Pakistan: Time for Change

By Muhammad Anwar and Ebad Baig

PAKISTAN
Muhammad Anwar and Ebad Baig

The creation of Pakistan on August 14, 1947, was a rare and unprecedented event in the study of politics that the world has ever seen. However, the Indian leadership never accepted the creation of Pakistan, and its security remained threatened even after a long period of existence because of the Kashmir dispute, which was left unresolved at the time of the partition of the subcontinent. The worst happened when Pakistans founding father passed away on September 11, 1948, followed by the assassination of the first prime minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, on October 16, 1951.

The weak and shrewd political leadership eventually paved the way for the military intervention, and Pakistan remained under the dictatorial governments for more than three decades between 1958 and 2008. As a result of the political void, Pakistan was dismembered in December 1971 by the direct Indian military action in East Pakistan while the United States played the role of a spectator. Despite the US duplicity in 1971, Pakistan remained engaged in fighting the US proxy war in Afghanistan since 1979 and was facing the fierce situation in the hands of the terrorists who were expressing their anger and revenge through bomb blasts and suicidal attacks all over the country.

This book examines Pakistans journey through the turbulent waters of the history right from 1947 to 2012, pinpointing what went wrong during the whole passage and those responsible for the disasters that the Pakistani nation has to painfully endure continuously during all these years. This is to allow the military leaders to review and fix the institution burdened with the task of defending the homeland and the political leadership to walk through this mirror for making Pakistan a strong and modern Muslim state in the world in line with the vision of Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Dec 20, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477250310

Muhammad Anwar

MUHAMMAD ANWAR Dr. Anwar is a former Pakistani naval officer having vast operational, command and staff , and diplomatic experience, with sound academic background, including PhD degree in International relations. EBAD BAIG Ebad Baig has extensive experience in business, enterprise, consulting, education and training, and ethics and regulations. He has a profound interest in Pakistani politics and this book is his first contribution on the topic.

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© 2013 Muhammad Anwar; Ebad Baig. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse January 3, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-4772-5030-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-5029-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-5031-0 (e)

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Abbreviations

Introduction

1 Historical Review

2 Military and Politics

3 Culture Of Secrecy and Conspiracies

4 Governance, Crises and Identity

5 Foreign Relations

6 Pakistan And US-Afghan Campaign

7 Time for Change

Notes and References (Endnotes)

About the Authors

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE PEOPLE OF PAKISTAN

ABBREVIATIONS

INTRODUCTION

The creation of Pakistan was a rare and unprecedented event in the history of politics that the world has ever seen. An independent Muslim state came into being on August 14, 1947 with the power of the people and led by their determined and upright leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah who successfully fought his political battle on two fronts; the British rulers headed by their Viceroy Lord Mountbatten and the Hindu majority led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Consequently, the Muslim majority areas became part of Pakistan and the remaining part of the subcontinent became India. However, Indian leadership never accepted the creation of Pakistan and its security remains threatened even after a long period of existence because of the Kashmir dispute which was left unresolved at the time of the partition of the subcontinent by Great Britain. The worst happened when the founding father passed away just after a year of Pakistan’s existence. The weak and manipulative political leadership subsequently paved the way for the military intervention when President Iskander Mirza abrogated the Constitution of Pakistan and imposed Martial Law on October 7, 1958. General Muhammad Ayub Khan, the then Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, became the Chief Martial Law Administrator who ultimately ousted Iskander Mirza and assumed charge as the President of Pakistan on October 27, 1958, providing the tempting recipe to his successors in the Pakistan Army. As a result of the political void created by the dictatorial regimes, Pakistan was dismembered in December 1971 by the direct involvement of the Indian military and East Pakistan became Bangladesh. At that most critical time in the history of Pakistan, the US played the role of a spectator despite Pakistan being a member of the US-led alliances; CENTO and SEATO.

Pakistani leadership, however, kept looking towards the US despite the latter’s betrayal in 1971. Coincidentally, Pakistan was under command of a military general every time the US badly needed its support until the year 2008 when the elected government of the PPP came into power under the leadership of Asif Ali Zardari who became the President of Pakistan. Pakistan remained engaged in fighting the US proxy war in Afghanistan since 1979, firstly against the Soviet Union and lately against Al-Qaeda and Taliban. As a consequence, Pakistan was facing the fierce situation in the hands of the terrorists who were expressing their anger and revenge through bomb blasts and suicidal attacks all over the country on the daily basis. At the same time, the US was finding excuses to make Pakistan the scapegoat for former’s own military failure in Afghanistan. Under the emerging scenario, the least Pakistan should be expecting the imposition of the fresh sanctions; indeed the US going exactly by its track record without realising that the situation this time was totally different notwithstanding the battle ground remains to be Afghanistan. The first time, it was Al-Qaeda led by Osama bin Laden and General Zia-ul-Haq who fought for the US till his death, ultimately forcing the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan and that superpower finally collapsed in early 1990. This time, the US and her Western allies were directly fighting Al-Qaeda and Taliban while Pakistan once again was playing the support role, without which it would have been impossible for the US and the NATO forces to continue fighting for so long. This time the old Al-Qaeda even without Osama bin Laden was seen determined to force the only remaining superpower out of Afghanistan. If sanity did not prevail and the US did not pay heed to its economy and remained busy in power politics and in their out of area operations, soon the history of the Soviet Union could be repeated. Already, the economic situation of the US and her Western allies was not at all encouraging.

Time for Pakistan is also running out to set her own house in order through national cohesion and self-reliance to reduce dependence on the foreign aid and borrowing by exploiting the indigenous untapped resources for the better future of Pakistan. This book examines Pakistan’s journey through the turbulent waters of the history right from 1947 to 2012, pinpointing what went wrong during the whole passage and those responsible for the disasters that Pakistani nation has to painfully endure continuously during all these years. This is to allow the military leaders to review and fix the institution burdened with the task of defending the homeland. While the political leadership to walk through this mirror for making Pakistan a strong and modern Muslim State in the world in line with the vision of the founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

The Thesis takes into consideration the following parameters indeed the ground realities for presenting the realistic conclusions and options for the better future of Pakistan:

• The Region. Pakistan’s primary interest lies in South Asia, Southwest Asia and Central Asia including China, and the same will be the focus of the politico-strategic scenario and further discussion in this book. This region has dominant significance in the emerging economic-oriented power pyramid in the world, mainly due to the oil supplies emanating from the Gulf and the untapped resources of Afghanistan and Central Asia. All key economic and military powers are highly sensitive to any interference in the flow of the Gulf oil from the region and are keenly working to gaining access to the oil and other resources of Afghanistan and Central Asia. At the same time, other economic and commercial interests compel these major powers to have their share in the affairs of the regional states especially for gaining strategic collaboration if not full time presence in Afghanistan which emphasises the significance and pivotal position that Pakistan occupies in this resource-rich region. This being a converging interest for Pakistan and the US and the other major powers.

• Friends near Home. Friends near home are those countries who are contiguous and near home and could possibly act as the relief zones in emergency and with whom Pakistan should seek economic as well strategic cooperation. These countries include China, Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asian Republics, Saudi Arabia and other GCC States, Turkey and Yemen.

• The Adversary. In pursuit of her Maha Bharat doctrine, India will continue to be Pakistan’s only adversary until both the South Asian nuclear powers were able to resolve the core dispute of Jammu and Kashmir (further referred as ‘Kashmir dispute’). The earlier this adversarial relationship transforms into friendship indeed strategic partnership would be better not only for India and Pakistan, but for the entire region as well as for the world peace and stability. A sincere commitment and effort on both sides could pave the way for the resolution of this lingering dispute that has plagued the peace and progress of the entire region.

• The Single Superpower Status. Finally, the thesis is based on the fact that the US was going to retain the single superpower status in the foreseeable future unless some self-destructive leadership takes the helm by default. However, Pakistan very well recognises China’s stature which is no less than any superpower. Indeed China’s role in the regional context could be more critical and significant, indeed stabilising.

The Book has been divided into the following chapters for presenting the open analysis and the possible options for the better future of Pakistan:

• Chapter 1: Historical Review. This chapter briefly presents the history of the governance from 1947 to 2012. The untimely demise of founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah just over a year after the creation of Pakistan paved the way for the military interventions. As a result, the nation drifted away from the vision of the founding father and kept moving without any strategic direction.

• Chapter 2: Military and Politics. This chapter deals with the involvement of the military in politics highlighting the damages done by the dictatorial regimes of Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan, General Muhammad Yahya Khan, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and General Pervez Musharraf and their accumulative adverse effects on the governance, law and order, economy and above all the prestige of the nation.

• Chapter 3: Culture of Secrecy and Conspiracies. This chapter exposes the culture of truth hiding conspiracies that was in vogue since inception to save the powerful individuals responsible for various debacles and heinous crimes. In the larger interest of Pakistan, some highly significance issues have been discussed to expose the enemies within the country to deter those waiting to follow through their personal vendetta careless about the national interests.

• Chapter 4: Governance, Crises and Identity. This chapter briefly reviews serious governance issues and crises affecting the integrity and functioning of the federation. This input should serve as an eye-opener for the political as well as the military leadership to work together to save further disintegration of Pakistan.

• Chapter 5: Foreign Relations. Foreign policy is the strategic arm of a nation which has been the weakest link for Pakistan because of the personal preferences of the leadership in power. Now is the right moment to strengthen this arm when the US endgame in Afghanistan was to be executed. Pakistan’s foreign relations should be transformed into sound economic collaboration in line with Pakistan’s strategic national security interests.

• Chapter 6: Pakistan and the US-Afghan Campaign. This chapter presents the Afghanistan situation looking through the US intervention in Afghanistan after the tragic incident of 9/11 to the current situation when the US endgame was to be executed. Pakistani leadership has a responsibility to play their role effectively in order to stay in control during and after the withdrawal of the US and the NATO forces from Afghanistan.

• Chapter 7: Time for Change. This last chapter essentially winds up the discussion and underlines the possible strategic options for the better future of Pakistan.

The contents of this book have been kept as brief as possible without compromising on the essential aspects to allow the busy decision makers and other responsible people to read and reflect and possibly act for the benefit of the people indeed the better future of Pakistan.

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1

HISTORICAL REVIEW

Pakistan came into being on August 14, 1947 under the leadership of Mohammad Ali Jinnah who became the first Governor General of Pakistan with Liaquat Ali Khan as the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. The idea of the separate state for the Muslims of the subcontinent was suggested by Dr. Muhammad Iqbal in 1930 and the name Pakistan proposed by Chaudhry Rahmat Ali in 1933. In the beginning, Mohammad Ali Jinnah and other leaders were in favour of Hindu-Muslim unity, but later on, the political climate and the religious hostilities of the 1930s made the idea acceptable to all. In his speech at the general session of All India Muslim League held on March 23, 1940 at Minto Park (now Iqbal Park) Lahore, Mohammad Ali Jinnah criticized the Indian National Congress and the nationalist Muslims and espoused the Two-Nation Theory and the reasons for the demand for the separate Muslim state. The Pakistan resolution was tabled by A. K. Fazlul Haq, the Chief Minister of Bengal and supported and seconded by several Muslim leaders and adopted on March 23, 1940. Within a short span of seven years following the adoption of the resolution, Pakistan became a reality on August 14, 1947.

The nascent state of Pakistan lacked resources and infrastructure in particular its defence forces because all the main elements of defence establishments became India’s share. Following the partition, the adversarial relationship developed between the new neighbouring states since the bigger neighbour India never accepted the creation of Pakistan. As such Pakistan always considered its national security threatened by India; therefore, she had to spend much more on defence than the resources permitting. That was mainly because of the unresolved Kashmir dispute which remains central to the Indo-Pak relations. The British government of the time shares the blame and responsibility for the unfinished agenda of the partition of the subcontinent. The bias conduct of the last Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten in handing over of British power in India proved disastrous for the Muslims of the subcontinent. The Viceroy played into the hands of the Congress leadership and altered the recommendations of the Boundary Commission. He not only partitioned the major provinces of Punjab, Bengal and Assam that were originally to become part of Pakistan thus depriving Pakistan of some highly fertile areas, but also leaving behind the Kashmir dispute which still defies the United Nations (UN) resolutions. Consequently, the Muslims of the subcontinent paid the heavy price in terms of the human life and property.¹ Pakistan’s national security problems were further compounded by the sad-demise of the founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah on September 11, 1948. The untimely death of the father of the nation and followed by the assassination of Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan on October 16, 1951 in an abortive coup left a political void that could not be filled even until today. The struggling nation received its first unanimous constitution in 1973 under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto. That indeed was a historical and significant feat of the political leadership of the time which, unfortunately, has been abrogated time and again by the ambitious generals entrusted with the command of the Pakistan Army, who defied their oath of commission and betrayed the nation.²

Following the assassination of Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, the governments in Pakistan changed frequently as briefly mentioned below.

Reviews for Pakistan

[B B · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

An objective analysis of Pakistan's strength and weaknesses would ha made this book more relevant to the time in which it was written. Instead author banked heavily on the usual ( mostly false ) rhetoric of of Pakistan's strategic location, it's peace initiative and efficiency of Pakistan's armed forces. Pakistan is today said to be totally captured by elite! Accordingly this book is by the elite, for the elite,of the elite.......

[Shriram · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Though not an established piece of work, still readable one.

[Muhammad Saqlain · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The author has greatly organised this book starting from historical backgrounds and then lead it to the prevailing problems and difficulties that Pakistan have faced and are facing and conclude his book with awesome ideas and perspective as to how to bring change in Pakistan and Pakistani Society. I highly recommend it.