Pakistan

//** Pakistan 1945-1990 A Time of Political Chaos and Perpetual War **//

[|Qaumi Tarana (Pakistan National Anthem)]

Historical Background
In 1947 Pakistan gained its independence from England as provided by the [|India independence act](primary source) which divided the land between the dominions of the new nations India and Pakistan. Immediately upon gaining independence Pakistan was faced with many problems, first the government had to establish the role that Islam would have within the country. If the government decided to follow strict Islamic [|Sharia Law] non muslims would be treated as second class citizens. However if the government adopted a more westernized form of government there would be more freedom and equality for everyone. Another problem was the huge number of immigrants now displaced as a result of the creation of the two new countries. The mass migration of people between India and Pakistan resulted in violence that put strain on the new governments capability to govern their territory. By 1951 nearly half of Pakistan's population within major cities were immigrants. People immigrated as a result of ethnic differences mainly hindu's fleeing to India and Muslims fleeing to Pakistan although many of both ethnic groups would remain in both nations. Tensions between India and Pakistan began almost immediately following their independence as both nations competed over the many independent states that where giving the choice to join either Pakistan or India(//Legislature//). It was this tension caused by the competition to secure more land that resulted in the first Indo-Pakistani war in 1947. Pakistan also had difficult relations with Afghanistan who was the only nation who voted against Pakistan's allowance to join the UN(//Asia Society//).(//ljbssnet//)



Notable Leaders



 * Liaquat Ali Khan(1947-1951):** First prime minister of Pakistan, like Jinnah he is considered a founding father of modern day Pakistan. Liaquat was assassinated by a radical muslim; because Liaquat was against war with India. He was a great politician and is called the Quaid-i-Millet which means Leader of the country(//Bangabhaban//).
 * [|Benazir Bhutto]:** First female prime minister of a Muslim nation, she helped overthrow Zia who executed her father former president and prime minister of Pakistan. Was one of the youngest chief executives in the world at the age of 35. Two years into her term she was removed from office by the new president. In response she led an anti corruption campaign.(//achievments//)


 * [|Mohammed Ali Jinnah](1947-1948):** First Leader of Pakistan, believed Muslims and Hindus could live together but soon began to believe that the only way to protect Indian muslims was to create a seperate new nation. He is considered one of the founding fathers of Pakistan and is called by Pakistanis Quaid-I Azam which means great Leader. he died of Tuberculosis in 1948.(//BBC//)
 * Iskander Mirza(1955-1958):** Last governor general of Pakistan and first President. He helped create the first constitution of Pakistan in 1956 which helped pave the way for a more democratic country. He gave the people of Pakistan more power and helped create reforms that improved the economy of Pakistan. Taken out of office by a military coup led by Ayub Khan who took the position of president.(//Country Studies//)


 * Ayub Khan(1958-1969):** Thought of himself as a reformer. He ended martial law and created the Basic democracies system which gave more power to the people of Pakistan at the regional level. The Basic democracies system was outlined in the 1962 constitution, the constitution helped build up Pakistan's infrastructure and better enforce the countries laws.(//Country Studies//)


 * Yahya Khan(1969-1971):** created a semi-military controlled country and a parliamentary democracy. He caused a separation in the country as many people did not support the changes. His actions caused the succession of East Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh. Resigned from office allowing Bhutto to take power, he left behind a terrible political situation and a military in complete disarray.(//Country Studies//)


 * Zulfikar Ali Bhutto(1971-1977):** Lifted martial law soon after taken office and instituted a new constitution. The constitution granted more power to the people and greatly increased the power the prime minster had within the government, it also gave the president broader executive powers. Bhutto had the capability to fix many of Pakistan's political problems but because of his repressive actions made against political opponents; the people feared Bhutto may be creating a one party system. In response the military staged a coup to unseat him from power. Because of the unrest Bhutto resigned becoming prime minster. Once again the military controlled the government.(//Country Studies//)


 * Muhammed Zia Ul Haq(1977-1988):** suspended constitution making himself the uncontested leader. In 1979 he executed Bhutto his greatest political adversary claiming he was conspiring against the government. When it came time for elections that may unseat him from power he instituted martial law. Zia also pressed the importance of an Islamic state and instituted Sharia law. He gave himself more power; the ability to choose the prime minister and take them out of office and the ability to get rid of the national assembly(parliament).(//Country Studies//)

__**Major Historical Events 1945-1990**__

 * Founding of Pakistan**- In 1947 Pakistan was established as a free independent nation. The British could no longer keep control of their empire because of the violent unrest forcing them to give up their territories. Because of their abruptness and lack of thoughtful considerations of the many problems that would arrive they hastily divided the land into India and Pakistan and created numerous independent states that were given the choice to join either nation. As a result of the actions of the British the groundwork was laid for the creation of a increasingly hostile region with many ethnic differences. Theses differences would be the main cause for the conflicts between India and Pakistan that would take place during this time.


 * First Indo-Pakistani War**- In Kashmir as a result of the British creation of numerous independent countries that had the choice to join Pakistan or India the two nations grew increasingly hostile. In one region Kashmir the tensions turned violent as both nations believed the region belonged to them. Since the region is 70% Muslim Pakistan claimed it belonged to them while India believed that since the leader of the region was Hindu it should be part of India. The Pakistanis demanded a vote while the Indians insisted a vote was not necessary as the land belonged to them. News of violence against Muslims in the region began to circulate resulting in a militant Islamic group entering the region to protect Muslims. As a result of this action India sent their own military into the region to push out the militants. Pakistan saw this as an invasion and in response sent their military to confront the Indian; this began the First Indo-Pakistani war. The war ended with neither country controlling Kashmir; instead it was divided with Pakistan controlling the north and west while India controlled the south and north east.


 * Second Indo-Pakistani War**- When Pakistan began infiltrating Indian occupied regions in Kashmir to instigate an insurgency within their territory; India responded with an invasion of Western Pakistan or what is now called Bangladesh. The war ended similar to the first Indo-Pakistani war although both sides claimed victory. This war saw the largest tank battles since World War 2.


 * Third Indo-Pakistani War**- Unlike the First and Second Indo-Pakistani war, which where fought over Kashmir. The third Indo-Pakistani war was fought completely within West Pakistan. As the movement for independence of West Pakistan began to grow more hostile, India intervened in the hostilities after millions of West Pakistanis fled to India. This military intervention into West Pakistan caused an aggressive pre-emptive Pakistani response. The third Indo-Pakistani war had the most casualties out of all the others. It was a disastrous defeat for the Pakistanis and caused the separation of West Pakistan into the creation of the independent nation of Bangladesh.

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 * Constitution of 1956**- The constitution was created by Prime Minister Chaudhry Muhammad Ali. It outlined how the new government would be run and the many laws that would have to be followed. It turned Pakistan into an Islamic Republic with the first president being Iskander Mirza. To be president you must be muslim and 40 years old or older. The constitution was more favorable to Islamic citizens as one of its main purposes was to create an Islamic state. The constitution would create a parliamentary form of government with a legislature and a national assembly. Gave president special executive rights allowing him to suspend the constitution in the event of an emergency. The constitution only remained in place until 1958 when martial law was instituted giving the president total control.


 * Constitution of 1962**- Ayub Khan created the 1962 constitution ending martial law. The new constitution brought many changes to the way the country would be run however it was still very similar to the 1956 constitution. The new constitution changed the country from a parliamentary system of government to a presidential form giving the president many more powers. In response there were many protests throughout the country as people wanted a parliamentary form of government. This unrest led to the resignation of Ayub Khan and the reinstitution of martial law by Yahya Khan who became president following Ayub Khan’s resignation.


 * Constitution of 1973**- The constitution of 1973 changed a number of aspects of Pakistan's government. it greatly reduced the presidents power and gave much more power to the prime minister of Pakistan. The constitution also outlined the role of Islam in the government. Unfortunately by 1985 amendments were made, which gave the president back all of his authority and made the Prime minister virtually absolute. Within the 1973 constitution the Prime minister had to be consulted prior to the president making any serious changes to the government. This created more checks and balances making the government more stable.

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 * Establishment of Bangladesh**- The establishment of [|Bangladesh] was a long and bloody process. The conflict began when a political party that advocated for more autonomy for East Pakistan (Bangladesh) gained more power within the government. The efforts towards becoming more independent resulted in a violent crackdown against the East Pakistani’s it is estimated that up to 500,000 died in the Pakistanis genocide. In one atrocity innocent students and instructors at Dhaka university were executed by Pakistans army. This is only one of many examples of West Pakistani’s brutality during the violent crackdown against East Pakistan’s freedom fighters. After the violent crackdown, a civil war began called the Bangladesh independence war of 1971. When news of the atrocities reached India, they responded by intervening militarily in the country in response Pakistan launched full on pre-emptive invasion of India which began the third Indo-Pakistani war. Following this war Bangladesh became a free independent nation completely sovereign from West Pakistan.

__**Globalization**__
Ever since its founding in 1947 Pakistan has been greatly effected by globalization economically, politically, and militarily. When the British signed the partition agreement creating Pakistan and India they did not keep in mind important details that would have prevented many of the military confrontations between the two nations. India and Pakistan both had close economic ties since they had been under the dominion of British rule. These connections created many problems early on for both nations as they struggled to stabilize their economies. An example of this strong connection, West Pakistan had been shared economically between India and Pakistan since it always had a larger output of cotton then needed to provide for the populace it would cover India's deficit. Similarly Pakistan relied on India for coal and sugar because their country had plenty of it. These connections reflect a globalized economy in which all countries economies are linked in a complex web and to disrupt this web cause serious economic problems. [|Globalizations effect on Pakistan] is also seen in its poverty levels which are greatly influenced by the effects of a globalized economy. Statistics show that the further globalization of the worlds economy directly influences poverty rates in Pakistan and many other countries.(//Bzu//)