Measures taken by Ayub khan

On october 7, 1958 president Iskendar Mirza revoked the constitution system and declared martial law in
the country. This was the first time in Pakistan history. The constitution of 1956 was abrogated,
assemblies were dissolved and all political activities were banned. General Muhammad Ayub Khan, the
commander of armed forces become the chief martial law administrator and latter on declared himself
president of Pakistan. Ayub Khan took several measures for the constitutional development.
● Rehabilitation of peace: In the absence of an effective government law system was falling in the
entire country. Therefore the first priority of the military government was to check criminal
activities. Special military cells were established in order to deal with any critical situation.
● Price control: The next step the military government took was management of price control cells
and bodies In Democratic government, there was no check over price control. The government of
Ayub printed a price list and made sure that no one could earn excessive profit by exploiting the
needs of the consumer.
● Check on smuggling: Smuggling was one of the monstrous issues that resisted the growth of the
country's economy .Chittagong and Karachi Seaports had been used for smuggling since long. As
soon as the military government took over, strict disciplinary actions were initiated against the
smugglers; crack downs were planned to seize the people involved in such activities.
● Settlement of the properties: Since the independence of the country, the issues of the abandoned
properties could not be resolved. However, the issue has been resolved within a year after
military take over.
● Rehabilitation of migrants: When India was divided a large number of people were migrated
from India to Pakistan. Quaid and liaqat took necessary measures for their rehabilitation, later on
these rules weren't considered important enough. As soon as the military government was
established, they settled the majority of migrants in a very short time.

Reforms taken by Ayub khan

The new military government promised that they would carry out reforms in the entire government
system and clean the corruption from the country. A thorough screening process of all government
servants were conducted and service records were closely scrutinized.
● Disciplinary actions such as dismissal or compulsory retirement of the public servants could take
place against corrupt officials. A public servant could also be disqualified from holding any
public office for 15 years.
● About 3000 officials were dismissed and many others were hired as a result of these measures.
● Ayub khan focused on land reforms in west Pakistan.
● Landlord commission was set in 1958.
● He adopted an energetic approach towards economic development.
● His period is credited with the green revolution and economic and industrial growth.
● Tax concessions were offered for investment in less developed areas.
● The export bonus voucher scheme and tax incentives stimulated new industrial entrepreneurs and
exporters. Bonus vouchers facilitated access to foreign exchange and import for industrial
machinery and raw materials.
● He also introduced many reforms in the field of education. It meant to raise literacy levels and
train manpower in Pakistan. Technical education and civil defense training was mandatory.
● He also introduced labour reforms. He showed interest in betterment of the labour force and made
it mandatory for factory owners to recognise elected union councils and to consider its opinion in
all issues.
These were the reforms ayub khan took for constitutional and political development.
 Elections 1965

•Ayub Khan took over the politics of Pakistan in 1958.

•Ayub Khan promoted a new presidential constitution in 1962.
•The vote was done amongst the 80,000 “basic democrats.”
•Ayub Khan, won the elections and further ruled the country in coming years.
•There were two major parties contesting the election: the Convention Muslim League and the Combined
Opposition Parties.
•The Combined Opposition Parties consisted of five opposition parties.
•It had a nine-point program, which included restoration of direct elections, democratization of the 1962
Constitution, and adult franchise.
•Ayub Khan was nominated by the Convention Muslim League party while the Combined Opposition
Parties nominated Miss Fatima Jinnah.
•She did not participate in any political activity after independence.
•She sympathized with the opposition party and contested the elections.
•There were four candidates; Ayub Khan, Miss Fatima Jinnah and the rest two persons had no party
affiliation in the 1965 elections. •The campaigning period lasted for a month. •The public was not allowed
to attend the projection meetings as it would have influenced Miss Fatima Jinnah’s image.
•In 1964, Ayub seemed to be confident in his popularity and saw deep divisions within the political
opposition, He called for Presidential elections.
• The joint opposition agreed on supporting the respected and popular Fatima Jinnah, the sister of the
founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
•Miss Fatima Jinnah had an advantage over Ayub Khan and other candidates.
•Miss Jinnah’s greatest advantage was that she was the sister of the Founder of Pakistan. •She had
detached herself from politics after the Founder passed away.
•She moved towards the streets of big cities and in the rural areas.
•She declared Ayub Khan as a dictator.
•She created tremendous public enthusiasm, she also drew enormous crowds in all cities of East and West
Pakistan.
•Ayub Khan had a great advantage over the rest of the candidates.
•The Second Amendment of the Constitution had confirmed him as President till the election of his
successor.
•He had complete control over all governmental machinery during elections. •Business and bureaucracy
helped him with his election campaign.
•Being a political opportunist, he brought all the discontented elements together to support him.
•Students were assured the revision of the University Ordinance and journalists the scrutiny of the Press
Laws.
•Miss Fatima Jinnah lost the election of 1965 and Ayub Khan was elected as the President of Pakistan.
•On the indirect ballot, Ayub Khan had defeated Fatima Jinnah by taking 64% of the vote.
•It is widely held that the elections were performed in favour of Ayub Khan using the state patronage.

Democratic Action Committee

•Ayub Khan after winning the elections in 1965, enforced many policies to stabilize the country and
legitimize himself.
•The policies of Ayub were criticised by a large number of urban populations.
•Ayub’s long lasting rule created resentment in the people. Political parties started to turn against him and
criticise him.
•With the undaunted efforts of Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, a combined opposition front was launched
against Ayub Khan. It is popularly known as Democratic Action Committee.
• It worked significantly in the downfall of Ayub Khan and restoration of democracy.
•On 30th April 1967, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan succeeded in creating a five-party alliance for
opposition which was called ‘Pakistan Democratic Movement’ but later renamed as ‘Pakistan Democratic
Action Committee’.
• It played a huge role in the removal of Ayub Khan.
•He founded his own party with the help of four other parties in 1969. It was called ‘Pakistan Jamhuri
Party’ and became its Vice President. In October 1968,
•The government sponsored a celebration called the Decade of Development.
• In East Pakistan, dissatisfaction of people with the system went on a whole new level. •In January 1969,
several opposition parties formed the Democratic Action Committee with the declared aim of restoring
democracy through a mass movement.
•The army moved into Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Dhaka, and Khulna to restore order.
•In February, Ayub Khan released political prisoners, invited the Democratic Action Committee and
others to meet him in Rawalpindi.
•He was in a weak position and he had lost the support of the generals On March 25, 1969, martial law
again took place.
•Ayub Khan announced his resignation and Yahya Khan assumed the presidency.
•Yahya Khan soon promised elections on the basis of adult franchise to the National Assembly, which
would make up a new constitution.
•He also entered into discussions with leaders of mainstream political parties.
•The new coalition demanded the lifting of the state of emergency and the cancelling of the criminal law
amendment which had been appealed to arrest Mujib for participation in the same conspiracy.
•Mawdudi’s efforts to recreate interest in the Islamic constitution came to an end. The Jama‘at’s political
agenda ended.
• In August 1968, Mawdudi became ill and was advised to leave Pakistan for medical treatment in
England.
•During his months of departure, Jama‘at’s affairs were controlled by Mian Tufayl. Mawdudi’s absence
reduced both the Jama‘at’s prominence in the Democratic Action Committee.
• Mian Tufayl did not provide new strategies, the People’s Party was unable to control the IJT, which
soon became a force in itself, drawing the Jama‘at into the quagmire of East Pakistani politics.
•Mawdudi returned before the Round Table Conference between Ayub Khan and the Democratic Action
Committee, which convened in March 1969 to reform the constitution with a view to accommodating the
Awami League’s demands for autonomy. •Mawdudi’s address to the conference was totally removed
from the Pakistani politics. •He blamed the government for the crises.
• It was the only policy that could keep Pakistan united.

Causes and Downfall-of-Ayub-Khan-(1969)

The Martial law regime was successful but in the long term failed to solve the problems. In
spite of all the positive steps and development marking General Ayub’s Era, the graph of his popularity
began declining. The immediate cause was the elections of 1965 and the Tashkent Declaration.
Following are the major causes of the downfall of Ayub’s regime
 1. Presidential System
● People wanted a parliamentary form of government, but General Ayub. presented the
nation with second constitution in 1962 which was presidential in nature
2. Economic Instability
● After coming into power Muhammad Ayub Khan resolved to make Pakistan
economicallydeveloped. But he failed to stabilize Pakistan’s economy on sound
footings.The number of educated jobless people was increasing day-by-day, prices of
essential commodities raised to such an extent that in 1968 there occurred a serious
shortage of sugar and drinking water in Karachi. Ayub’s economic activities did not bring
any change and revolution in the socio-economic position of the common man. Hence the
people frustrated slowly
3. Political Reason
● The Tashkent Agreement after the 1965 war was not welcomed by the people because it
provided withdrawal retreat of the troops to their respective pre-war positions. That is
why Z.A.Bhutto declared that what Pakistan had gained in the battlefield was lost on the
diplomatic table.The core issue of the war was the Kashmir dispute but it was not
mentioned in the Tashkent Declaration. Hence no advancement was made for the solution
of this problem in the post.
● Tashkent Agreement period, which created disappointment not only among masses but
also in the army.
● The whole of West Pakistan was made in one unit, with which the small provinces were
not happy.
● One more aspect which Ayub neglected from the beginning caused a major upheaval in
his popularity graph was the case of East Pakistan.
4. Press and Publication Ordinance
● Ayub khan had issued Press and Publication Ordinance in order to revise the existing
laws pertaining to the proprietorship editorship of newspapers etc. But this ordinance
severely affected the freedom of the press as it was used to propagate the idea of the
Government and to defame the Opposition parties. People and the political parties were
deadly opposed to this ordinance, which brought the press under tight grip.
5. Ayub’s University Ordinance
● Under the University Ordinance of Ayub’s regime, Bachelor degree courses were
extended from 2 to 3 years and a method of monthly exam was introduced. The results of
monthly tests were to be considered while determining the annual final results etc. These
measures were rejected by the students and universities staff. Students of East-Pakistan
formed a Students Action Committee to stress him to carry out their 11 Points
programme. The movement gained further momentum when on 20th January 1969 a
student leader was killed by police firing in Decca.March 1969.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK ORDER

In 1969, after becoming the Chief Martial Law Administrator Yahya Khan announced that he would
make it possible that free and fair elections will be conducted in Pakistan and a new constitution will be
made soon. For that, in March 1970 he introduced a Legal Framework Order which determined
principles for the future constitution of Pakistan. It also dissolved the One-Unit scheme on 1st July 1970.
The features of the LFO 1970 are mentioned as under:
 1. The National Assembly of Pakistan will consist of 313 seats with 13 seats reserved for women.
Out of 313, 169 seats were to be for East Pakistan, 85 for Punjab, 28 for Sindh, 19 for NWFP,
5 for Balochistan and 7 seats were allotted to the tribal areas.
2. Each province will have a provincial assembly consisting of elected members. East Pakistan
provincial assembly will have 400 members, Punjab 186, Sindh 62, Balochistan 21 and NWFP
42.
3. The elections for National Assembly will be held on 5 October 1970 and for provincial
assemblies not later than 22 October.
4. The new constitution of Pakistan will follow these principles:

A. Pakistan will be a Federal Republic and will be known as Islamic Republic of Pakistan
B. The head of the Pakistan state would be a Muslim and the divinity of Islam will be preserved.
C. The principles of democracy will prevail by holding free elections for federal and provincial
legislatures on the basis of adult franchise. Independent judiciary will be made possible along with
fundamental rights for the citizens.
D. All provinces will be given maximum autonomy while the centre will also remain strong.
E. The citizens of the country will be able to participate actively in the affairs of the state and the
state will try to eliminate economic disparities in the society.
F. The constitution of the country will make it possible for the Muslims of Pakistan to live their
lives according to the teachings of Islam. The minorities will be free to follow their own faiths and
will be able to enjoy the benefits of citizenship along with their fellow Pakistanis.
G. The LFO clarified the status of national and provincial assemblies. It stated that the National
Assembly would either be the only legislature provided that the federal legislature consisting of one
house or it would be the lower house if the federation has two houses. Its tenure would be for the full
term in both cases. The same went for provincial assemblies.
H. Within 120 days of the first meeting of the National Assembly, it would form a constitution
bill and if it fails to do so, it will dissolve.

5: After the elections of the National Assembly, provisions will be made to arrange its meetings.

6: The LFO set broad outlines, structures, conditions and qualifications. Any contesting political
party failing to qualify these conditions would not be able to participate in the elections.

SIX-POINTS FORMULA
Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman was the founder of Bangladesh.He played a major role in Pakistan politics as
a prominent leader of the Awami League in East Pakistan.He presented a Six-Point formula in 1966, in
collaboration with his party and demanded the Pakistan government to accept them and to implement
them the way they were.It was demanded by the Awami League that the new constitution should be based
on the Six-Points. Sheikh Mujib and his party showed extreme rigidity when asked to amend a few
points.Though at times he committed that he would compromise, especially before the elections of 1970,
but after every commitment he backed out and stuck to his Six-Points formula.The Awami League, was
so emotional about it that all its members swore an oath to die trying to implement the Six-Point Program.
And it was due to that very formula that, when not accepted by the central government of Pakistan, the
Awami League declared the independence of Bengal.

The Six-Points formula is mentioned here under :

1. There would be a federal parliamentary system based on direct adult franchise and representation
of provinces would be on the basis of population in the federal legislature.
2. The federal government will be restricted only to foreign affairs, defense and currency. And even
regarding foreign affairs, the dealings of economic matters would rest with the provinces.
3. There would either be two different currencies for the two wings or a single one with separate
Federal Reserve systems for each wing.
4. The power of implementation and collection of taxes would lie with the provinces.
5. The federal government will be given enough shares to fulfill its tasks of foreign affairs and
defense.There would be separate accounts of foreign exchange earnings for each wing.
6. East Pakistan would be given the authority to have a militia or paramilitary force solely under its
provincial government.