Course: Political and Constitutional Development in

Pakistan-I (4667)

Semester: Autumn, 2022 (4th semester)

Level: M.Sc.Pakistan study

Roll No. :20PMN02950

Submitted by : Sadia Zafar

Submitted to :Ramzan Pervez

ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY, ISLAMABAD

 ASSIGNMENT No. 1

Q.1 Critically analyze the circumstances that created the language problem in
Pakistan. How this problem was tackled? Discuss in detail?

ANSWER:

The Language Problem in Pakistan And How It Was Created and

What Was Done to Fix It:

In 1947, the British began to leave India, creating two new

countries in the process: Pakistan and India. The new nation of
Pakistan was supposed to be Islamic, with Arabic being the official
language of the country (though Urdu was also established as an
official language). At that time, about half of Pakistan’s citizens
spoke Bengali rather than Urdu or Arabic, but India had the largest
concentration of Bengalis in the world and claimed them as their
own.

The language issue has been one of the most contentious

issues in the political, legal and constitutional history of Pakistan
since its inception. Particularly Bengalis and Sindhis have been
very conscious, sensitive and proud about their languages. And
they have enough reasons to be so as, according to noted linguist
and historian Dr Tariq Rahman, when Urdu and Hindi were being
promoted under the state patronage in the Indian subcontinent, the
two languages that faced the onslaught successfully were Bengali
and Sindhi.

The Circumstances That Led to the Language Problem in

Pakistan:

Pakistan is a country that has three major languages. Urdu,

Punjabi and Sindhi are the most spoken dialects of the country. The
problem with these three languages is that they are mutually
unintelligible, which means they can't be understood by each other.
However, Urdu is the sole official language of the country. This led
to an issue where people from different regions were unable to
communicate with each other due to linguistic differences. In order
to fix this problem, one suggestion was to declare English as the
national language of Pakistan. English could then have served as a
common medium for communication among various parts of
society.

There is no denying the fact that it was the language issue in East Bengal
that ultimately led to the breakup of Pakistan. Recently demands for the
recognition and promotion of Punjabi language have started becoming vociferous.

So it is time the all - important issue of language is addressed with due care
and importance and the status of different languages be recognized in accordance
with historical facts and universal standards.

The perception of Urdu being the national language and 'others' being regional
languages needs to be changed. One may ask as which nation Urdu is the national
language of? If the answer is Pakistani nation, then another important question
comes to the mind what happened to the idea of 'Muslim nation'? If this is the
country of Muslim nation, then Arabic, not Urdu, should be the national language.
So it makes things very complex. The simple and factual position is that Pakistan is
not a nation but a multi - national country consisting of Sindhi, Baloch, Pakhtoon,
Punjabi and Seraiki nations. Hence the languages of these constituent units/nations
(using the terminology of 1940 resolution) should be recognized as the national
languages while Urdu may be considered as the lingua franca.

As far as Sindhi is concerned, many Sindhis feel offended when their language is
called a' regional language'. Isn't it an irony that in India Sindhi is recognized as
one of the national languages but in Pakistan, for whose creation the Sindh
Assembly passed the resolution, it is relegated to the status of 'regional language'
or 'other language'?

On the question of Romanizing Sindhi, I agree with Mr. Nizamani's view that
Sindhi should continue to be written in Arabic script. But at the same time I would
suggest that we should not close the doors for a healthy debate and the windows
for new ideas.

However I vehemently disagree with Mr. Nizamani's that religion happens to be

the lasting force behind the development of a language. Can anyone say that
Bengalis are the Muslims of lesser degree despite the fact that their language is not
written in the Arabic script?

Similar is the case with the Sindhi language. No one can say that the role of those
Sindhis belonging to Hindu religion in the progress and promotion of Sindhi
language is, in any case, inferior to that of any other Sindhi? In fact without the
services of scholars like Dr Gurbakhshani and bherumalmehrchandadvani, the
Sindhi language would not have been what it is today.

The Bengali language movement was a political movement in former East

Bengal (renamed East Pakistan in 1952) advocating the recognition of the Bengali
language as an official language of the then-Dominion of Pakistan in order to allow
its use in government affairs, the continuation of its use as a medium of education,
its use in media, currency and stamps, and to maintain its writing in the Bengali
script.

When the Dominion of Pakistan was formed after the separation of the Indian
subcontinent in 1947 when the British left, it was composed of various ethnic and
linguistic groups, with the geographically non-contiguous East Bengal province
having a mainly Bengali population. In 1948, the Government of the Dominion of
Pakistan ordained as part of Islamization and Arabization of East Pakistan or East
Bengal that Urdu will be the sole national language, alternately Bengali writing
in Arabic script or Roman script (Romanization) or Arabic as the state language of
the whole of Pakistan was also proposed, [4][5][6][7][3] sparking extensive protests
among the Bengali-speaking majority of East Bengal. Facing rising sectarian
tensions and mass discontent with the new law, the government outlawed public
meetings and rallies. The students of the University of Dhaka and other political
activists defied the law and organized a protest on 21 February 1952. The
movement reached its climax when police killed student demonstrators on that day.
The deaths provoked widespread civil unrest. After years of conflict, the central
government relented and granted official status to the Bengali language in 1956.

The Language Movement catalyzed the assertion of Bengali national identity in

East Bengal and later East Pakistan, and became a forerunner to Bengali nationalist
movements, including the 6-Point Movement and subsequently the Bangladesh
Liberation War and the Bengali Language Implementation Act, 1987. In
Bangladesh, 21 February (Ekushey February) is observed as Language Movement
Day, a national holiday. The Shaheed Minar monument was constructed near
Dhaka Medical College in memory of the movement and its victims. In
1999, UNESCO declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day, in
tribute to the Language Movement and the ethno-linguistic rights of people around
the world.
How the Problem Was Tackled:
When Pakistan was created as a separate country, the new
government passed a law that made Urdu the national language.
The issue with this is that many of the people who live there speak
different languages including Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi, etc.
In order to promote unity in the new country and encourage these
people to learn Urdu, which is what most of them don't speak
fluently or at all - schools started teaching it as a second language.
This has been working out well so far but it still remains an issue
for many families because they would rather have their children
study another language that they are more comfortable with. In
addition to this problem, English is often used as a common
language between different groups due to its widespread use. Even
though Pakistani schoolchildren must take classes in English for
several years, many cannot communicate very well and struggle
even with simple conversations or understanding signs and other
written information. To try to fix this issue and make things easier
on everyone involved, people have tried creating translations into
each region's native tongue using either Roman script (for Sindh) or
Arabic script (for Balochistan). So far none of these efforts seem to
be doing much good though and the problem seems like it will never
really be solved fully until Urdu becomes more prevalent
throughout the entire country instead of just being taught in
classrooms by necessity.
The Outcome:
Pakistan is a country with over 100 million speakers of Urdu,
making it the fourth most spoken language in the world. However,
according to one survey, less than 2% of Pakistanis speak English
fluently. This problem was created by a number of factors including
the legacy of British colonialism and partitioning of India. To fix this
problem, there have been grassroots efforts such as education
reform programs aimed at teaching English to students and giving
them incentives like scholarships for completing courses or being
placed on waiting lists for university admissions.

Q.2 Define the process of formation of first constituent assembly of Pakistan

and analyze the functions of this assembly during 1947-1954?

ANSWER:

Formation of the First Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and

its Functions, 1947-1954

Inside the shadow of India’s partition, Pakistan came into existence

on August 14, 1947, as the first Muslim state carved out of the
British Raj. The new country was immediately embroiled in political
turmoil following the assassination of its first Prime Minister,
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and the murder of its Governor-General,
Louis Mountbatten. The first Constituent Assembly (CA), elected in
December 1946, proved to be both unstable and ineffective. This
article will discuss the formation of Pakistan’s first CA and its
functions during 1947-1954.
The First Constituent Assembly of Pakistan came into existence under the
Indian Independence Act 1947, at the time of independence. Its roots went back
to 1946 when elections for the constituent assembly of United India were held to
decide the destiny of the All India Muslim League. The first meeting of the
constituent assembly of united India was held on 19 th December 1946, but Muslim
League boycotted it since they demanded a separate constituent assembly for
Pakistan. With the acceptance of the 3 rd June plan, a separate constituent assembly
was formulated for Pakistan.

The inaugural session of the first constituent assembly of Pakistan was held in
Karachi in August 1947. Mr. J.N. Mandal was elected as temporary chairman of
the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. Subsequently, Jinnah was elected as the
president of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, on 11 th August 1947 and
Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan as its Deputy President. The Constituent Assembly of
Pakistan functioned from 1947 to 1954 and involved two major parties—the
Muslim League representing all Muslims except for a few and The Congress Party
representing the twelve million Hindus in Pakistan.

There were 69 members in the constituent assembly; this number was increased to
79 later to give representation to princely states and refugees. The mode of
elections was based on separate electorates. There was a clear majority of Muslim
League in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, with 60 members out of the total
79. The second major party was Pakistan National Congress with 11 members; and
the third party was the Azad Group with 3 members, a number which later
decreased to 1. The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was not able to work
properly because its seats remained empty and some members migrated to India.
Members of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan were simultaneously allowed to
take seats of Provincial assembly or they can be Chief Ministers or members of
Central or Provincial Cabinet.

Under the Indian Independence Act Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was given
two tasks – to prepare a Constitution and to act as the federal legislature. The
functions of the central legislature under the Government of India Act 1935 were
granted to the Constituent Assembly. As a constitution-making body, it was
completely independent. The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan could amend the
independence act by a simple majority and pass laws; moreover, no law could be
made without its approval. Every bill that was passed needed to be signed by the
President of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.
Though there was no opposition in the Constituent Assembly there were groups
that were critical of the League. On the left was Iftikharuddin a former
congressman and a communist. On right were the religious critics like Maulana
Shabir Ahmad Osmani.

The first constituent assembly set up several committees to carry out its tasks.
Most important of these was the Basic Principles Committee; it was assigned the
task to report per the Objectives Resolution on the main principles by which the
constitution of Pakistan was to be framed. Basic Principles Committee set up three
sub-committees and a special committee named Talimaat-i-Islamia which
consisted of scholars to advise on the religious matters arising out of Objectives
Resolution. Basic Principles Committee submitted its interim report in September
1950 and the final report in December 1952.

Another important committee of the Constituent Assembly was on the

‘Fundamental Rights of the Citizens of Pakistan’ and on ‘Matters Relating to
Minorities’. It divided itself into two sections, one dealing with fundamental rights
and the other with matters relating to minorities. The interim report of this
committee was adopted by Constituent Assembly in 1950 and the final report in
1954.

Other committees of the constituent assembly were the State Negotiating

Committee, which dealt with the question of representation of princely states, and
the Tribal Areas Negotiating Committee, dealing with matters related to tribal
areas.

The progress of the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan can be summed up as

follows:

 12 March 1949 – Objectives Resolution passed by the Constituent Assembly

on aims and objectives of the future constitution. This report was well
received by the citizens of Pakistan.
 7 September 1950 – the interim report of the Basic Principles Committee
was presented to the constituent assembly. This step however marked the
beginning of the decline in the popularity of the Constituent Assembly of
Pakistan. This report was criticized mainly by East Pakistan.
 6 October 1950 – interim report of the Committee on Fundamental Rights of
the Citizens of Pakistan matters relating to Minorities was adopted by
 Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. This report got a comparatively better
response.
 22 December 1952 – the final report of the Basic Principles Committee was
presented. This report was also criticized, because of opposition in Punjab.
 7 October 1953 – Constitutional impasse was over and formation of the
federal legislature was resolved by the ‘Muhammad Ali Formula’. This
report was widely welcomed and helped the Constituent Assembly regain
popularity.
 21 September 1954 – the Basic Principles Committees’ revised Report was
approved by the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.
The final sketch of the constitution was prepared and the Constituent Assembly
was near to the completion of its purpose. But at this point, the Constituent
Assembly was suspended by Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad, on
24th October 1954. He stated that the Constituent Assembly had lost the confidence
of the people; this ruined the efforts of the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan
which had been working towards formulating a viable constitution for seven years.

Q.3 Discuss the reasons of unification of West Pakistan. How this unification
was approved from different Provincial Assemblies? Explain in detail?

ANSWER:

Unifying West Pakistan: The Provincial Assemblies' Approval The

West Pakistan was established on 2 November 1955 as one of two
successor states to British India, and included the present-day
nation of Pakistan as well as the current countries of Bangladesh,
India, and Burma. The reasons of unifying West Pakistan were
following; firstly, the paramount aim in British policy was to
maintain peace by creating in India a strong, central government
that could control its own territory effectively. Secondly, the
geographical distance between East and West Pakistan resulted in
different local problems and economic conditions, which needed
more flexible solutions than a uniform system of government could
offer.
Introduction;

In 1971, East Pakistan was declared as Bangladesh due to the

pressure of Bengali nationalists. This resulted in the unification of
West Pakistan, which was made up of four provinces: Punjab,
Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In order to unify
these provinces into one state, it required approval from each
provincial assembly. It is important to note that two different
political parties were running these assemblies (the leftist party and
the right-wing conservative party). This meant that there would be a
lot of debate around this issue.

Reasons for Unification West Pakistan was unified on April 20th,

1970. This unification was approved by the provincial assemblies of
East and West Pakistan.

West Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who won an

outright majority in the National Assembly of Pakistan on December
7th, 1971, set up a committee to decide whether or not to accept
India's offer for a negotiated settlement. On December 10th 1971,
he convened a meeting with opposition leaders and prominent
members of civil society at his residence to discuss their response
to this offer.

The meeting resulted in the unanimous rejection of any

negotiations until Indian troops withdrew from East Bengal (now
Bangladesh). Bhutto confirmed the decision through an
announcement broadcast on radio and television on December
11th, 1971. He also announced the formation of a Government
Council consisting of military personnel to manage day-to-day
affairs pending elections scheduled for early 1972. The Committee
presented its report to President Yahya Khan on January 4th, 1972.
It recommended that talks be held without preconditions while
emphasizing that India should withdraw first. Following this
recommendation and after the formation of new governments in
both countries, talks were held between the delegations headed by
Indira Gandhi and Bhutto which led to an agreement over Kashmiri
self-determination (the Simla Agreement) but failed to produce
results over Bangladeshi independence.

The process took place after a five-member Cabinet Committee had

been formed in March 1967 comprising two representatives each
from East Pakistan and West Pakistan as well as one independent
member.

Approval from Provincial Assemblies

The Unification of West Pakistan was approved by the Provincial

Assembly in Lahore, Sindh, and NWFP. These three provinces were
officially merged with East Pakistan to form the country we know
today as Pakistan. To approve this unification, a majority vote was
needed by all four provincial assemblies. Punjab voted unanimously
for the unification while NWFP and Sindh voted in favour of it but
refused to accept it immediately. Eventually, after much
deliberation, they agreed to unify with East Pakistan on September
17th, 1947. They did not want to cause any unnecessary tension
between two countries so they gave into an inevitable decision made
by Governor General Jinnah. After getting approval from different
Provinces of Pakistan, the creation of country is now complete. It
has a national flag, constitution and army.

The history of our land has been split into various phases before
Independence day; British Raj and then freedom struggle by Indian
National Congress (INC). We are all aware that INC eventually lost
their power due to Mahatma Gandhi's death which led way for
Pakistani independence movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
He tried his best effort through Direct Action Day to protect India
from complete separation but failed eventually in front of 300
thousand people who attended his speech on 16 August 1946 at
Liaquat Bagh at Rawalpindi. The unity talks started since first days
of statehood. In a meeting chaired by him, it was decided that East
Bengal will be separated from Pakistan. He continued fighting for
Hindus’ rights even after they've left India to come here just like he
fought against religious restrictions in 1937 when Muslims
demanded imposition of Sharia law on Indian Muslims.
Unfortunately he lost this battle too and consequently the partition
had taken place along the line between Bengali-speaking areas to
create Bangladesh - its own new country. After the formation of
Pakistan and until 1953, more than 3 million refugees migrated to
Pakistan from both India and Afghanistan. It was considered a
migration out of fear because scared by the consequences of
political decisions. There are many reasons why this unification
should happen. One reason is that if you don't do it yourself, others
would do it for you or vice versa! Like 'If you don't stop me I'll stop
myself!'

Conclusion

The Unification of West Pakistan was approved by the different

Provincial Assembly. East and West Pakistan were two areas of
British India, which were given independence after the partition in
1947. In 1971, East and West Pakistan were united as a single
nation. In order to unify the country, a vote was taken in both the
Eastern and Western assemblies. Both assemblies approved the
unification by a majority vote but it was not unanimous. Opposition
parties had reservations about some details in the constitution, so
they voted against. These opposition parties include National Awami
Party (NAP), Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (JUI) and Jamaat-e-Islami
Pakistan (JIP). There are many reasons for unification of West
Pakistan; this includes more efficient administrative procedures
and strengthening of national security among other factors. The
people agreed with the process because they wanted a national
identity that was common to all citizens and elimination of language
barriers between East and West Pakistan. Moreover, there were
threats from foreign countries such as India on account of alleged
atrocities committed during the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Even after eight years of existence, Pakistan was without a

constitution. The main reason was believed to be the fact that there
were two unequal wings of Pakistan separated from each other by
more than a thousand miles. To diminish the differences between
the two regions, the Government of Pakistan decided that all the
four provinces and states of West Pakistan should be merged into
one unit.

To this end, Prime Minister Muhammad Ali made the first official
announcement on November 22, 1954, enumerating the benefits of
having one unit or province. On September 30, 1955, the Assembly
passed the bill merging 310,000 square miles into a single province,
with Lahore as its provincial capital. West Pakistan had formerly
comprised three Governor’s provinces, one Chief Commissioner’s
province, a number of states that had acceded to Pakistan, and the
tribal areas. Geographically, they formed a homogenous block with
easy communication, but with marked linguistic and ethnic
distinctions. The result of the new bill was to unify these various
units into one province to be known as West Pakistan.

The Bill was hailed as a measure of administrative rationalization

as it was likely to reduce the administrative expenditure. It was
claimed that one unit of West Pakistan would eliminate the curse of
provincial prejudices. The problem of representation of various
units in the proposed Federal Legislature had been a big hurdle in
the way of making a Constitution and it was said that with the
removal of this hurdle, the formation of the Constitution would now
speed up.

Dr. Khan Sahib was appointed as the first Chief Minister of the One
Unit, while Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani was appointed as the first
Governor of West Pakistan. Dr. Khan Sahib’s Ministry, however,
came to an end when the President himself took over the
administration. Subsequently, SardarAbdur Rashid and Muzzaffar
Ali Qazilbash were appointed Chief Ministers of that province in
succession.

While the One Unit scheme in West Pakistan could be supported on

various grounds, the method of its establishment was not free from
criticism. The government wanted to introduce the One Unit
Scheme by an executive decree, which it could not do. So the
Central Government dismissed the Ministry in Punjab, Sindh and
N. W. F. P. One Unit continued until General Yahya Khan dissolved
it on July 1, 1970.

This follows 44 Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q)

ministers of the provincial assembly (MPAs) seeking
separate seats in the Punjab Assembly in a meeting with  the
assembly’s speaker earlier last week.

The breakaway group of the PML-Q sides with the treasury in

the assembly and has sought the speaker’s approval to sit on
separate seats.

The group, which claims to have over 40 members on

board, has chosen Tahir Ali Javed, a former provincial health
minister as their leader.

The move came after the ruling PML-N felt the need to
strengthen the treasury in case the coalition PPP partners
decide to quit the government.

Political observers feel that if this group decides to side with

the treasury, a prolonged legal battle on who really represents
PML-Q may ensue.

Q.4 What were the reasons of collapse of the Parliamentary

system in Pakistan during the 1956-1958? Whether this
collapse created the way for military rule. Discuss in detail?

ANSWER:
Reasons of Parliamentary System in Pakistan to Collapse in
1956-1958 abd Collapse Create a Path to Military Rule:

In 1956, the parliamentary system in Pakistan collapsed; but why

did this happen and how did it create the path to military rule?
While there are many factors to consider, the failure of the political
parties at the time to agree upon on fundamental issues, as well as
certain decisions of President Iskandar Mirza created this path.

Introduction
In 1956, President Iskandar Mirza declared martial law and
dismissed Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Bogra. The reason for
this dismissal was that President Mirza had appointed
Muhammad Ali Bogra as Prime Minister just six months ago
and felt he had been extremely inefficient . In 1958, Prime
Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy lost control of his
government to President Ayub Khan after he failed to get
enough votes for his budget. He also called on President Mirza
to use his constitutional power as Commander-in-Chief to
declare emergency rule. It is unclear whether there were any
political reasons behind his plea or it was simply an act of
desperation . At this point, however, President Mirza had grown
weary of Pakistani politics and did not respond to Mr.
The Causes of the Collapse of the Parliamentary System
The parliamentary system of government began to collapse when
President Iskander Mirza issued a decree on October 27, 1958,
that all future governments should rule by Presidential Decree
for five years and dissolved the Constituent Assembly. The
dissolution of Parliament led many members of Parliament to
resign their seats and some elected Prime Ministers including
Liaquat Ali Khan refused to take office. With no Parliament or
Prime Ministers at the helm, President Mirza appointed General
Ayub Khan as Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army on
October 27, 1958. Now with General Ayub Khan leading
military forces, he became increasingly powerful over time and
eventually imposed martial law against President Mirza himself
 which led him into exile in London. So while there was no way
to predict what would happen next after the fall of the Pakistani
parliament, it did not create a path towards military rule. What
created a path to military rule was President Mirza's own
decision to appoint General Ayub Khan as Commander-in-Chief
of the army. From then on, every prime minister appointed by
President Mirza also had to agree with General Ayub Khan's
decisions because they were afraid of retaliation from his
growing power in Pakistan. Eventually, General Ayub Khan
overthrew President Mirza in 1961 which meant that he was
now running Pakistan by himself. He kept this position until
1969 when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto became president through an
election. Even though Bhutto never resigned from his position
and ruled democratically, General Yahya Khan took control of
the country during an election campaign due to political
instability in 1971 but this only made Bhutto more popular
than ever before among the people. After being arrested for
years due to his socialist policies, Bhutto reemerged as
president again through another election campaign just before
military dictator Zia ul Haq took control of the country after
staging a coup d'etat in 1977.
The Impact of the Collapse on Pakistani Politics
The collapse of the parliamentary system in Pakistan during 1956-
1958 had significant impacts on Pakistani politics. The first
impact was that it created an opening for military rule, as noted
by Ayub Khan’s takeover of power in 1958. The second impact
was that it resulted in a series of unstable governments, which
tended to be overthrown by military or non-military coups.
Lastly, the collapse caused political instability and economic
stagnation. For instance, there were five different heads of
government between 1958-1968, with each government lasting
about 2 years. These short spells meant that no politician was
able to make any major decisions for the country. Also, this
governmental instability led to people being very uncertain
about their future; many left Pakistan because they could not
find jobs and knew that another coup would likely happen
 soon. In conclusion, the collapse of the Parliamentary system in
Pakistan during 1956-1958 led to political instability and
economic stagnation due to its effects on four key areas: the
creation of an opening for military rule; unstable governments;
uncertainty among citizens over their future; and poor
government decisions (such as spending time discussing trivial
matters). The impact of not having a stable Parliament really
became evident in 1960 when Ayub Khan took control of
Pakistan. As mentioned before, he had staged a coup that
overthrew President Iskander Mirza. Ayub was able to gain
control so easily because many influential members of
Parliament supported him. Consequently, it is fair to say that if
there was some form or parliamentary system at work at that
time, it would have been much more difficult for Ayub to stage
his coup successfully. The Pakistani public voted heavily
against having another military takeover after Zia ul Haq’s
dictatorship ended, yet still chose Benazir Bhutto who won two
terms through unfair elections held by her party’s ‘godfather’
Nawaz Sharif.
Conclusion
The collapse of the parliamentary system created an opening for
military rule. The failure of democracy was due to both external
and internal factors. There were too many ethnic, religious, and
class divisions that made it difficult for one party or group to
gain a majority. The feudal system of land ownership made it
difficult for people from different classes to get involved in
politics because they had limited rights and freedoms. Finally,
economic problems, such as inflation and unemployment also
played a role in weakening the democratic government. For
example, Muslim League workers led violent demonstrations
against increased food prices and austerity measures imposed
by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Pakistan in 1958.
Such conditions made it possible for Ayub Khan to take control
of the country. The transfer of power happened in 1958 when
General Ayub Khan overthrew President Iskander Mirza with
the help of Brigadier Yahya. Both politicians had served under
 British Raj during World War II and saw its benefits during
their campaigns. They hoped to replicate them in Pakistan but
instead, started martial law and prevented civil liberties in order
to maintain stability. Martial law allowed General Ayub Khan to
take over all branches of government, although he promised
democracy at first. When the general lost popularity among the
public for corruption charges, he declared martial law again
after holding elections which eventually resulted in his
downfall.

Q.5 Critically analyze the causes of the delay of constitution

making process in Pakistan during 1947-1956?

ANSWER:

Reasons Pakistan's Constitution-Making Process Was Delayed

from 1947-1956 One of the most significant steps in the creation
of Pakistan was the writing and ratification of its constitution.
Unfortunately, it took thirteen years after independence to complete
this process, which seems like an unusually long time to the
historians today because it has set such a negative example. In fact,
it has never happened before or after in any other country, so what
were the reasons behind this delay? Let’s find out by critically
analysing the causes of the delay in constitution making process
from 1947 to 1956 in Pakistan as discussed by Hasan-Askari Rizvi
and Mohammad Waseem Zaman.

British partitioned India into two independent states of

Pakistan and India on 14-15th August 1947 in light of the Indian
Independence Act 1947. The act provided the new states would
adopt the Government of India Act, 1935 as an interim
constitution until they framed their own.
India managed to frame and promulgate its own constitution in
1950, within three years of the independence. On the contrary, it
took nine long years for Pakistan to adopt and enforce its
constitution. 
The main factors responsible for this long delay in the constitution-
making of Pakistan were as follows:
Immediate problems 
With its establishment, Pakistan had to face more pressing issues
that required immediate redressal. The immediate problems
included an influx of refugees, canal water dispute, Kashmir war,
India’s denial in giving Pakistan’s share of financial and military
assets, etc. 
1. Refugee problem
With Partition, millions of Muslim refugees flooded into Pakistan to
escape the ruthless persecution and massacre in different parts of
India. Their accommodation, shelter, clothing, food, medication had
to be ensured before long-term measures were taken for their
permanent settlement.
2. Canal water dispute
On April 1, 1948, India blocked river water coming from Kashmir
through Indian territory. This act of India put the very survival of
Pakistan in Jeopardy as it would damage the agriculture of
Pakistan. 
3. India’s denial to give Pakistan’s share of financial and
military assets. 
When Pakistan came into being, it had a crippled economy and
vulnerable security. To make things even worse, India did not give
an agreed share of Pakistan’s military and financial assets.  These
and similar other immediate problems left little time and energy to
work on framing a new constitution for Pakistan.
Issues other than Immediate problems 

Death of Quaid e Azam

The death of Quaid –i-Azam was one of the reasons for the delay in
the constitution-making. Quaid had given an outline for the
country’s future constitution while addressing the first constituent
assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947. But he died on
September 11, 1948, before he could give a constitution to his
people.
Had he lived longer, he would have resolved the constitutional
dilemma by using his leadership and non-controversial status.

Disagreement over Parity of Representation

The first move towards the constitution-making of Pakistan was the

passage of the Objectives Resolution by the Constituent Assembly
on 12 March 1949. After it passed the resolution, the assembly
delegated the task of drawing basic principles to a committee called
the Basic Principles Committee,  in light of the set objectives for
future constitution-making.

The Basic Principles Committee presented its first Report on

September 28, 1950, which recommended parity of representation
in the central Assembly. The proposal of this principle of parity at
the center created controversy as the assembly members from East
Pakistan opposed it.  They were of the view that their representation
should be more as they were a majority (56% of the total
population) in the new state. 

In contrast to what East Pakistan representatives felt, the West

Pakistani politicians did not want a dominant East Pakistan in the
central Assembly. Consequently, no agreement was reached and the
constitution-making process was delayed.
Language issue

Another proposal the Basic Principles Committee had incorporated

in its report was to declare Urdu the national language of Pakistan.
Urdu as the national language was also opposed by East Pakistani
members of the assembly. They demanded to make Bengali the
national language since it was the language of the majority of
people. Thus, language controversy along with the issue of
representation at the center caused a type of deadlock in
constitution-making in the country.

Political Rivalry and Corruption

After the sad demise of the Quaid, Muslim League fell victim to
intrigue and disunity. Intense internal strife and selfishness
brought about disintegration in the party. Party fell into the hands
of opportunists who resorted to undemocratic ways and means,
indulging in political mischief and intrigue. Consequently, little
attention was paid to constitution-making.

Increasing Influence of West Pakistan dominated Bureaucracy

and military

With the death of Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, bureaucrats

made inroads to the power corridors. A bureaucrat, Ghulam
Muhammad was made the Governor-General who did not hesitate
to dismiss elected prime ministers, the constituent assembly thus
also paving the path for retired and in-service military personnel in
the politics. He made Sikandar Mirza, a retired General as
Governor-General, appointed Ayub Khan, the Commandant in Chief
of the Armed forces as defense minister.
West Pakistani politicians, bureaucrats, and generals did not want
to give East Pakistan their due political and democratic rights.
Hence, any proposals made concerning the co3nstitution seemed to
go against the wishes and expectations of East Pakistan creating a
tussle in the constituent assembly.

Thanks