TOPIC 26

Early years 1947 to 1956:

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 a number of 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, a prelude to future constitutions, in the Legislative Assembly. The house passed it on March 12,
1949. It is considered to be the "Magna Carta" in Pakistan's constitutional history. Liaquat Ali Khan called it
"the most important occasion in the life of this country, next in importance, only to the achievement of
independence". 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 of Kashmir in a peaceful manner 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.

KhawajaNazimuddin

After Pakistan came into being on August 14, 1947, Nazimuddinwas appointed the first Chief Minister of the
Province of East Bengal. When the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah died on
September 11, 1948, Nazimuddin was appointed as the second Governor General of Pakistan.

The movement for Tahaffuz-i-Khatam-i-Nabuwat and the worsening food condition in Punjab caused a lot
of trouble for KhawajaNazimuddin and this led to his dismissal on 17 April 1953.

After the dismissal of KhawajaNazimuddin, the Governor General Malik Ghulam Mohammadappointed
Muhammad Ali Bogra, from East Pakistan, as the Prime Minister.

Malik Ghulam Muhammad was forced to retire from the post of Governor General due to his failing health and
Major General IskanderMirza, the Minister of Interior, took over the office. Although the expulsion of
Ghulam Muhammad from power seemed necessary, yet his successor, IskanderMirza proved to be a greater
menace for the country.

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It was during the tenure of Muhammad Ali Bogra that Pakistan joined C. E. N. T. O. and S. E. A. T. O. Governor
General also dismissed Muhammad Ali Bogra on August 8, 1955.

Bogra’s constitutional proposal, known as the Bogra Formula, was presented before the Constituent
Assembly of Pakistan on October 7, 1953. The plan proposed for a Bicameral Legislature with equal
representation for all the five provinces of the country in the Upper House. A total of 50 seats were reserved
for the Upper House. The 300 seats for the Lower House were to be allocated to the provinces on the basis of
proportionate representation. One hundred and sixty five seats were reserved for East Pakistan, 75 for
Punjab, 19 for Sindh and Khairpur, 24 for N. W. F. P., tribal areas and the states located in N. W. F. P., and 17
for Baluchistan, Baluchistan States Union, Bhawalpur and Karachi.

Chaudhry Muhammad Ali was appointed as the new Prime Minister on August 11, 1955.But soon Chaudhry
Muhammad Ali had to resigne as a Prime Minister under unfavorable political circumstances on September 8,
1956,It was during his tenure that Chaudhry Muhammad Ali presented the 1956 Constitution and
IskanderMirza was elected the first President of Pakistan.

He was sworn-in as the first President under the 1956 Constitution. During his regime not only was the first
Constitution of Pakistan finalized, but also all the provinces and princely states of West Pakistan were knitted
together to form One Unit of the West Pakistan Province.

In it 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.

During his tenure from 1956 to 1958, President IskanderMirza brought about various cabinet changes and
advocated a controlled democracy for Pakistan. Muhammad Ali Bogra was the first Prime Minster under
IskanderMirza. Bogra could not stay at this position for long; he resigned and went back to the U. S. A. where
he was reinstated as the Ambassador of Pakistan. After Bogra, Chaudhry Muhammad Ali became the next
Prime Minster. It was under his premiership that the establishment of One Unit was given practical shape and
the Constitution of 1956 was introduced. HuseynShaheedSuhrawardy, I. I. Chundrigar and Malik Feroz
Khan Noon succeeded him as Prime Ministers under IskanderMirza's despotic rule.

H. S. Suhrawardy became the fifth Prime Minister of Pakistan on September 12, 1956. During his tenure, he
tried to remove economic disparity between the two wings. In October 1957, Suhrawardy resigned from his
Premiership due to the President's refusal to convene a meeting of Parliament for seeking a vote of
confidence. A chronic heart patient, Suhrawardy died on December 5, 1963.

After merely a year, Suhrawardy resigned from his Premiership in October 1957. His resignation came as a
result of the President's refusal to convene a meeting of the Parliament to seek a vote of confidence. President
IskanderMirza appointed I. I. Chundrigar as the interim Prime Minister.

On December 16, 1957, Malik Feroz Khan Noon took over the office of Prime Minister from Chundrigar.
Malik Feroz Khan Noon was the last in the line of Prime Ministers under the President-ship of IskanderMirza.

Due to severe politicalinstability and continuous replacing of premiership, President IskanderMirza turned
towards General Ayub Khan, the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of Pakistan. At midnight between
October 7 and 8, 1958, the President of Pakistan abrogated the Constitution and imposed Martial Law in the
country. This brought an end to the term of Malik Feroz Khan Noon, which lasted for less than a year. The
Parliamentary Government came to an end in Pakistan, thus setting the stage for the recurrence of Martial
Law again and again in the future.

In collusion with the Commander-in-Chief, Muhammad Ayub Khan, IskanderMirza abrogated the Constitution

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on October 7, 1958 and declared Martial Law. IskanderMirza and Ayub Khan began the new era with
apparent unanimity. Although the two were responsible for bringing about the change, they had different
views on dealing with the new situation. Share of power soon led to a struggle between the two, which ended
with IskanderMirza being arrested and exiled to Britain where he later died.

OBJECTIVE RESOLUTION 1949:

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 modeled on European pattern, but on the ideology and democratic faith of Islam.

The Objectives Resolution, which is considered to be the "Magna Carta" of Pakistan's constitutional history,
proclaimed the following principles:

1. Sovereignty belongs to Allah alone.

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 in accordance with 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.

6. Pakistan shall be a federation.

7. Fundamental rights shall be guaranteed.

8. Judiciary shall be independent.

The Objectives Resolution is one of the most important and illuminating documents in the constitutional
history of Pakistan. At the time it was passed, Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan called it "the most important occasion in
the life of this country, next in importance only to the achievement of independence".

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. The Objectives Resolution became a part of the
constitution of Pakistan in 1985 under the Eighth Amendment.

Liaqat Nehru Pact 1950:

The two Prime Ministers met in Delhi on April 2, 1950, and discussed the matter of refugees and communal
riots in detail. The meeting lasted for six long days. On April 8, the two leaders signed an agreement, which
was later entitled as Liaquat-Nehru Pact. This pact provided a 'bill of rights' for the minorities of India and
Pakistan. Its aim was to address the following three issues:

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1. To alleviate the fears of the religious minorities on both sides.

2. To elevate communal peace.

3. To create an atmosphere in which the two countries could resolve their other differences.

According to the agreement, the governments of India and Pakistan solemnly agreed that each shall ensure, to
the minorities throughout its territories, complete equality of citizenship, irrespective of religion; a full sense
of security in respect of life, culture, property and personal honor.

It also guaranteed fundamental human rights of the minorities, such as freedom of movement, speech,
occupation and worship. The pact also provided for the minorities to participate in the public life of their
country, to hold political or other offices and to serve in their country's civil and armed forces.

This pact was broadly acknowledged as an optimistic beginning to improve relations between India and
Pakistan.

The 1956 Constitution:

The Constitution of 1956 consisted of 234 articles, which were divided into 13 parts and 6 schedules.

One of the main features of the Constitution was its Islamic character.

The president, who was required to be a Muslim of at least 40 years of age.

The Objectives Resolution was, however, only made the preamble of the Constitution and not included in its
main text.

The Constitution vested the executive authority of the President in the Federation.

The President had the discretionary powers to make the appointment of the Chairman and members of the
Election Commission,. He also had the power to appoint the Prime Minister from amongst the members of the
National Assembly. However, his appointee had to take a vote of confidence from the Assembly within two
months of his appointment. The President also had the power to remove the Prime Minister if he felt that the
Prime Minister had lost the confidence of the majority of the National Assembly members.

The Constitution of 1956 provided for parliamentary form of government with a unicameral legislature. The
only house of parliament, the National Assembly, was to consist of 300 members.

The Constitution recognized the concept of One Unit, and the seats were divided equally between the two
wings of the country

The Constitution offered direct elections under adult franchise. Every citizen of Pakistan with minimum age of
21 was allowed to vote in the elections.

The Constitution provided for federal form of government in the country.

The Constitution of 1956 was a written and flexible constitution.

It advocated the fundamental rights of the individual. However, the President had the power to suspend these
rights in case of an emergency.

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Judiciary was to remain independent.

Urdu and Bengali were both accepted as state languages, while English was to remain the official language for
the first 25 years.

The Constitution of 1956 proved to be short lived as on October 7, 1958, Marital Law was promulgated and
the constitution was abrogated.

Public and Representative Officer’s disqualification Act (PRODA):

 It was an act for debarring from public office for a suitable period of persons judicially found guilty of
misconduct in any 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.

One unit policy:

 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 MirzaGhulam Mohammad passed an order unifying all of West Pakistan in what
became known as One Unit Scheme.

M.AliBogra said: “There will be no Bengalis, no Punjabis, no Sindhis, no Pathans, no Balochis, no Bahawalpuris,
and no Khairpuris. The disappearance of these groups will strengthen the integrity of Pakistan”.