Beleaguered former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan recently warned that the present situation inhis country resembles the last days of East Pakistan which on December 16, 1971 became Bangladesh.Tosubstantiate his argument, he narrated the experience of the cricket team which visited Dhaka in March1971 just ahead of the start of military crackdown called Operation Searchlight on March 25. Imranhimself, then a budding cricketer, was a member of that team, and his was among the last flights toleave Dhaka.
He minced no words to explain as to how the party (Awami League), which won the absolute majority, inthe National Assembly (Pakistani Parliament) was denied the right to rule the country. Exactly the same thing is happening now. Thus, he drew parallel between 1971 and today.
If the duo of General Yahya Khan, the country’s dictator, and chairman of Peoples Party of PakistanZulfikar Ali Bhutto, were the main culprits then today it is Sharif brothers, Nawaz and Shahbaz, aswell as the army top brass which is creating hurdle for him.
By raising the issue of East Pakistan, Imran had directly held Zulfikar Ali Bhutto responsible for thedismemberment of his country, though in the past he had both criticised and praisedthe PPP supremo – obviously as per the demand of the situation.
Imran may have a point. He is no doubt popular yet was unseated from office with the tacit support ofarmy. But the challenge before him is that unlike East Pakistan, where Awami League of Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman swept the poll, here there is no such fix region of influence for his Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaaf.
It is powerful in Punjab, but has substantial hold in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, Sind and Baluchistan aswell. There is no such scope for breakup of one province as in 1971. So, if the situation continues todeteriorate, it may not end in nine months as 52 years back.
1970 GENERAL ELECTION
In the first ever General Election held on December 7, 1970,Awami League won 167 out of 313 seats inParliament. As East Pakistan was more populated, it had 162 seats while the West Pakistan had 138. Thestrength of the House was 300 plus 13 seats were reserved for women – seven in East and six in West. Soout of total 169 seats in East Pakistan Awami League won 167 – 160 general and seven women.
In contrast, the PPP of Bhutto could win only 86 seats (81+5 women seats) out of total 144 in WestPakistan. PPP could do better only in Punjab and Sind while other parties performed better in NorthWestern Frontier Province (now called Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa)and Baluchistan.
What is interesting is that Awami League did not win any seat in West while PPP in East. They even didnot field their candidates on either side.
So, while Awami League secured 39% votes, it was Bhutto who created roadblock when the fact was that hisPPP could get only 18,63% votes. The result caught General Yahya Khan in a bind. He made up his mind toinvite Mujib and called the inaugural meeting of the National Assembly in Dhaka on March 3, 1971. Whilealmost all the other parties of West Pakistan agreed to take part in it, Bhutto threatened to break thelegs of any MNA (as MP is called in Pakistan) of either PPP or other parties who dared to attend it. Hesuggested the formula of “Idhar hum, Udhar tum” (We rule the West and you the East).
However, several notable personalities of West Pakistan from Left to Right like poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz,activist Malik Ghulam Jilani, (father of human rights activist now late Asma Jehangir), G M Syed ofJiye Sind movement and founder of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, Maulana Abu Ala Maudoodi supported Mujib-ur-Rahman’s claim to form government. Jilani was in fact the president of the Punjab unit of AwamiLeague.
Though several senior army officers advised General Yahya Khan not to listen to PPP chief, themilitary dictator succumbed to the pressure of Bhutto. It is another thing that after the dismembermentof Pakistan Bhutto got chance to become first President and then Prime Minister. This provided him andhis supporters with an opportunity to put all the blames on Yahya Khan and in the process demonise Mujib.
Ever since then PPP has been busy giving another twist to this tumultuous phase in Pakistan’s history.
PRESENT SCENARIO
When Imran Khan invoked the ghost of the then East Pakistan, he tried to equate Zulfikar Ali Bhuttowith the present duo of Nawaz Sharif and his brother Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. If the former hadused General Yahya Khan, the present leaders of Pakistan Muslim League are getting the help of Chief ofArmy Staff, General Asim Munir.
Curiously, in the past Imran had said several times that though he had been critical of Zulfikar AliBhutto, who had committed so many blunders, yet he appreciated his uncompromising stand. What isironical is that Imran’s tormentors include Bilawal Bhutto, grandson of senior Bhutto and son of formerPM Benazir Bhutto and ex-President Asif Ali Zardari.
The PPP and PML are the main players in the present alliance government. Bilawal is the foreignminister of that country.
At the same time Imran Khan has never hesitated in accusing the Sharifs, Bhuttos and Zardaris oflooting,plundering and destroying Pakistan. When he after becoming Prime Minister in 2018 promised tocreate Medina type society as established by Prophet Muhammad ﷺseveral international commentatorswerequick to conclude that he was actually adopting the Islamisation agenda of General Zia-ul-Haq (1977-1988), another military dictator, under whose rule Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged on April 4, 1979.
But Imran had in his book criticised General Zia for destroying democracy though he had also writtenthat the military ruler had invited him to join the government just a month before death in plane crashon August 17, 1988. This was after Zia had dismissed the Junejo government. Imran declined the offerstating that it was not his job as he was still playing cricket.
It needs to be mentioned that it was General Zia who brought young Nawaz Sharif to politics after theopposition Pakistan National Alliance turned against him.
It was in 1996 that Imran floated PTI and initially supported the dictatorship of General ParvezMusharraf (Oct 12, 1999 to August 18, 2008). But after Musharraf’s readiness to join the US-ledalliance’s military campaign against Taliban government in Afghanistan following 9/11 terror strike,Imran turned against him.
It is as late as March 19, 2023 that General Zia’s son Ejaz-ul-Haq, a former Pakistan Muslim Leaguepolitician, met Imran and joined his party.
Then why Imran, in between, had words of praise for Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, though he is always deadagainst the Bhutto clan. The reasons are political. First, he wanted to highlight that he too isuncompromising and ready to sacrifice his life. He also wants to send the message that the UnitedStates and its western allies are behind his removal as he had adopted independent foreign and domesticpolicies.
Secondly and more importantly, he wants to use the name of senior Bhutto to attract rural Sindhi voters,who still root for PPP and thus in the process expand the support base of Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaaf.