Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1971-77):

• Domestic Policies:

  • He assumed power amidst very critical circumstances.

  • Constitution Making:

    • East Pakistan had become Bangladesh and there was no constitution since March 1969.

    • Z.A Bhutto headed the last Constituent Assembly that comprised members elected in the 1970 elections.

    • It began the tasking of framing a new constitution.

    • The new constitution was implemented on 14th August, 1973.

    • It introduced pure parliamentary form of government with the P.M the executive head while the President only a figure head of state.

    • A bicameral parliament was introduced.

    • The National Assembly, (the lower house), had members in proportion to the population of each province.

    • The Senate, (upper house), had equal number of seats from each province, giving protection to the smaller provinces.

    • Senators were academics, professionals and technocrats.

  • The Constitution was criticized by the opposition because the focal point of political power lay with the party leadership (Bhutto remained chairman of PPP till the end of his rule).

    • Bhutto became autocratic and authoritarian with time, and when political matters worsened, all blame was put on him.

  • Educational Reforms:

    • In order to improve literacy and ensure a uniform standard of education, most of the private sector schools were nationalized.

    • Primary education was made free and compulsory.

    • New Schools were opened and the old ones were upgraded.

    • These policies had little success due to lack of funds, trained teachers and school buildings.

    • Parents in rural areas opposed formal education as it did not guarantee jobs for their children.

    • Also , the funds allocated for primary education were only 13% of the total budget for education.

  • Healthcare:

    • To provide health care to all, and to improve life expectancy and infant mortality rate (IMR) several BHU’s (Basic Health Units) and RHU’s (Rural Health Centres) were set up.

    • New medical colleges and hospitals were set up.

    • Under the new drug policy, brand names of drugs were abolished, so that medicines were available at cheaper prices.

    • This, however, resulted in declining earning of chemists and many pharmaceutical companies closed their business in Pakistan.

  • Industrialization:

    • Bhutto was inspired by communism and socialism with an aim of ensuring control of the government on sources of production and to improve the standard of living of industrial workers.

    • Most of the large scale industries were nationalized, only cotton textile sector was spared.

    • To finance these industrial units, five commercial banks were also nationalized.

    • Industrial growth slowed down as the nationalized units were given to civil servants who were not trained for the job.

    • However, many industries survived at the time of world-wide economic crises when many industrialists were about to close down their units.

  • Industrial and Farmworkers:

    • Bhutto had a strong vote bank of industrial workers and farmers.

    • Since Ayub’s Green Revolution had increased the land productivity but had also caused huge disparity between rich and poor farmers, Bhutto lowered the land ceiling to 500 acres of un- irrigated and 250 acres irrigated land holdings, it was further reduced to 300 and 150 acres respectively.

    • Through the Tenant Safety Act he provided protection to tenant cultivators who couldn’t be evicted without a valid reason.

    • These measures increased his popularity but their success rate was poor due to the strong social position of the rich land owners (zamindars) many of whom were, ironically, members of the Parliament.

• Foreign Policies:

  • Bhutto improved relations mainly with the USSR, China and the Muslim world.

  • Western Countries:

    • So, he failed to have friendly relations with the West.

    • Bhutto paid two visits to Washington to keep cordial relations with the USA.

    • However, the US were unhappy over his friendly relations with the USSR and China.

    • Therefore, there was no significant progress in Pakistan’s relations with the US, UK and the Commonwealth.

    • Bhutto left both the Commonwealth and SEATO when Great Britain recognized Bangladesh in 1971 as it reflected the British neutrality in favour of India.

  • Soviet Union:

    • After the 1971 war, Bhutto visited Moscow in 1972 and accepted the soviet offer of building a steel mill in Pakistan.

    • Accordingly, the PSM (Pakistan Steel Mill) was established with the Soviet aid in the 1970s.

    • Pak-Soviet relations remained stronger till the downfall of Bhutto in July 1977.

  • China:

    • China had remained neutral in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. After the war China again began to support Pakistan openly.

    • Bhutto visited China in February 1972. China agreed to convert all previous loans into grants, and supplied military aircrafts and tanks.

    • Pakistan’s second iron industry, HMC (Heavy Mechanical Complex), Taxila was set up with the Chinese assistance.

  • Muslim World:

    • Bhutto convened the second summit of the OIC in Lahore in February 1974 in which Pakistan recognized Bangladesh as an independent republic.

    • Bhutto signed several agreements with the rich Muslim states of the Middle East.

    • Within two years Pakistan was receiving heavy aid from many Muslim countries.

    • Iran gave loans of 730 million dollars, the UAE 100 million dollars and Lybia 80 million dollars.

  • Afghanistan:

    • Bhutto offered friendly relations to the Afghan President.

    • In 1976, Bhutto and the Afghan President Sardar Daud exchanged many visits in which the Shah of Iran played a key role.

    • Attempts were made to sign the APTTA (Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement) to help Afghanistan avail Pakistan’s port.

    • However, Afghanistan’s rigidity over the Pakhtoonistan issue and refusing to accept the Durand Line as an international Pak-Afghan border halted all efforts to improve bilateral relations.

    • The RCD remained a very effective bloc during Bhutto’s regime.

  • India:

    • Bhutto visited India in July 1972 and signed the Simla Agreement with the Indian PM Mrs Indira Gandhi. India agreed to release about 90,000 Pakistani POWs (Prisoners of War) that had been in its custody since December 1970. Both Prime Ministers agreed to resolve all mutual disputes without involvement of a third party (e.g. the UN).

    • India, however, tested its first nuclear weapons in Rajasthan desert in 1974.

    • Feeling insecure, Bhutto retaliated by declaring that Pakistan would also develop nuclear technology.

    • This adversely affected the Pak-India relations.

General Zia ul Haq (1977-1988):

• Domestic Policies:

  • Nationalization:

    • Zia ensured a strict and stable regime. In order to win the confidence of the investors, he renounced Bhutto’s policy of nationalisation.

    • Industrial units were returned to their owners.

    • The industrial growth began to improve.

    • Moreover, millions of overseas Pakistanis began to send heavy remittances that were spent on several development schemes. From the Middle East alone $4 billion were sent every year by the Pakistani workers.

  • Afghan Miracle:

    • Also, Pakistan became the greatest beneficiary of the ‘Afghan Miracle’. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, Pakistan became the frontline state to counter the Soviets in Afghanistan. It received heavy US aid for many years.

    • Pakistan was given soft term loans and aid of $ 1.6 billion, £ 1.5 billion and then $ 4.2 billion military and economic aid between 1980 and 1986.

    • Pakistan’s GNP (Gross National Product) was 6.2% in three years.

    • This impressive economic growth rate, however, was accompanied by inflation, an increased power consumption and loss of skilled workers to other countries.

  • Problems:

    • Since no new power plants were set up, Pakistanis had to experience load shedding.

    • Easy availability of drugs and weapons led to drug addiction and violence in the country.

  • Islamization:

    • Zia also introduced Islamic reforms as he wanted a strong and stable government and undo the image of Z.A. Bhutto.

    • He also wanted to endorse the popular belief that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam.

    • Accordingly, he enforced a series of Hudood Ordinances in 1977.

      - Under these, Islamic punishment were prescribed for major offences such as Zina/adultery (100 stripes), theft (cutting off the right hand), drinking (80 stripes) and Qazf/false accusation of adultery (80 stripes).

      - the Blasphemy Law a punishment of imprisonment or fine or death sentence was prescribed for those found guilty of showing disrespect to the Holy Prophet (PBUH)

    • Under the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance of June 1980, a wealth tax of 2.5% was levied on the bank savings.

      - On the protest of the Shi’a community, they were exempted from this tax.

      - Ushr Ordinance imposed 5% tax on agricultural income but it had little success.

      - The Zakat money was distributed among the poor.

    • Programs on Radio and TV were started to promote Arabic language, and teaching of Islamiyat and Pak Studies was made compulsory.

    • Extra marks were given to the memorisers of the Quran in the Civil Services.

    • Interest-based banking was replaced with the profit – loss sharing banking.

    • The Council of Islamic Ideology was created to advise the government to make laws according to Islam.

    • Also, the Federal Shari’at Court was created to examine the existing laws and Islamic theme.

    • The Laws were strongly resisted by the women activist groups and minorities as both felt insecure under these Laws.

  • Overcoming Opposition:

    • Zia had to legitimise his stay in power and overcome the opposition, led mainly by the PPP.

    • He had suspended the 1973 constitution, and through the PCO (Provisional Constitutional Ordinance) he restrained all the Courts from challenging any of the decisions of the military rule.

    • He appointed several military officers in civil services.

    • In 1984 he held a referendum asking people if they wanted Islamisation in Pakistan or not. With a poor participation of 10% he got elected as the President for five years.

    • In 1985, elections were held on non-party basis, and a very obedient parliament was elected. PML led leaders were appointed as Chief Minister (Nawaz Sharif) and Prime Minister (Muhammad Khan Junejo).

    • Zia restored the Constitution with the 8th amendment [article 58-2(b)] that empowered him to dismiss the elected government and dissolve the assemblies. Thus his position was strengthened till his death.

• Foreign Policies:

  • Western Countries:

    • Zia was more inclined towards the West, though the US showed little interest in Zia’s policies.

    • In November 1979, the US embassy in Islamabad was burned down.

      • The US blamed Zia for encouraging the angry mob.

      • Soon, however, the situation changed in favour of Zia.

    • Zia was able to maintain friendly relations with the UK and the Commonwealth.

      • British PM Mrs Margaret Thatcher was the first Western leader to visit Pakistan during the start of the Afghan War.

      • Britain gave a huge aid of 30 million pounds to Pakistan for the welfare of the Afghan refugees. Soon another 16 million pounds were given for the refugees.

      • By 1986, the amount of bilateral trade with Britain was around 376 million pounds.

    • The only failure was that Pakistan remained outside the Commonwealth during Zia’s rule.

  • Afghanistan:

    • The Soviets/Russians invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, and Pakistan suddenly became important for the US due to its strategic location.

    • Pakistan received heavy US military and economic aid to support the Afghan Mujahideen and to accommodate millions of Afghan refugees.

    • In 1981, the US President Regan gave Pakistan a package of 1.6 billion dollars for 5 years. Then a loan of 1.5 billion pounds was to help Pakistan buy modern US weapons.

    • In 1986, another 4.2 billion dollars were given to Pakistan.

    • After 1986, there were signs of the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan. Therefore, the US changed its behaviour towards Pakistan.

    • After the Geneva Accord in 1988, the US and the USSR agreed on peace in Afghanistan. The Soviet troops were scheduled to leave Afghanistan, and Pakistan suddenly lost its strategic importance.

    • The US had ignored Pakistan’s nuclear programme during the Afghan war, but in the late 1980s the Presslar Amendment of 1985 would gradually be applied on Pakistan. Under this, a country could receive the US aid only after the American President declared that country as non-nuclear.

  • USSR:

    • Pak-USSR relations were not successful in the 1980s due to Pakistan’s support of the Afghan Mujahideen with the help of the US.

    • In 1984, Zia visited Moscow to attend the funeral rites of the Soviet Present Andropov, but was not accorded a warm welcome.

      • The Soviet war planes dropped bombs on various Pakistani territories towards the end of 1984.

      • One of these raids resulted in 140 deaths of Pakistani civilians.

    • Hostile relations continued till the signing of the Geneva Accord in 1988.

  • China:

    • Pak-China relations generally remained friendly during Zia’s regime.

    • In 1978, the Karakoram Highway (KKH) was completed with the Chinese aid.

    • Zia visited China in 1986, and a nuclear technology treaty was signed between the two countries.

  • India:

    • In the early 1980s, the Khalistan issue and the Siachin glacier conflict adversely affected the relations.

    • The Sikh separatists wanted an independent state, Khalistan and India accused Pakistan of supporting the Indian Sikhs.

      • The Indian PM Mrs Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguard in October 1984.

      • Mr Rajiv Gandhi, her son and the new PM, again accused Pakistan’s involvement in it though Zia had declared a day of national mourning.

      • Zia was received in a cold way when he attended the cremation ceremony of Mrs Indira Gandhi.

    • By 1987, the Indian army began military exercises in the Rajasthan desert to intimidate Pakistan.

      • Zia, however, paid a surprise visit to India on the pretext of watching a cricket ODI between the two countries. During his visit, he successfully persuaded the Indian leadership to withdraw its army.

      • The exercises were halted, and this political move of Zia is called the Cricket Diplomacy.

  • Muslim World:

    • Pakistan’s relations with the Muslim states generally remained successful.

    • Pakistan tried to end the Iran-Iraq war through the OIC summit meetings but without any success.

    • Pakistan’s relations with Iran were mainly unsuccessful due to sectarian violence in Pakistan.

    • Pakistan extended humanitarian aid to Bangladesh after severe weather calamities in 1985 and 1988.

    • Relations with Afghanistan were also not successful as Pakistan had been helping the Mujahideen against the communist Afghan government that had invited the Soviets.

      • Afghan war planes bombed many areas of KPK in retaliation.