Early in 1973, shortly before the National Assembly adopted the Constitution 1973, 14 militiamen and 21 military officers were arrested and charged with conspiracy to overthrow the elected government. The court battle was led by Maj Gen Ziaul Haq.
Four years later, as chief of staff of the same general, he not only overthrew the government on July 5, 1977, but also later hanged the elected prime minister. Forty years later, the sentence is still considered "murder". Even some of those who wanted to see Zulfikar Ali Bhutto go to the stake on April 4, 1979, agree. All but one of the accused officials were given prison sentences (up to life imprisonment) and barred from promotion.
Brian Cloughley, author of War, Coups and Terror, Pakistan's Army during the Cold War, wrote about the incident. He is the author of another book, A History of the Pakistan Army. The case may have led to the introduction of Article VI to the Constitution, which authorized Parliament to impose fines on those found guilty of sedition. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, after taking the oath of office as the country's first Civilian Martial Law Administrator in the absence of any constitution, brought about radical changes in the army and fired many generals including General Yahya Khan, then military commander.
He soon replaced Gen Gul Hassan, who had been newly appointed to office, with Gen Tikka Khan. When Khan retired he was succeeded by General Ziaul Haq, who took over at least six directors. Bhutto probably thought that the General who had punished the officials involved in the 1973 conspiracy would remain loyal to the government. Some of those close to Bhutto warned him that anyone who wanted to be too close to the prime minister (as Zia did) could be in danger. The man did not agree with Bhutto on most of his policies during his four-year term but there is no denying that he was the most prominent politician in Pakistan at the time and had the power to oppose the military.
His actions may be the reason why some military and air force officials are making efforts to overthrow his government. However, the effort was thwarted by the military. The air traffic controller of those days was very cruel in punishing those who belonged to the Air Force. The plot to inform Bhutto led to the introduction of Article VI, in the Constitution. Gen Zia approached Bhutto and eventually succeeded in securing a top position in the military. Zia, for her part, realized that her supervisor, who had introduced Article VI to the Constitution, could also enforce punishment. This is one of the reasons why he signed his death certificate on April 3, 1979, which led to the suspension of ZAB.
Earlier, Zia had desired to check Bhutto's reputation after taking over electricity on July 5, 1977. He had announced that the general election would be held within 90 days under Operation Fairplay. However, it soon became apparent that Zia was abusing the power of the PNA, which split apart by joining the military. He probably would not have hung Bhutto if the opposition party had a chance to win votes under his command. By the time Bhutto was released and launching his campaign the handwriting on the wall was clear, both to Zia and PNA. He was also arrested and the leadership of the campaign fell to his wife, Begum Nusrat Bhutto. To Zia's surprise, she too attracted large crowds.
Bhutto had previously stated that if he returned to power, he would punish those who violated the Constitution, referred to in Article VI. Veteran journalist Mujeebur Rehman Shami, Zindagi, who was banned by Bhutto weekly during his tenure (Shami was imprisoned) once told me that he was part of a group of the right -wing writers and journalists who advised Zia to postpone the October 1977 election as there was confirm victory of PPP.
“Yes, it is true”, he told me in Lahore in front of some colleagues while confirming my remarks about the program on the talk show. "He was right but let me tell you the whole story", he said. He said the party included Altaf Hassan Qureshi of Urdu Digest, the late Muhammad Salahuddin of Takbeer and Jasarat daily, the late Mustafa Sadiq and asked Zia for permission from the late Majeed Nizami of Nawa-e-Waqt about a week before the election it should have. They had met him in Lahore and asked him to postpone the election.
"Begum Bhutto held a public meeting in Lahore that day," he said. Zia asked us for a public opinion. We told him that public opinion favored PPP and Bhutto. But we have assuredhim that if he postpones the election we will change his mind and favor him.”
Bhutto was also prominent in the military, especially among junior police officers for his intense nationalism and the launch of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program after India conducted its first nuclear test. Therefore, when General Zia enacted a military law, he immediately announced the election, saying that the military would return to the camp after handing over power to the new public elected political party. His actions also clearly violated the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Asma Jillani, who had declared war on unconstitutional military law.
Intelligence reports have prompted the PPP's immediate defeat and Bhutto's return to power. Zia used a right-wing printing press with the late National Awami Party leaders, arrested by Bhutto. The slogan, pehlay ehtisab, phir intikhab, (first defense, then election) was supported by veterans such as the late Khan Abdul Wali Khan. The role of the judiciary in rescuing unconstitutional acts of de facto administration has been consistent from 1958 to 2002. It was only in November 2007, that it emerged.
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