CHAPTER 12: MINISTRIES

FIELD MARSHAL GENERAL AYUB KHAN: (27th October 1958-25th March 1969)
General Ayub Khan was chosen by Liaquat Ali Khan as the Senior Commander of Pakistan Army over Douglas Gracey in
January 1951. From that time, he had great importance in the armed forces. PM Bogra made him the Defence Minister
in his rule and finally he was called in by Mirza as the Martial Law Administrator in 1958.
DOMESTIC POLICIES
a. POLITICAL/ CONSTITUTIONAL:
 Basic Democratic System: On 26th October 1959, Ayub Khan introduced Basic Democracies Order (BD) a four-tier
system of governance in which the local bodies were made strong and the country was divided into 80,000 town
councils or tehseels. Each Village Council had a Basic Democrat on 1000 to 1200 people. All funds were given to that
BD for basic development. The Village Council would choose Sub-District members, who would elect District and
Divisional members respectively. Later 80,000 Constituencies were further divided into 1,20,000 Constituencies.
 Change of Federal Capital: In 1959, Ayub Khan announced that Karachi would no more stay as the federal capital
and a new capital city will be developed and the government offices and embassies would be shifted there by 1961.
The development started in 1960 and finally in 1961 Islamabad became the new capital of Pakistan. Ayub Khan
shifted the capital for the following reasons:
 Karachi was a seaport and due to trading and commercial activities with a huge population.
 Karachi was close to sea and Indian Navy had quick access to it which could seize at the time of war.
 Islamabad was developed at a pleasant place where the embassies and ambassadors could travel and work freely in
a safe environment.
 Karachi had a lot of political activeness due to a number of political parties and Miss Fatima Jinnah, sister of Jinnah
and a veteran leader also resided there.
 Islamabad was developed close to General Head Quarters (GHQ) Rawalpindi so that Ayub Khan could manage the
matters of Army and the government together.
 First Referendum of Pakistan: Since the Constitution was banned and there was no real system of governance, Ayub
Khan decided to get himself chosen as the President of Pakistan. In Feb 1960 Referendum was conducted in which
people voted in favour of Ayub Khan with 95.4% votes. The Martial Law was then lifted and Ayub became the
President. He made a Constitution Committee under Justice Shahabuddin whose job was to work on the second
Constitution of Pakistan.
 1962 Constitution: In March 1962, the second Constitution of Pakistan was imposed which gave all power to the
President. It was considered as a weak constitution as there was no place for Prime Minister and the President had
special power to control provincial assemblies. It was the constitution that weakened the provincial autonomy and
gave strength to the Central government.
 Presidential Elections: General Ayub Khan was facing tough time on the ask of contesting Presidential Elections as he
had delayed it. Miss Fatima Jinnah a veteran politician was supported by democratic groups both in West and East of
Pakistan was the major contestant against Ayub Khan. She used the slogan. ‘Democracy Versus Dictatorship’ which
gained immense fame as she was already a very respectable leader. The Elections were held in December 1964 and
January 1965 and Ayub Khan used all his power, authority and Basic Democrats to make him win. The results were
shocking for many including Miss Fatima Jinnah as she got only 36% of the votes and Ayub became President for
the next term with 64% votes.
b. SOCIAL REFORMS:

 Family Law Ordinance: Ayub Khan gave the Family Laws in 1961 in the light of his economic plan. Pakistan’s
population was growing at high rate and thus the economic benefits were not being transferred to the common
man. Even the religious hindrance of laws for polygamy, marriage and divorce were not clearly identified in the law
before which Ayub Khan made it very strict and clear. Some of the major points were:
 No Muslim man could remarry without the permission of his first wife and it will be mandatory for him to keep
balance for all rights.
 In case of divorce, the couple had to consult the village council and the final verdict will be given by the council for a
legal divorce.
 In case of divorce, the man will be responsible for paying maintenance allowance for the divorced wife and children
under 18.
 Marriageable ages for boys and girls were decided to avoid child marriage and control population. For boys, the age
was 18 and for girls the age was 16.
The religious groups and Ulemas did not appreciate many of the reforms and this started a protest for Ayub Khan’s
government.
 Family Planning Programme: Ayub Khan wanted to control the population as it was raising with 13% as one of the
highest in the world.
 He started different programmes of Ministry of Population Control whose job was to hire health workers to promote
awareness about the population control.
 He introduced religious leaders and Ulemas to support him in his plan to control population however, it received
serious agitation and resentment.
 Health Services: Medical services were made better to save infant deaths. Dispensaries, Clinics and maternity homes
were made.
 Educational Reforms:
Pakistan’s literacy rate was very low which was a hindrance in economic and industrial growth. It was 25% with few
people skilled to deal with the industrial sector. He took the following measures to improve educational sector:
 Education Policy was given in 1958. 1-5 class education was made free at all government schools from Class 1-8
education was made compulsory for all jobs in Pakistan.
 Large investment was made in the sector of education. New schools, colleges, nursing homes and medical colleges
were made which helped in bringing up the rate of literacy however, it improved only by one percent to 26%.
 Higher Education Commission was established. Many universities were upgraded from colleges and government
announced grants for qualified students.
 Three-year degree programme was also introduced at colleges which received disagreements from students in terms
of spending extra time.
 Rehabilitation of Refugees: To settle down the homeless refugees in Pakistan, General Azam Khan was appointed as
the Rehabilitation Minister. He established Orangi Town near Karachi, where thousands of migrants were provided
with houses on easy payment and even free of cost.
c. ECONOMIC REFORMS:
 The Second Five Year Plan was given during 1960-65 which remained a great success and GNP and GDP improved as
well as agricultural and industrial growth was showing improvement. Similarly, the Third Five Year Plan 1965-70 was
also given but its success was not remarkable due to economic challenges and trade embargo that time.
 Agricultural Reforms: Pakistan has been an agro-based economy. It was largely depending on agricultural products
for domestic consumption as well as for trade. Some of the major reforms in agriculture sector were:
 In October 1958, Land Reforms were introduced in which 500 acres of irrigated land and 1000 acres of Barani (rain-
fed) land was made taxable. Land Tenure Policy was introduced in which excessive lands would be confiscated by
the government and small farmers could own it with interest free installment in twenty-five years. This supported
the small farmers.
 He constructed three major dams, Warask Dam of River Kabul, Tarbela Dam on River Indus and Mangla Dam on
River Jhelum which brought Green Revolution in the country and millions of acres of land was made cultivable.
 He also made five barrages, seven link canals and one gated siphon to improve irrigation and to save lands from
floods.
 Agricultural Development Bank (ADBP) was established in all major areas to provide loans to the farmers for the
purchase of seeds, fertilizers and tractors and other machinery.
 SCARP (Salinity Control And Rehabilitation Programme) was started to bring awareness about saving the
agricultural lands from water logging and salinity. Free tube wells were installed in Barani areas throughout the
country where irrigated water was not accessible.
 Price Control Programme: Ayub Khan brought many programmes to control price of many commodities to raise the
standard of living. Some major reforms were:
 Action against Hoardings: He fixed the prices of basic commodities like oil, ghee, flour and sugar to minimize
hoarding. The hoarders were arrested and were punished to cut down the artificial prices of the products
 Ration Card Scheme: He introduced Ration Card Scheme in which the family head was issued a card with names of
all family members. The grocery purchase on the card was subsidized by the government and people had to pay less
on basic commodities. This also promoted people to keep small family sizes.
 Promotion of local products: Local manufacturing was promoted which made the cost of many products low and
accessible to the purchasing power of the people.
 Industrial Reforms: Ayub Khan worked on improving industrial sector and empowered the local and foreign
industrialists to invest in the country which made the country Asian Tiger. Some of the reforms were:
 National Investment Trust (NIT) and Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) were established to
promote investors to establish new industries in the country.
 Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan (IDBP) was established to promote industries. Industrialists were provided
with loan to set up their business.Major industries like Cement, Cotton Textile, Sugar, Iron and Steel, were
established at many major towns like Karachi, Faisalabad, Lahore etc.
 Extra Bonus Scheme was started for promoting the exports who were able to meet a certain target of exports. They
were provided incentives on taxes.
 An Oil Refinery was established at Karachi in 1962 with the help of Saudi Arabia for cutting down the import bill on
crude oil.
 Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC) was developed to search and discover new reserves of minerals
which not only provided employment but also brought investment by the foreign investors.
 FOREIGN POLICY:

 The U-2 Affair: In May 1960, U2 Incident of a US spy plane which was launched from Peshawar shot down by USSR.
Russian Premier Khrushchev was annoyed with Pakistan as it stated that the radar showed its launch from
Peshawar. The pilot was arrested by Russian authorities and claimed the United States had tried to spy over Russia.
This was a major blow in the foreign policy of Pakistan. Later Ayub visited USSR in 1965.

 The Indus Water Treaty: In Sept 1960 Indus Water Treaty was signed between Lal Bahadur Shastri and Ayub Khan
with India by which Pakistan got aid and grants from World Bank and other countries and constructed 2 dams, five
barrages, seven link canals and a gated siphon. This brought Green Revolution in Pakistan.

 Relations with the Commonwealth: Ayub visited the United Kingdom in 1962 and its started new relations of the
two countries after the problem of Suez Canal issue in 1956 in which Pakistan had supported Egypt over UK.

 Indo-Chinese War and relations with China: India and China had a war in 1962 in which Pakistan supported China.
This became a major factor in developing relations with China. In 1963, PIA got access to many Chinese cities along
with trade agreements between the two countries. In 1964, China supported Pakistan’s policy on Kashmir and
Pakistan voted for the permanent membership of China in the UN Security Council. The Karakoram Highway was
started to be built in 1963.

 Regional Co-operation for Development (RCD): Pakistan, Iran and Turkey agreed to help each other in economic
development and came together as strong allies. Later in 1984, more countries were added and its name became
Economic Co-operation Organization (ECO).

 Relations with Germany: In 1963 Germany asked for loan from Pakistan. Pakistan also sent technicians and labor to
work in Germany.

 Indo-Pak War: In September 1965, India imposed war on Pakistan which was fought for 17 days. Both countries
fought major war and tanks, planes and heavy machinery was used. Later in January 1966, Tashkent Declaration was
signed by Lal Bahadur Shastri and General Ayub Kahn headed by Russian Premier Kosygin in which both countries
promised for not starting the war again and gave aback other each other’s confiscated areas. This became a big blow
to Ayub domestically as Bhutto, Ayub’s Foreign Minister resigned in reaction.

 Bi-Cameral Policy: Pakistan wanted military support at the time of 1965 War however the United States imposed
trade embargo at that time which annoyed Ayub. Later he announced that Pakistan will follow a Bi-Cameral Policy in
which it would find other military partners and keep good relations with China and USSR.
 PROBLEMS FACED BY AYUB KHAN IN HIS RULE:

 His land Tenure Policy was not welcomed by the major landlords and their lands were confiscated and were handed
over to the small farmers.
 His Family Planning Progamme faced challenges as many of the reforms were called unreligious by Ulemas.
 The three-year degree programme was not accepted by the students. His too much spending on eduaction also did
not bring a healthy change in literacy rate.
 The defeat of Miss Fatima Jinnah in 1964-65 elections brought problems for Ayub as people blamed him for doing
rigging in the results.
 Throughout his time, East Bengalis retaliated. Sheikh Mujeeb-ur Rehman gave his famous Six Points in 1966 which
gave political tough time to Ayub. Ayub made Mujeeb and other opponents arrested but the problems were not
solved.
 Bhutto resigned from Ayub’s government after the Tashkent declaration which was a big blow to his government.
 Ayub celebrated the DECADE OF PROGRESS from 27th October 1967 to 27th October 1968 to highlight the major
reforms of his time. Millions were spent on advertisements of TV and newspapers throughout the year. However, it
did not serve the purpose and Ayub faced questions on why so much was spent on the celebration.

RESIGNATION OF AYUB:

On 17th March 1969, Ayub Khan declared Second Martial law as the political situation in East Pakistan was getting
out of control. On 25th March 1969, Ayub Khan resigned and gave all power to General Agha Mohammad Yahya
Khan as the Second CMLA.