Different reforms during the Ayub khan era are as under follows:

1. Reformation of family laws:

Family laws ordinance was implemented in 1961 on the recommendation of a
commission appointed in 1954 and West Pakistan conciliation ordinance (1962). The
ordinances provided that every marriage solemnized was to be registered with union
council on payment of tax, Nikah registrars were appointed. Nobody was allowed for
second marriage without reference to union council and his first wife. The permission for
second marriage was on genuine reasons like no issue, death of first wife etc. Similarly
an arbitration council was set up in case of divorce and if the council failed to reconcile
the couple the divorce was effective on the expiration of ninety days. Under family laws
the grandson was made eligible for property left by his grandfather.
1. Law reforms:
The martial law regime appointed law reforms commission in December, 1959 to suggest
that as to how justice may better and more speedily be done and to end to examine the
following:
 The hierarchy of the courts and their powers
 The making of judicial appointments
 The standard and contents of legal
 The structure and discipline of the legal profession
 The law of civil and criminal procedure and the law of evidence
 The Jirga and the Panchayats system and their extension to the suitable areas
 The cost of litigation, and any other relevant matter
 The government ten ordinances during 1962-63 to streamline the
administration of justice and similarly the government also appointed
company law commission in 1959 to re-enact the company existing
company law
 However the ideal of speedy justice was never realized
 Many ordinances were issued to reform labor laws in the country and to
improve production, equitable distribution of wealth, better working
conditions for labors
  Labor laws were reformed through the industrial dispute ordinance, 1959
which setup entirely new machinery for resolving industrial disputes.
Industrial courts were setup. The west Pakistan industrial and commercial
employment (standing orders) act 1960 and the east Pakistan industrial
and commercial employment act 1965 made labor conditions better.
2. Education reforms:
Education commission was appointed in December 1958 and was entrusted with the
following responsibilities.
 To develop among the people a sense of duty, patriotism, and national solidarity,
and to inculcate in among them the habits of industry, integrity and devotion to
service.
 To produce men of talent, character and ability for the development of the
country
 To obtain the diversion of students on aptitude and intelligence to appropriate
sectors like agriculture, technical field, and other vocational trainings
 To suggest the role of education in the community
 The military regime implemented most of the recommendations of the
commissions
 Bachelor degree was extended to three years and a system of monthly tests of 25
percent marks was introduced. But it was taken back on the agitation by the
Bengali students.
 Engineering and agriculture universities along with polytechnic institutions were
established
 Primary and secondary education was made compulsory in two phases, first from
class 1 to 5 and second from class 5 to 10 by 1970
 An aggressive scholarship program for poor but intelligent students was also
introduced
3. Economic Reforms:

In order to boost export, the government introduced bonus voucher scheme in January
1959. The voucher was issued on the export of finished goods. A person or organization
 was given a voucher on the remittance or earning of foreign exchange reserve, it was
equivalent to a fixed amount of earned foreign exchange reserves. This voucher could be
used for special imports and could also be sold in the open market. The scheme was
withdrawn by ZAB in May 1972.

4. Land Reforms:
As early as 1949 an agrarian reform committee was formed by the Punjab government
and it recommended that land holding shall not exceed from 150 and 500 irrigated and
non irrigated land respectively and all the jagirs shall be expropriated but these reforms
were not implemented.
In the Punjab and NWFP almost 50 percent and in Sindh 80 percent land was in
the possession of the commission of a few thousand land lords. The military government
appointed a land reform commission by 1958 and upon the recommendation of the
commission these steps were taken:
 No person would own or posses more than 500 acres of irrigated or 1000 acres of
non irrigated land and 150 acres could be retained as orchard. In any case, a
person could not own more than 36000 produce index units
 The land in excess would be resumed on the payment of compensation in the form
of interest bearing bonds redeemable in 25 years
 The resumed land would be offered to the existing tenants for sale on installments
and the land not purchased by them would be sold to others
 Occupancy tenants would become full owners
 All jagridaris were abolished without compensation
 A guarantee of security of tenure to the tenants

Out of 7.75 million acre land hold in access, nearly 2.40 million acre were resumed and
distributed among the tenants. It was pointed out that the land holding was on individual
basis not family base; therefore, the land lords saved their land by transferring it to their
family members as gifts.

5. Agriculture Reforms:
These reforms included modern methods of farming, the use of better seed, better credit
facilities, improved market facilities, and measures to check water logging and salinity.
The agriculture development corporation was setup in 1961 in both the wings of the
country to provide the farmers with technical knowledge. It was pointed out by the critics
that agrarian reforms intensified disparity between the two wings of the country, the
agrarian reforms were concentrated in the Punjab as 91.2 percent of the 75,700 tube wells
were located in Punjab, similarly out of 16,600 tractors in west Pakistan in 1968, 13800
were in Punjab.