Initial Ministries of Pakistan

Ministry of Khwaja Nazimuddin 1948-51

Background: Death of Jinnah and Problems facing Pakistan:

1) Constitution had not yet been formulated

2) Refugee crisis

3) Indian troops were still stationed in Kashmir

Immediate Actions:

• The first task of Liaqat ali khan [1st Prime Minister] was to draft a new

constitution under 1947 Independence Act which was a modified version of the

1935 Act.

• Liaqat ali khan called the constituent Assembly and gave it the task of drafting a

new constitution.

• In 1949 a ‘basic principles committee’ was set up by the constituent assembly to

put forward clauses that needed to be included in the new constitution.

EEQ: Why was the ‘Basic Principles Committee’ formed? /7

L3/3- To propose clauses that could be amalgamated to form a new constitution. The BPC

included the discussions that were put forth by the constituent assembly. It modified the GOI

Act 1935 and the Independence Act 1947 to setup and draft a new constitution for Pakistan.

L3/5- By forming a committee and including participants from various political forces would

make it easy to unite different shades of opinions to gain unanimous support for constitution.

Pakistan was made up of different cultures and ethnicities therefore the BPC aimed at

drafting a constitution that would be acceptable by everyone

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 1

 Initial Ministries of Pakistan
L3/7- BPC will speed up process of constitution making and propose a final date for drafting

a constitution. Pakistan had been running without a constitution thus it was necessary that the

constitution should be drafted as soon as possible in order for the govt to run effectively.

Fact: BPC published its report in 1950 called the ‘Objective’s Resolution.’

PPQ: Why was the ‘Objective Resolution’ passed? (7)

L3/3- To form the basis of negotiation for a new constitution. The objectives resolution

aimed at highlighting all the different shades of opinion in order to ensure that the new

constitution would be unanimously accepted by everyone.

L3/5- To counter the criticism of Ullemas including Islamic Laws to make Pakistan an

Islamic State. Pakistan was created as a separate muslim homeland for the Muslims of British

India therefore the Ulemas wanted it to be an Islamic state. As a result, the objectives

resolution was passed to amalgamate the opinions of the ulemas in the new constitution.

L3/7- To avoid further political crisis by addressing the issue of delay in constitution making.

The Objectives resolution was passed to inform the people regarding the process of

constitution making, hence it aimed to control the increasing unrest that had resulted in

Pakistan due to the frequent delays in constitution making.

Positive Features of Objective Resolution:

1) An effort was made to combine all shades of political opinion

2) Declare Pakistan as an Islamic Republic counteracting criticism by Ullemas that

Pakistan has not yet been made an Islamic State with its own islamic constitution

3) Introduced democracy in Pakistan by declaring the federation to be a Two-house

Parliament

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 2

 Initial Ministries of Pakistan
Negative aspects of Objective Resolution:

EEQ: Why did Objective Resolution face mass criticism? (7)

1) Contained no reference to when the elections would be held, nor did it propose a

deadline for the drafting of a new constitution

2) Granted equal representation to both Eastern and Western wings of Pakistan in the

two-house parliament. East Pakistanis resented that they have a larger population, yet

they were only granted equal representation

3) Urdu was granted status of National language which was resented by the East

Pakistanis as all of them spoke Bengali whereas Urdu was totally alien to them

Events:

1) 1949: Liaqat-Nehru Pact was signed also known as Minorty’s Pact

2) 1950: PRODA Act was passed

3) 1951: Rawalpindi conspiracy was discovered by commander in chief General Ayub

Khan. Dougals Gracey was replaced by Ayub Khan as Commander in Chief.

4) 1951: Liaqat ali khan assassinated in Rawalpindi.

PRODA ACT: Public Representative Officers Disqualification Act

PPQ: What was PRODA? (4)

Introduced in 1950 by Liqat ali khan. PRODA was an act of removing representatives from

public office for a suitable period of time for people found judicially guilty of any

misconduct in any public office or representative capacity in any matter.

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 3

 Initial Ministries of Pakistan
EEQ: Why was PRODA introduced? (7)

L3/3- Introduced to punish those who misused government office in regard of their capacity.

Pakistan was a new country and that too without a constitution, therefore it was necessary to

launch PRODA to punish the people who were using their powers for their own benefit/gains.

L3/5- Introduced to eliminate corruption from Pakistan after a fair trial. PRODA aimed at

curbing down all the corrupt practices of the Public representatives. Thus, if held

accountable, the people would be punished therefore PRODA aimed to increase the power of

the state and remove corruption.

L3/7- PRODA had a political motive as well, it was meant as an excuse to remove those from

office who resisted or challenged authority of the government. As a result, it was used as a

tool by the state to exercise its powers.

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 4

 Initial Ministries of Pakistan
SECTION III- Ministries of Pakistan: Ministry of Ghulam

Mohammad (1951-54)

Introduction:

• After Liaqat ali khan’s assassination, former finance minister Ghulam Mohammad

convinced Khawaja Nazimuddin to become the Prime minister whilst he became the

third Governor General of Pakistan.

• After becoming the governor general Ghulam Mohammad now had a free hand in

running of the government of Pakistan and was determined to resolve the political

crisis.

Events:

In 1950 a six-year Economic planning board was set up that devised a system of economic

planning of Pakistan as a result a Jute Mill was established Narayn Ganj- East Pakistan.

Problems:

1. A severe drought hit West Pakistan resulting in massive food shortages; it was

only after USA agreed to supply million tonnes of wheat to resolve this food

crisis.

2. Rioting disrupted in major towns and cities by religious elements who were

protesting the role of Ahmedi’s such as Chaudhry Zaffarullah Khan’s role in the

government. Rioting and protests ended when General Azam Khan imposed

martial law in Karachi and Lahore.

3. Pakistan’s exports had decreased rapidly as the Jute was exported for the Korean

War which ended in 1955. This resulted in a decrease in demand for Pakistani

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 5

 Initial Ministries of Pakistan
fabrics in the international market, leading to a loss of funds to overcome food

shortages.

Constitution Making:

In 1953 Khawaja Nazimuddin presented a revised report of the Objectives Resolution.

Salient Features:

1. Recommended a Two-House Parliament called House of Units and House of People.

2. House of Units would contain nominated members from both wings of Pakistan

whilst House of People would contain 200 elected members from each wing.

3. Head of State would be a Muslim

4. Cabinet would be nominated from the National Assembly and would be responsible to

the National Assembly not to the Governor General himself.

5. Head of State could nominate a group of Islamic specialists who would advise

whether the laws are according to the Shariah or not.

6. Language of the state to be decided by the Assembly.

Constitution Crisis:

1. Objective resolution faced a lot of criticism especially on the issue of distribution of

seats between East and West Pakistan. Khawaja Nazimuddin stated that Objective

resolution would go under further discussions.

2. Ghulam Mohammed dismissed Khawaja Nazimuddin from the cabinet stating that his

government was unable to deal with the crisis facing the country.

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 6

 Initial Ministries of Pakistan
EEQ: Why was Khawaja Nazimuddin dismissed? (7)

L3/3- Khawaja Nazimuddin tried to limit the power of Governor General Ghulam

Mohammad who felt politically threatened with the fear of dismissal.

L3/5- Khawaja Nazimuddin enjoyed the confidence of the people. There was a risk that

Ghulam Mohammad might be blamed for the current crisis, thus before that could happen,

Governor General transferred the blame on the PM.

L3/7- Khawaja Nazimuddin was unable to form a constitution, resolve the issue of

distribution of seats or provide economic development to the country which became the basis

for his dismissal.

Events:

1. Khawaja Nazimuddin decided not to resist the decision as it would create further

political instability creating more problems for the future

2. Ghulam Mohammad appointed Mohammad ali Bogra as PM of Pakistan.

Remember- Previously Mohammad Ali Bogra served as the Ambassador to the USA

who engineered Pakistan’s membership in CENTO (Central Treaty

Organization)[Composed of Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and UK]

3. Mohammad Ali Bogra wanted to limit the powers of GG therefore in September

1954, when Ghulam Mohammad went on an official visit out of the country;

Mohammad Ali Bogra held a session of the constituent assembly which limited

powers of GG in just 15 minutes.

4. The amendments proposed by the National Assembly were:

- The PM and ministers from his cabinet must be from the National Assembly

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 7

 Initial Ministries of Pakistan
- PM and ministers must be responsible to the constituent Assembly and not to the

GG

- GG must act on the advice of his ministers

5. The assembly re appealed PRODA and mentioned that GG could remove those from

authority who misused public office.

6. Ghulam Mohammad was not a person who took opposition lightly, he waited for the

perfect opportunity, Mohammad Ali Bogra was out of the country when Ghulam

Mohammad dissolved the constituent assembly, dismissed the PM and his entire

cabinet.

7. Molvi Tameezuddin challenged the decision of the GG in the Sindh High Court that

ruled in the favor of the speaker of the Sindh Assembly declaring the dissolution as

illegal and undemocratic

8. Ghulam Mohammad retaliated by challenging the decision of the Sindh High Court in

the Supreme Court of Pakistan, which under the Chairmanship of Justice Munir ruled

that GG can dissolve the assembly if the situation demanded it.

9. Ghulam Mohammad appointed a new cabinet, promising fresh elections. Mohammad

Ali Bogra was reappointed as PM and the new cabinet had two non-assembly

members, Major General Iskander Mirza and COAS General Ayub Khan.

10. By 1954 Ghulam Mohammad had become severely ill, the cabinet he nominated

consisted of 2 army members out of whom Iskander Mirza convinced Ghulam

Mohammad to resign from the office and nominate him as the next GG.

EEQ: Why was Constituent Assembly dissolved in 1954? (7)

L3/3- GG stated that the assembly had lost the confidence of the people and was not

functioning properly as ML faced such criticism. According to Ghulam Muhammad, the

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 8

 Initial Ministries of Pakistan
people were dissatisfied due to the progress of the constituent assembly in solving the current

issues such as drafting of constitution and in controlling the internal violence in East & West

Pakistan. Hence on this excuse, he dissolved the constituent assembly.

L3/5- GG was afraid that his powers would soon be limited if Mohammad Ali Bogra stayed

as PM. Muhammad Ali Bogra tried to limit the powers of the governor general previously

and Ghulam Muhammad feared that such an event would take place again. Thus, he dissolved

the constituent assembly before such an event could take place

L3/7- Constituent assembly was dissolved as it could not draft a constitution. As a result, the

GG wanted to host fresh elections to reform an assembly capable of designing a constitution.

Lets Test your analytical skills now:

EEQ: Why was the inclusion of Army personnel by Ghulam Mohammad into the

cabinet not a good decision? (7)

L3/3- The government of Pakistan was now welcoming Martial Law as the COAS was part

of the cabinet

L3/5- Army personnel were not used to democratic principles nor they could accept the

denial of their authority.

L3/7- Ghulam Mohammad thwarted Jinnah’s vision about the role of Pakistan’s army which

was supposed to defend the borders and never to participate in policy making.

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 9

 Initial Ministries of Pakistan

MINISTRY OF ISKANDER MIRZA:

Introduction:

1. Iskander Mirza reappointed Mohammad Ali Bogra as the ambassador to USA

choosing a new PM named chaudhary Mohammad Ali.

2. He ordered the second constituent assembly to draft a new constitution which would

be in effect by 23rd March 1956.

Events:

Constitution of 1956
Positive Aspects:

1. Established a parliamentary form of government proposing election date as 1957

2. Satisfied the ulemas by granting them a role in the government through establishment

of an Islamic Committee.

3. Pakistan was declared to be a federation with a title ‘Islamic Republic of Pakistan’

now the GG would be known as the President. It seemed as Pakistan was moving

towards a democratic nation as the PM had the authority to select his own cabinet.

4. Included the demands of both ML and the United Front, United Front gave up

demand for equal autonomy to East Pakistan and proportionately of seats in return of

acceptance of Bengali as the national language.

Negative Aspects:

1. President had wide and sweeping powers, the power to pass or reject a law, even

reserving the power to dissolve the entire national assembly.

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 10

 Initial Ministries of Pakistan
2. In a democratic form of government, the assembly elects the PM. In 1956

constitution, president would select one of the members of National Assembly as the

PM.

3. A step towards forming a puppet government totally under the control of the

President.

4. Equal number of seats granted to East and West Pakistan even though the East

Pakistan had 10 Million people more than West.

5. Issue of separate electorates

Structure of Government:
Islamic Committee:

Advise PM legislation according to Shariah

President:

President must be of 40 years

President must be a Muslim

Can choose PM and dissolve Assembly

Prime Minister:

Must be a Muslim

Selects the cabinet from national and provincial assembly

National Assembly: (Uni- cameral structure or one house parliament)

300 seats evenly divided amongst East and West Pakistan

One unit scheme introduced at local level

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 11

 Initial Ministries of Pakistan
Q) What was One Unit Scheme? (4)

One unit scheme was introduced by President Major General Iskander Mirza. In 1956

abrogated the four provinces of West Pakistan and amalgamated them into one single unit. As

a result, now Pakistan had two wings, eastern and western wing of Pakistan.

EEQ: One Unit Policy was introduced to even out development projects. How far do

you agree? (14)

Marking Key:

L3- Development Projects

L4- Political Projects, Economic factors, Cultural and social factors, Administrative factors.

L3/5- One Unit Scheme was introduced to enhance development in East and West Pakistan.

East Pakistan had suffered from lack of economic growth previously as developmental

projects were carried out in West Pakistan. Therefore, one-unit scheme aimed at

concentrating set up of more Jute Mills in East Pakistan.

L3/6- Introduction of one-unit policy and the subsequent formation of two wings would allow

easy allocation of budgets, funds to proportionately develop both wings in terms of

expanding rail and road network.

L3/7- Previously West Pakistan had four provinces whilst East Pakistan was a single

province. More funds had to be generated for West Pakistan with more provinces neglecting

East Pakistan. As a result one unit policy will allow the development of backward areas of

East Pakistan placing it at priority.

L4/8- Contrary, one unit scheme was also introduced to end the curse of provincialism in

which a person shows loyalty towards his tribe rather than his nation.

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 12

 Initial Ministries of Pakistan
L4/9- To create a sense of unity, dignity and a sense of sacrifice amongst an individual

Pakistani, one unit scheme would socially finish the curse of provincial prejudices of being a

Bengali, Sindhi, Balochi, Punjabi or a Pashtun. As a result, one-unit policy would promote

the integrity of Pakistan.

L4/10- One unit policy would cut down administrative expenses. The president believed that

by unifying the provinces, the expenses that the central government has to bear of the

provincial assemblies could now be put to an alternative good use, such as channelizing it

into developmental projects.

L4/11- Constitution could now be easily implemented by granting both wings equal

representation it was made sure that politicians from West Pakistan who were predominately

landlords could not dominate Eastern Pakistan with a larger population.

L4/12- Trade and commerce would be easy to carry out, business activity could be boosted,

administration could be enhanced, and Pakistan would achieve a faster economic growth rate.

L4/13- One unit policy was predominately introduced to prevent East Pakistan from

dominating the Central government. West Pakistani politicians made a political move to

show that Pakistan has two equal wings equal in strength and representation.

PPQ: Why was One Unit Scheme unpopular? (7)

L3/5- One Unit Scheme unified the provinces creating two wings granting each of them equal

number of seats. This was seen as a move by East Pakistani politicians to reduce the number

of seats of East Pakistan by West Pakistani politicians.

L3/6- Small cultural identity in West Pakistan began to fear that Punjab with its agricultural

wealth and larger population would dominate the political scenario.

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 13

 Initial Ministries of Pakistan
L3/7- Small units of West Pakistan also resented the fact that their resources would be used to

develop other regions apart from their locality.

Constitutional Crisis:

1. Chaudhary Mohammad Ali did not want to remain as a puppet PM, therefore, in 1956

after severe flooding and food shortages resulted in East Pakistan, he resigned from

the government.

2. Hussain Shaheed Suherwardary was appointed as the next PM who was a politician

from East Pakistan and wanted Iskander Mirza to grant him greater rights and powers

in governance of Pakistan where Iskander Mirza refused to do so, Hussain Shaheed

Suherwardary showed him how a shrewd politician he was by challenging Iskander

Mirza to take a vote of confidence from the national assembly to weigh his popularity.

Mirza dared not to as he knew he would lose.

3. Hussain Shaheed Suharwardary was replaced by Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar who was

a renowned politician from Punjab. He was dismissed immediately and replaced by

Feroze Khan Noon who was a landlord from Punjab. Feroze Khan Noon nominated a

cabinet which was so large and disunited that they could not even agree upon one unit

scheme.

4. Elections were to be called in 1957 but Iskander Mirza dared not to as he knew he

would lose power. By 1958 he became very unpopular and found himself in an

extremely difficult position. Moreover, he was alarmed by the intention of

Suharwardary to unite the leadership of Punjab and Bengal against him. As a result he

now turned towards the army, using constant disagreement as an excuse he declared

Martial Law with himself as President and Ayub Khan as Chief Martial administrator.

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 14

 Initial Ministries of Pakistan
Issue of separate electorate:

Hindu politicians dominated local politics in East Pakistan. They wanted the government to

grant them separate electorates which would allow them to secure 70 seats out of 300 in the

national assembly. Iskander Mirza refused to grant them separate electorates.

EEQ: Why were governments of Iskander Mirza and Ghulam Muhammad termed as

‘Government’s by bureaucrats’? (7)

L3/5- Iskander Mirza and Ghulam Mohammad both held office in civil service before they

became Head of State, they were not politicians elected to the office.

L3/6- During their tenures both of them dismissed a number of PMs as they could not

negotiate over the aspect of power sharing.

L3/7- Ghulam Mohammad dissolved his constituent Assembly by 1954 whilst Iskander

Mirza dissolved the assembly by 1957 by not calling the elections as they feared they might

lose power.

Analysis on Initial Ministries

Question: How successful were the ministries in first decade after Pakistan’s
independence? Explain (14)

Intro: In the first decade after Independence, many of the ministries were
successful.
In the ministry of Khawaja Nazimuddin, Basic Principles Committee was setup in 1949. Basic
Principles Committee published its report in 1950 called Objectives Resolution. It declared
Pakistan as an Islamic Republic thereby counteracting the criticism from the ulemas. It also
introduced democracy in Pakistan and established two houses of parliament.

In 1953, during the reign of Ghulam Muhammad a review board/committee was formed
that overlooked the report of planning board and issued a further plan in 1956 of 5 years
span to help Pakistan’s economy. As a result a jute mill was established in Naryagang in East
Pakistan and Sui gas fields were discovered in West Pakistan.

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 15

 Initial Ministries of Pakistan
In 1956, the first constitution of Pakistan was drafted during the ministry of Iskander Mirza.
It was formed by a parliamentary form of government and satisfied the ulemas by granting
them a role in government through establishment of Islamic Committee. Thus, this
diminished the criticism from ulemas.

Constitution of 1956 drafted by Iskander Mirza accepted the demands of both Muslim
League and the united front. United front gave up the demand for greater representation
and proportionality of seats in return for acceptance of Bengali as the national language.
Therefore this was a successful attempt in resolving the political crisis faced by Pakistan.

One-Unit Scheme was introduced by President General Iskander Mirza in 1956. It was
introduced to even out development between East and West Pakistan. East Pakistan
suffered from economic underdevelopment as development projects were concentrated in
West Pakistan. Hence One-Unit Scheme was introduced to ensure development in East
Pakistan primarily eventually leading to gaining support of East Pakistanis.

On the contrary, the Objectives resolution passed by the Basic Principles Committee in 1950
during the ministry of Khawaja Nazimm uddin faced much criticism. Urdu was declared to be
the national language which was disliked by the East Pakistanis who spoke Bengali. Hence it
failed to gain support of the East Pakistanis.

The objectives resolution was passed in 1950 which granted equal representation to East
and West wings of Pakistan in both the houses. The East Pakistanis resented the fact that
though they had a larger population yet they were granted equal representation in the
assemblies. Therefore, the objectives resolution was unsuccessful and faced criticism.

During the reign of Ghulam Muhammad, the Constituent Assembly was not functioning
properly. It had lost the confidence of the people which was evident from the criticism
which Muslim League leaders faced from the public. The Constituent Assembly failed to
draft a constitution, a responsibility it was granted since 1947.

The first constitution drafted in the ministry of Iskander Mirza in 1956 mentioned that
president had wide sweeping powers including the right to dissolve the National Assembly.
Also that the president would choose Prime Minister. This was a step towards forming
puppet government totally under control of president. These presidential powers caused
hatred among the members of the national assembly.

Apart from some failures, the ministries in the first decade of Pakistan were successful. Jute
Mill was established and Sui fields were discovered. One-Unit scheme was also introduced
which ensured economic developments. Thus, these factors help boost the economy of
Pakistan.

Q: Why was Iskander Mirza unpopular by 1956?

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 16

 Initial Ministries of Pakistan
Answer: Hindu Politicians dominated local politics in East Pakistan. They now wanted the
government to grant them separate electorates in the elections which would enable them
to secure 70 seats in the assembly. The government denied to do so and as a result Iskander
Mirza became unpopular among the hindu Politicians who resented the denial.

One Unit scheme was introduced by Iskander Mirza in 1956. It unified the provinces creating
2 units and granted equality of seats to both wings. This was seen as a move to reduce the
number of seats in East Pakistan according to their population by West Pakistan politicians
which resulted in hatred among East Pakistani’s who had a larger population.

One Unit scheme introduced by Iskander Mirza became a cause of fear for many
communities in the country. The smaller cultural identities in West Pakistan began to fear
that Punjab with its agricultural wealth and larger population would dominate the political
scenario, whereas the other provinces would be out shadowed by its progress. Hence,
Iskander Mirza was heavily criticized for this decision, resulting in his unpopularity.

Q: Why was it difficult to agree to a new constitution till 1956?

Answer: Pakistan lacked effective leadership. All the leaders were inexperienced as ML did
not win any election before 1945 and unfortunately Jinnah and other good leaders died
without making a constitution. As a result new leaders were not able to govern the country
effectively and draft or agree upon a new constitution.

The governor general had wide sweeping powers. He had the power to dissolve the
constituent assembly, therefore if any law was passed against him, he dissolved the
constituent assembly and stopped the constitution from being drafted.

There were constant clashes between East and West wing of Pakistan in the assembly. Both
the wings could not agree upon any solution hence if any constitution was made it faced a
lot of criticism resulting in constitution being dismissed.

By Affan A. Siddiqi Page 17