Political Development of Pakistan (1973-1985)

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto becomes Prime Minister [1973] 

After the promulgation of the 1973 Constitution, the elections for the President, Prime Minister, Chairman of Senate, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly was to be undertaken. The 1973 Constitution had adopted a federal parliamentary system for the country in which the President was only a figurehead and the real power lay with the Prime Minister. 
Z. A. Bhutto was sworn in as the Prime Minister of the country on August 14, 1973, after he had secured 108 votes in a house of 146 members. Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry was elected as the President under the new Constitution. 
During his period, six amendments were carried out in the 1973 Constitution

Amendments:

1.recognition of Bangladesh

2.Ahmadis declared as non-Muslims

3.rights of the detained were limited

4. the powers and jurisdiction of the courts for providing relief to political opponents      curtailed

5.power and jurisdiction of the Judiciary curtailed.

6. the term of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and the High Courts beyond the age of retirement extended.

Industrial reforms

1.Steel, chemical and cement industries nationalized

2.Banks were nationalized

3.Flour, cotton and rice mills all over the country were nationalized.

nationalization process was not as successful as Bhutto expected., nationalization caused colossal loss not only to the national treasury but also to the people of Pakistan. During his period as the Prime Minister, a number of land reforms were also introduced. The important land reforms included the reduction of land ceilings and introducing the security of tenancy to tenant farmers. The land ceiling was fixed to 150 acres of irrigated land and 300 acres of non-irrigated land. Another step that Bhutto took was to democratize Pakistan's Civil Service.

Fazal Ilahi becomes President [1973] 

Fazal Ilahi was a mere figurehead since all power and authority rested with the Prime Minister. He was allowed to continue as the President of Pakistan till 1978, although the army took over the reigns of power in July, 1977. He was relinquished from the office at his own request on September 16, 1978. 

General Elections 1977 

According to the original schedule, the second general elections in the history of Pakistan, and the first after the dismemberment of the country, were to be held in the second half of 1977. However, on January 7, 1977, Bhutto announced that the elections would be held earlier. On January 10, Justice Sajjad Ahmad Jan, Chief Election Commissioner, announced the election schedule and declared January 19 and 22 as the last date for receipt of nominations for National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies, respectively. Two hundred and fifty five Returning Officers were appointed for the National Assembly elections by the Election Commission. 
Immediately after the announcement, Bhutto started his election campaign. The first step he took was the allocation of tickets to his party men. Unlike the 1970 elections, when Pakistan Peoples Party mainly banked on socialistic slogans, this time Bhutto also relied on political heavyweights. A number of feudal lords and other influential persons were allocated party tickets. Bhutto himself held public meetings all over the country, and to get further support from the common man, he announced labor reforms on January 4, and a second set of land reforms on January 5. The attendance in the public meetings was amazing in all parts of the country, especially in interior Sindh and Punjab. The opposition blamed Bhutto for using Government machinery in running his election campaign. Bhutto was opposed by P.N.A strongly which was a hurdle for him.

P. N. A. managed to exploit anti-Bhutto sentiments among a huge section of masses and thus their election campaign received an unexpectedly positive response. Their claim, that their manifesto was Quran, also helped them in winning over a sizable number of voters from all over Pakistan. The attendance in P. N. A. public meetings and rallies was at times unexpected, even for the Alliance leadership itself. 

Results of elections.
Pakistan Peoples Party managed to win 155 out of 200 seats in the National Assembly. Pakistan National Alliance was only able to win 36 National Assembly seats, the Alliance could only win 8 out of 116 seats of the National Assembly from Punjab. Overall P. P. P. gained 99 percent seats.
the elections were said to be unfair and corrupted.

Ouster of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto 

P. N. A. leadership did not accept the results and accused the Government of systematic rigging. P. N. A. Executive Council decided to boycott the Provincial Assemblies' polls and demanded for immediate resignation of Bhutto, replacement of the Chief Election Commissioner, and fresh election of National Assembly seats under the supervision of Judiciary and the Army. 
When Bhutto refused to accept the demands of P. N. A., leadership of the Alliance decided to bring the people onto the streets, to break law deliberately, and to confront the police and the security forces. P. N. A. leaders called upon the people to stage countrywide strikes and organize protest marches. The followers fully responded to the call and a full-fledged political movement started. The business community wholeheartedly joined Alliance. P. N. A. used mosques to stimulate the masses and tried to create an impression that they were only working for the enforcement of Nizam-i-Mustafa. They criticized the socialistic attitude of Bhutto and alleged that he had lost his faith in Islam. The ulema whipped up emotions for a Jihad to save Islam, which they thought was in danger from an evil regime. The bar associations across the country also began to register their strong protest against the electoral fraud and denounced the post-election policy of repression. 
Initially Bhutto put a deaf ear to the demands of P. N. A. and debunked opposition's charges that his landslide victory was a result of rigging. He used police and F. S. F. against Alliance's activities and its top leadership was arrested and put behind the bars. Martial Law was enforced in three main cities of Karachi, Lahore and Hyderabad. Curfew was imposed in the rest of the big cities of the country and Army was called to maintain law and order. 
However, the intensity of the situation made Bhutto realize that it was not possible to suppress the movement by force. In the beginning of May, Bhutto changed his policy and started to explore the option of a dialog. Some P. N. A. leaders were released and brought to Sihala for negotiations in the first week of June. Bhutto showed his willingness to hold elections in November 1977, and offered five ministries to the P. N. A. candidates during the interim period. But P. N. A. team insisted on 50 percent representation in the Cabinet and demanded elections before August 14. Bhutto eventually accepted almost all the demands of P. N. A. and the stage was set for a compromise. Signing of the agreement was held in abeyance as he went abroad for a tour of Saudi Arabia, Libya, U. A. E., Kuwait and Iran. His tour was termed as dilatory tactics and again there seemed to be a deadlock. 
It was in these conditions that Chief of the Army Staff, General Zia-ul-Haq, imposed Martial Law in the country on July 5, 1977, and sent Bhutto behind the bars. General Zia said, "Had an agreement reached between the opposition and the Government, I would certainly never have done what I did". 

Martial Law under General Zia-ul-Haq [1977-1985] 

Elections were held on March 7, 1977. The Pakistan Peoples Party won these elections, but was accused by their opponents, Pakistan National Alliance, of rigging the elections. On March 14, 1977, the Alliance started a series of nationwide protests. Talks between the Alliance and Bhutto government were held in June 1977 and an agreement was reached, but it could not be implemented. 
Fresh elections were announced for October 15, 1977. But on July 5, 1977, the Chief of Army Staff, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, imposed Martial Law and the elections were postponed. General Zia-ul-Haq announced holding of elections within 90 days. 
A conference of political leaders was held in February 1978, but a year later, in 1979, General Zia-ul-Haq declared political parties to be defunct and certain political leaders were disqualified. 
Under General Zia's Martial Law, there was steady economic growth favoring the private sector, and efforts were made to Islamize the political, legal and economic structures. Pakistan gained the status of Most Favored Nation from the United States following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. Vast amounts of military equipment and aid were donated to Pakistan to help the four million Afghan refugees who crossed into Baluchistan and North West Frontier Province. 
On February 6, 1981, Movement for Restoration of Democracy was established to return democracy to Pakistan. A provisional Constitution was enforced on March 23, 1981, as the Constitution of 1973 had been suspended with the imposition of Martial Law. 
Finally, after the nomination of Muhammad Khan Junejo as Prime Minister of Pakistan on March 20, 1985, Junejo fulfilled his promise of lifting the Martial Law and the restoration of the fundamental rights, but at the price of enforcement of the Eighth Amendment and the validation of the Revival of the Constitutional Order. 

The Afghan war settlement:

After the September 11 tragedy of 2001, world attention again focused on Afghanistan as they considered it as training grounds of terrorists responsible for the tragedy. The Talibans were removed by power and a U. S. led coalition installed an interim government in Afghanistan, which till today keeps a fragile peace in the country. Meanwhile Pakistan continues to suffer numerous problems from the legacy of the Afghan War such as refugees, drugs, guns, crime, and terrorism.