Topic 20 Early Years 1948 1958-3
Topic 20 Early Years 1948 1958-3
Liaquat Ali Khan's contributions to the struggle for independence were numerous. After independence, he was thus the natural
choice for the premiership. Liaquat Ali Khan was appointed as the first Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Being the first Prime Minister of the country, Liaquat Ali Khan had to deal with several difficulties that Pakistan faced in its early
days. He helped Quaid-i-Azam in solving the riots and refugee problem and in setting up an effective administrative system for
the country. He established the groundwork for Pakistan's foreign policy. He also took steps towards the formulation of the
Constitution. He presented The Objectives Resolution, an introduction to future constitutions, in the Legislative Assembly. The
house passed it on March 12, 1949. Under his leadership, a team also drafted the first report of the Basic Principle Committee
and work began on the second report.
During his tenure, India and Pakistan agreed to resolve the dispute in Kashmir peacefully through the efforts of the United
Nations. According to this agreement a ceasefire was affected in Kashmir in January 1948. It was decided that a free and impartial
plebiscite would be held under the supervision of the UN.
After the death of Quaid-i-Azam, he tried to fill the vacuum created by the departure of the Father of the Nation. The problem of
religious minorities flared during late 1949 and early 1950, and it seemed as if India and Pakistan were about to fight their second
war in the first three years of their independence. At this critical moment in the history of South Asia, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali
Khan met Nehru to sign the Liaquat-Nehru Pact in 1950. The Liaquat-Nehru Pact was an effort on his part to improve relations
and reduce tension between India and Pakistan. In May 1951, he visited the United States and set the course of Pakistan's foreign
policy towards closer ties with the West. An important event during his premiership was the establishment of National Bank of
Pakistan in November 1949, and the installation of a paper currency mill in Karachi.
Liaquat Ali Khan was unfortunately assassinated on October 16, 1951. Security forces immediately shot the assassin, who was
later identified as Saad Akbar. The question of who was behind his murder is yet to be answered. The government officially gave
Liaquat Ali Khan the title of Shaheed-i-Millat.
On March 12, 1949, the Constituent Assembly adopted a resolution moved by Liaquat Ali Khan, the then Prime Minister of
Pakistan. It was called the Objectives Resolution. It proclaimed that the future constitution of Pakistan would not be modelled
on European pattern, but on the ideology and democratic faith of Islam.
2. The State shall exercise its powers and authority through the chosen representatives of the people.
3. The principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice, as enunciated by Islam, shall be fully observed.
4. Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in the individual and collective spheres by the teachings of Islam as set out in
the Holy Quran and Sunnah.
5. Adequate provision shall be made for the minorities to freely profess and practice their religions and develop their cultures.
The Objectives Resolution is one of the most important and illuminating documents in the constitutional history of Pakistan.
The importance of this document lies in the fact that it combines the good features of Western and Islamic democracy. It is a
happy blend of modernism and Islam.
• It was an act for the debarring of a government officer from public office for a suitable period of time if he is judicially
found guilty of misconduct in public office or any representative capacity in any matter.
• By this Act complaints could be made to the G.G or provincial Governors who could order an enquiry by judges.
• Anyone found guilty under PRODA was debarred from office.
• The law was designed to eliminate corruption.
Liaquat–Nehru Pact
The Liaquat–Nehru Pact or Delhi Pact was a bilateral treaty between India and Pakistan, whereby refugees were allowed to return unmolested
to dispose off their property, abducted women and looted property were to be returned, forced conversions were unrecognized, and minority
rights were confirmed. The treaty was signed in New Delhi by the Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru and the Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan on
April 8, 1950. The treaty was the outcome of six days of talks sought to guarantee the rights of minorities in both countries after the Partition of
India and to avoid another war between them. Minority commissions were set up in both countries. More than one million refugees mig rated
from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to West Bengal in Indias.
Rawalpindi conspiracy
The Rawalpindi Conspiracy (also known as the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case) was an attempted coup d'état against the government of Liaquat Ali
Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, in 1951. The conspiracy was the first of many subsequent coup attempts against elected governments
in the history of Pakistan. The coup was planned by Major-General Akbar Khan, a senior commander in the Pakistani army, in conjunction with
other military officers and left-wing Pakistani politicians
• In November 1954, M. Ali Bogra had proposed that the 4 provinces and 10 princely states within Pakistan should be
joined together to form West Pakistan.
• On 5th Oct 1955 Malik Ghulam Mohammad passed an order unifying all of West Pakistan in what became known as One
Unit Scheme.
• Written Constitution
• Rigid Constitution.
• Islamic Republic of Pakistan
• Objectives Resolution - The objective resolution was included as a preamble of the constitution.
• Federal System - The constitution provides for a federal system in the country. Powers were divided between the
centre and the provinces.
• Unicameral Legislature - The legislature would consist of a single house.
• Both the wings of the country were given representation in the National Assembly.
• Parliamentary System - a parliamentary system was adopted, according to it the president was the head of state and
the Prime Minister the head of government.
• The President - required to be a Muslim of at least forty years of age.
• The Prime Minister - He was to be the leader of the Parliamentary Group
• Provincial Autonomy - provided
• Islamic Law - no law would be passed against the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah.
• Free Judiciary - An independent judiciary in the country.
• Fundamental Rights - including freedom of movement, freedom of speech and expression, freedom to choose
profession and freedom to profess religion. Right to life, liberty, and property.
• Language - Urdu & Bengali
Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin (19 July 1894 – 22 October 1964) was a conservative Pakistani politician and statesman.
Born into the Dhaka Nawab Family, Nazimuddin was educated at M.A.O. College and later at the Trinity Hall, Cambridge.
After the establishment of Pakistan, he became the second Governor-General of Pakistan in 1948, following the death of
Muhammad Ali Jinnah. After the assassination of Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951, Nazimuddin assumed office as the
second Prime Minister of Pakistan. He made Objectives Resolution in 1949. It focussed on the principles of Islam and human
rights. It was criticised from religious leaders who wanted the new state to be more Islamic. He drafted a constitution, which
attracted much criticism as it was seen by many as being insufficiently Islamic. He kept the economy going and produced surplus
budgets for the new state. His government lasted only two years, but saw civil unrest and foreign challenges that led to their final
dismissal.
Malik Sir Ghulam Muhammad (20 April 1895 – 12 September 1956) was a Pakistani civil servant who served as the third
Governor-General of Pakistan from October 1951 until his dismissal in August 1955. He previously served as the country's first
Finance Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan.
Educated at Aligarh Muslim University, Ghulam Muhammad worked as a chartered accountant before joining the Indian Railway
Services as an auditor for India's Finance Ministry. He opted for Pakistan following independence, and was appointed the new
country's first Finance Minister. He drafted Five-Year Plans for the economy in 1948, but was unable to implement them due to
lack of staff and sufficient materials. He also organized the International Islamic Economic Conference held at Karachi from
November 26 to December 6, 1949, and called for forming a pan-Islamic economic bloc of the Muslim countries.
Appointed Governor-General by Prime Minister Khwaja Nazimuddin in 1951, he handled unsuccessfully with the Kashmir dispute
with India and unrest in East Pakistan. Following anti-Ahmadi riots in Lahore in 1953, he declared martial law in the city under
Lieutenant General Azam Khan. After the army controlled the riots, Ghulam Muhammad sacked Nazimuddin's government,
helping Muhammad Ali Bogra replace him as Prime Minister. When Bogra attempted to lessen the powers of the Governor-
General's office via parliament, Ghulam Muhammad dismissed the Constituent Assembly as well in 1954. Affected by paralysis,
he took a leave of illness in 1955, and was himself dismissed by acting Governor-General Iskander Mirza. He died in Lahore the
following year.
Iskander Ali Mirza, (13 November 1899 – 13 November 1969), was the first President of Pakistan, serving from 1956 to 1958.
Prior to that, Mirza was the last Governor-General of Pakistan from 1955 to 1956. A great grandson of Mir Jafar, Mirza was a
British Indian army officer, having reached the higher rank of major-general in Pakistani Military.
Problems with the Pakistan Armed Forces and the establishment escalated after relations with the United States deteriorated.
After only 20 days of martial law, Chief Martial Law Administrator General Ayub Khan forced him out of the presidency. He was
exiled to London. Iskander Mirza was buried in Iran.
Q. 2: why was it so difficult to agree on a new constitution in 1950? Nov. 2011 Q. 4 b 7 marks
Q.4: What was the ‘One Unit’ Scheme? June 2016 Q. 4 a 4 marks
Q.5: Why was there a constitutional crisis between 1954 and 1955? Oct 2016 Q. 5 b 7 marks
Q. 6: Which of the following contributed the most to Pakistan’s domestic policies between 1948 and 1958?
(i) Khwaja Nazimuddin
(ii) Malik Ghulam Muhammad
(iii) Iskander Mirza
Explain your answer with reference to all three of the above. June 2017 Q. 4 c 14marks
Q. 8: Explain why there were changes of government between 1951 and 1958. June 2021 Q. 5 B 7 marks
In 1955, Ghulam resigned as governor-general out of health concerns, and was replaced by Major General Syed Iskander Ali
Mirza. Mirza, feeling that Pakistan was not ready for true democracy, dismissed Bogra and the national assembly and replaced
him with a new Prime Minister, Chaudhry Muhammad Ali. One of Chaudhry’s major acts as Prime Minister was the Constitution
of 1956 was established, being the first Pakistani Constitution. The constitution set up a parliamentary government with the
Legislative Assembly replacing the Constituent Assembly and the position governor-general became president. This new
constitution solved the issue of unequal representation and gave equal seats to both East and West Pakistan in the Legislative
Assembly.
After a series of Prime Minister Power changes from 1956 to 1957, Malik FeroZ Khan Noon became the Prime Minister and was
able to stabilize the government and calm the political chaos. President Mirza, despite his fame, felt threatened and declared
martial law. Muhammad Ayub Khan became chief martial law administrator and the constitution of 1956 was suspended,
democratic assemblies dissolved, upcoming elections cancelled, and the Muslim League was disbanded. Mirza and Ayub Khan
had power disputes and in the end, Ayub Khan had Mirza arrested and named himself president.
Jinnah had died in 1948 and Khan Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated in 1951 and the country was struggling to establish itself
without these two figures. The problems of running a new country were very difficult to overcome and joint assets had not been
shared. There was a lack of stability which led to many different governments being formed during these years which eventually
led towards constitutional crisis. IN 1953 Nazimuddin’s government was dismissed and replaced with Bogra who lacked
experience. An example was in the passing of the amendment to Government of India Act in 1954 while Ghulam Muhammad
was abroad to limit his powers causing a crisis. When he returned he dissolved the Assembly and declared a state of emergency
stating that Bogra had lost the confidence of the people. This was challenged in court but Ghulam Muhammad prevailed, besides
that the One Unit Policy was also unpopular, causing unrest.
In addition to that there were divergent views on the future constitution of Pakistan in 1950. The Objectives Resolution of March
1949 was the first step towards constitution making. It was presented to the Basic Principles Committee in September 1950, but
majority opposed the proposals of the Committee. East Pakistan had greater population than West Pakistan and wanted seats
in the bicameral parliament according to the size of its population. West Pakistan insisted on equal seats for both wings. East
Pakistan also opposed Urdu as the only national language since Bengali was a developed language and there were no regional
languages in East Pakistan. Bengali was such a rich language that the famous Bengali poet, Rabindrahnath Tagore, became the
first Indian to receive the Nobel Prize in literature. There were riots against Urdu in East Pakistan till both Urdu and Bengali were
declared the national languages.
Many regional and religious politicians also opposed the proposals. For tire provincial parties powers of the President and the
central government had to be reduced in order to guarantee provincial autonomy. Religious parties wanted enforcement of the
Sharia’ (Islamic law) and considered the Resolution insufficiently Islamic. Finally, Liaqat Ali Khan had to withdraw the
constitutional proposals and Pakistan would have to wait another six years to have its own constitution.
All three had their achievements. Liaquat Ali Khan acted as PM first with Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Khawaja Nazam ud Din became 2n d Governor
General in September 1948 and Laiqat Ali Khan made some achievements. His major contribution was the passage of the Objectives Resolution
in March 1949. It was a constitutional draft that outlined the objectives and principles of the future constitution of Pakistan. It was reviewed by
the Basic Principles Committee in September 1950 and the revised draft recommended a bicameral legislature/parliament with both houses
having equal powers. Urdu was kept as the national language and the President was to be elected by the joint session of the parliament. However,
the religious parties declared it insufficiently Islamic. East Pakistan objected to equal share in the parliament as it had 10% more population than
West Pakistan. It also criticized Urdu being the only national language because Bengali was also a developed and only language spoken throughout
East Pakistan.
Liaquat Ali Khan managed to keep Pakistan's economy growing by presenting a surplus budget. Also, he implemented the PRODA (Public and
Representative Officers Disqualification Act) to curtail corruption in Pakistan. However, corruption will continue to bother future governments.
Liaqat Ali Khan was able to stop a coup of about 20 military officers who were unhappy over the presence and influence of British officers in the
Pakistan Army. In March 1951, in the famous Rawalpindi Conspiracy case, Major Akbar Khan and fourteen other officers were arrested, however,
in October 1951. Liaqat All Khan was killed in Rawalpindi while addressing a public rally.
Malik Ghulam Muhammad became the 3rd Governor General in Oct. 1951. He persuaded Khawaja Nazam ud Din to step down as Prime Minister
tempting him that he would enjoy more executive powers. Being an expert in financial affairs he introduced the scheme of 6 Year Plan. Its aim
was later changed into a 5 Year Plan. Its aim was to make economic planning regarding agriculture, industry, and power and transport sector. He
set up a Planning Board in 1953 to review various developments schemes. A major jute processing plant was set up in 1952 in East Pakistan as a
result of efforts for exploring oil and reserves, natural gas was discovered at Sui in Baluchistan in 1952.
In 1952-53 Pakistan had positive Balance of payment (BOP) due to a huge demand of cotton and jute in the wake of the Korean War that caused
large scale export of these commodities. During the same period, however, there was serious food shortage due to severe drought in East and
West Pakistan. This caused unrest and violence that was aggravated by an anti-Qadiani movement. Religious parties demanded removal of
Qadianis / Ahmadis from key posts including the foreign minister Sir Zafar Ullah Khan, Malik Ghulam Muhammad dismissed Khawaja Nazam ud
Din in April 1953 on his failure to control the crisis.Muhammad Ali Bogra, the new PM, worked on constitution making. He was ready to implement
the constitution in December 1954. A clause about restricting the powers of the Governor General was passed in just 15 minutes in the absence
of Malik Ghulam Muhammad. PRODA was also abolished as G.G could misuse it. When Malik Ghulam came to know about this he quickly acted
and dismissed Bogra's government and dissolved the Constituent Assembly in September 1954. The new Constituent Assembly was elected in
June 1955. In August 1955 M.G. Muhammad fell ill and Iskandar Mirza became the new Governor General.
Mizra, a retired military general, took bold steps. First, he dismissed Bogra and appointed Ch. Muhammad Ali as new P.M .Ch. M. Ali drafted
Pakistan's first Constitution which was implemented in March 1956. It introduced a federal, parliamentary form of government though the
President had powers to appoint and dismiss the P.M. Under the One Unit Scheme, East and West Pakistan had equal seats in the one-house
parliament, the National Assembly. However, the Constitution was abrogated in Oct. 1958 by Mirza himself. The One Unit Scheme, introduced in
Oct. 1955 was aimed at unity by merging all provinces of West Pakistan to make two provinces East and West Pakistan. It, however, was bitterly
opposed by E. Pakistan and the smaller provinces of W. Pakistan. Mirza also started some industrialization and development plans as well as rural
development schemes. Karachi airport was completed, railways were modernised and the telephone network was expanded. Steps were taken
for the provision of health and education.
Mirza failed to have good relations with his Prime Ministers and dismissed them at short intervals. Ch. M. Ali was replaced by Hussain Shaheed
Suharwardy in Sept. 1956. I.I. Chundrigar replaced Suharwardy in Oct. 1957 who himself was dismissed in Dec. 1957. Malik Feroze Khan Noon
was the last civilian P.M. under Mirza from Dec. 1957 to 7th October 1958. Finally, on 7th Oct. 1958, he declared Martial Law and appointed
General Ayub Khan as the CMLA (Chief Marital Law Administrator). In conclusion, Liaqat Ali Khan seems to be the most successful as he took
the first step towards the political and economic stability of Pakistan. The Objectives Resolution of March 1949 remains the preamble of the
1973 Constitution till today.