Pakistan: Ill-served by 'strong leaders'

PEW Research Poll (2013) found that Pakistanis prefer (66%-75%) “strong leaders,” a euphemism for military rule/dictatorship, over democracy. To them, military is the only institution that works in Pakistan. Yet, Pak military lost every war against India, failed to snatch an inch of Kashmir, and lost “East Pakistan.” If success is measured by failures, sure Pak military is a success!

“Strong leaders” have ill-served Pakistan. Field Marshall Muhammad Ayub Khan's ten-year (1958-69) dictatorship resulted in the break-up of Pakistan. General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's eleven year autocratic rule (1977-88) introduced widespread drug use and Islamic fundamentalism in Pakistan. General Pervez Musharraf's nine-year (1999-2008) dictatorship spawned domestic terrorism and Pakistani Taliban.

Pakistan's founder Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah was a strong leader who committed one monumental blunder. Addressing Dhaka University convocation on March 21, 1948, he said that while Bengali can be East Pakistan's language, “state language of Pakistan is going to be Urdu and no other language. Anyone who tries to mislead you is really an enemy of Pakistan.”

In 1948, 55% of Pakistanis spoke Bengali, and were demanding that Bengali be a state language. West Pakistanis spoke only Punjabi, Sindhi, Baluchi and Pashtu. Therefore, Mr. Jinnah's proclamation defied logic!!

Bengalis realised that their majority did not matter. To the West Pakistanis everything in Bengal was small -- the land, its dark people, its fruits. East Pakistan's jute was Pakistan's lone cash crop, yet, very little was spent on East Pakistan's development, widening the already yawning inter-province economic disparity.

On February 21, 1952, police fired on pro-Bengali demonstrators at Dhaka University campus, killing five, triggering the “Language Movement” which fueled Bengali nationalism.

When “Jukto Front” annihilated the Muslim League in the provincial elections of 1954, the West Pakistanis raised the familiar alarm: “Islam is in trouble!” The election had nothing to do with Islam, everything to do with Muslim League's misrule. West Pakistanis anointed themselves the custodian of Islam, forgetting that the All India Muslim League was founded in Dhaka (1906) and that Bengali Muslims spearheaded the Pakistan movement.

Pakistan's lurch towards dictatorship accelerated in 1954. When Governor General Ghulam Mohammad dismissed the Constituent Assembly, Speaker Tamizuddin Khan challenged the dismissal in Sind court and won! However, on appeal the Federal Court reversed the decision citing the dubious pretext of “state necessity,” hurtling Pakistan towards dictatorship.   

Pakistan's 1956 constitution stipulated Urdu and Bengali as state languages, but declared the two provinces electorally equal -- wiping out East Pakistan's population advantage.  In 1958, Ayub Khan staged a coup and banned political activities for the next decade.

In the death of Pandit Nehru in May 1964, Ayub Khan saw an opportunity to take Kashmir by force. The 1965 Indo-Pak war was a disaster for Pakistan that nearly cost them Lahore.

East Pakistan was left completely undefended during the 1965 war. Boasted a Pak minister: “Allah would have saved East Pakistan!” To Bengalis it was another manifestation of West Pakistan's total disregard for their welfare. In 1966, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman introduced his “Six Points” for provincial autonomy. Although it reflected the aspiration of every Bengali, West Pakistanis dismissed it; Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto ridiculed it.

After Ayub's ouster (1969), the new dictator General Yahya Khan scheduled universal franchise-based elections for December 1970. A cyclone devastated East Pakistan in November. The central government's foot-dragging on relief efforts convinced Bengalis that West Pakistanis did not care. Mujib's Awami League won an absolute majority (160 seats out of 300) in Pakistan's National Assembly. That's when the plotting began.  Mujib was never invited to form a government.

Mr. Bhutto's party won only 81 seats, yet he declared: “There are two majorities; one in West Pakistan (81), one in East Pakistan (160).” Bhutto should have been charged with treason. Instead, West Pakistanis rallied around him. On the pretext of negotiating with Mujib in Dhaka, Yahya and Bhutto flew in military reinforcements and unleashed them on unarmed civilians on the night of March 25, 1971. Pakistanis preferred to settle political differences with bullets, not negotiations.

Lakhs of Bengalis were butchered; thousands of Muslim and Hindu women were raped by Pakistani soldiers “saving” Islam and Pakistan. Local Jamaat-e-Islami party and Razakars collaborated with Pak army. Some non-Bengalis suffered retaliation, which was inexcusable. Not a single demonstration was staged in West Pakistan protesting the genocide of East Pakistanis! To the Pakistanis, Bengali Muslims were more Hindu than Muslim.

Benazir Bhutto admitted in her book Daughter of the East that Mr. Bhutto drank; Sheikh Mujib was a practicing Muslim who did not. Pakistani soldiers took their oaths on the Qur'an; yet when I visited Quetta cantonment officer's mess at 18, I saw everyone drinking! I don't judge people, but the Almighty who does, detests hypocrisy.  

Bangladeshi Muslims are devout, but don't flaunt their Islam. They are far less communal than people in other sub-continental countries, and are happy to have Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and animists as compatriots.

With Mukti Bahini and India's assistance, Bangladesh was liberated in December 1971. Before releasing Pakistani prisoners of war in 1973, India requested Mujib's assent. Always generous, Mujib agreed, on condition that Pakistan try 200 Pakistani war criminals in Pakistan (Bangladesh gave the list). Bhutto agreed, and reneged! No Pak soldier was tried for genocide against Bengalis! Bangladeshis will NEVER forget Pakistan's genocide!

It does not matter to Bangladeshis, but an apology for the genocide of 1971 will be good for Pakistan's soul. Also, instead of lying to their children that the break-up of Pakistan was India-orchestrated, Pakistanis should tell the truth.

Bangladeshis wish Pakistan well. It pains them to see Pakistanis enter mosques, which are bombed regularly, through metal detectors. Pakistan needs an altruistic and courageous leader for the future.

I watched Imran Khan play cricket in Dhaka and Oxford. One of the world's best all-rounders, Imran is renowned for his unselfishness. He put the team first, and let others take wickets. Such selflessness is rare in politicians. As a Pashtun, Imran will be sensitive to the rights of religious/ethnic minorities. Imran Khan is Pakistan's best hope for a brighter future.

The writer is a Rhodes Scholar.