the officers, especially the young ones, asked thorny questionswhich
Generl Hamid could not answer. However General Gul Hasan continued his efforts to update
Bhutto on the developments in GHQ and wanted to lead the country.

As all waited for Bhutto to come, he met Nixon and Kissinger on December 17. They discussed
with him the new situation in Pakistan.

Bhutto briefed Nixon about the future policies if he had the chance of leading the remaining
Pakistan. Nixon assured him all military and monetary support that Bhutto needed.

Bhutto contacted Pakistan on December 19 from Rome, where he was told to come back quickly.
Yet on way he stayed at Tehran where he discussed the situation with the Shah of Iran. Here Air
Marshal Rahim sent an aircraft to Tehran to ensure Bhuttos safe return.

Bhutto landed at Islamabad on December 20, where Mustafa Khar was waiting to pick him up.
General Gul Hassan and Rahim Khan were also there. From the airport Bhutto was driven
straight away to the Presidents House, where General Pirzada, General Hamid and Roedad Khan
were waiting for him. Cabinet Secretary Ghulam Ishhaq Khan was strolling on the lawns, but he
knew what was going on inside.

After a while Bhutto called Roedad and told him that he wanted to address the nation the same
day, therefore he should jot down a few notes and see him later.

As other activities were becoming visible, Bhutto was been sworn in as President and Chief
Martial Law Administrator the first civilian Martial Law Administrator.

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