Khawaja Nazim ud din as Governor General

Khawaja Nazim ud din as Governor General

  September 01, 2019    Fantasy

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Background

•    14th September 1948 Khawaja Nazim ud din became 2nd Governor General of Pakistan
•    He was the leader of Muslim League
•    He was Chief Minister of East Pakistan
•    Talented, honest and respected politician
•    Close associate and trusted friend of Quaid e Azam
•    Assisted 1st Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan to run the government
•    Role of Governor General became less important

Liaquat Ali Khan 

 

Pakistan’s 1st Prime Minister

First task – to make a constitution of Pakistan acceptable to all stakeholders
Government of India Act 1935
•    There will be a Governor General reporting to British Secretary of State for India in London
•    Governor General advised by Executive Council
•    Had great powers
•    Two houses of parliaments
•    Provincial assemblies and provincial ministers at Provincial level
Immediate Government problems after Independence
•    Pakistan to be ruled under Indian Independence Act – amended version of Government of India Act 1935
•    A Constituent Assembly was set up to frame a constitution
•    Until then Governor General would control government with the help of Cabinet
•    No effective Cabinet as no well – organized political party system and no stable majority of Prime Minister in Assembly
•    So office of Governor General became more important specially when Quaid e Azam became 1st Governor General of Pakistan

Objective Resolution

 

•    The Constituent Assembly set up a Basic Principles Committee to decide principles on which new constitution should be based
•    25 members – about a third of Assembly
•    Findings were contained in a document called Objective Resolution – passed on 12th March 1949

Declaration of Objective Resolution

•    Constitution should be based on principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice as laid down by Islam
•    Muslims will be able to lead their lives according to Islam
•    Other religions will be given complete religious freedom
•    Minorities and poor would be protected from social injustice
•    All fundamental human rights will be guaranteed
•    The Legal system should be independent of government

Critical evaluation of Objective Resolution

•    It contained several references to Islam to avoid criticism from Ulama
•    No timescale set down for
o    completing a constitution,
o    holding of first elections,
o    any agreement how these objectives will be met

Working of Basic Principle Committee

•    Bicameral legislature recommended with equal powers
•    President to be elected by the two Houses
•    Urdu to be the national language of the country

Basic Criticism of Proposals

•    East Pakistan had a larger population so they criticized equal representation in National Assembly
•    East Pakistan criticized of making Urdu as national language as majority of population spoke Bengali
•    Provincial politicians objected on giving powers to Head of State and to Federal Government
•    Religious groups complained that the constitution was not sufficiently Islamic
 During the process, Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated. His death further worsened the process and came to stand still till the new leaders was found, elected and got settled

Public and Representative Officers Disqualification Act - PRODA

Subtitled as;
“An Act for the 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 therein”
•    By this act complaints could be made to the Governor General 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 but in reality it allowed the ruling elite to remove those who it did not approve of

Refugees Problem – A Grave Emergency

•    Quaid e Azam called refugee problem in Pakistan “A Grave Emergency”
•    Set up Central Refugee Council to deal with it
•    Prime Ministers of both the countries India and Pakistan met and signed Liaquat Ali Khan - Nehru Pact
•    It was agreed that each government was responsible for the safety of minority groups within its borders
•    Free passage of refugees across the border was restricted and a visa system for refugees was introduced

Liaquat – Nehru Pact

•    Handling and dealing with refugees was the biggest challenge for both the newly formed countries
•    Quaid e Azam called refugee problem in Pakistan “A Grave Emergency”
•    Prime Ministers of both the countries India and Pakistan met and signed Liaquat - Nehru Pact
•    It was agreed that each government was responsible for the safety of minority groups within its borders
•    Free passage of refugees across the border was restricted and a visa system for refugees was introduced

Hyderabad Issue

•    Largest princely state
•    Had a population of 160 million
•    Wealthy state with revenue of Rs. 160 million
•    Wanted to become dominion of UK, British government refused and asked to join either Pakistan or India
•    Ruler – Nizam of Hyderabad was Muslim but majority population was non- Muslim
•    Ruler favored joining Pakistan
•    Indian government was unhappy on this
•    Pressurized Nizam to join India instead
•    Nizam agreed to enter into a treaty with India in respect of defense, foreign affairs and communications
•    Upon further pressure by India Hyderabad filed a complaint against India in UN. Before it could be heard, Indian troops occupied Hyderabad
•    UN organized a cease fire between India and Pakistan but there was no agreement or settlement of this dispute so tensions were mounting

Kashmir Issue

•    Most serious dispute between Pakistan and India
•    One of the largest states in India
•    Had strategic importance as it shared borders with Tibet, China, Afghanistan and Russia at that time
•    Ruler Hindu and majority of population Muslim
•    Wanted to win independence of his state and delayed joining either Pakistan or India
•    Ruler treated population very poorly
•    Drove Muslims out of Kashmir
•    Over 200,000 fled to Pakistan
•    The situation led to rebellion
•    Indian help came when ruler agreed to join India
•    Pakistan and India fought their 1st war against each other
•    The matter was referred to UN
•    Kashmir was divided
•    Major portion went to India
•    Pakistan got angered, Lord Mountbatten pressurized India and India agreed on referendum once situation becomes normalized
•    No referendum so far and Kashmir is still the biggest dispute between both the countries
Army Leaders
Or

Rawalpindi Conspiracy

•    In 1951 Sir Douglas Gracey was the British Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army who was replaced by General Ayub Khan, a Pakistani
•    Since partition many army officers had complained about the presence of British army officers at key senior positions but by 1951 most army officers were Pakistani
•    Despite this, some of the army officers were unhappy at the government and planned a coup to take over the government
•    In March 1951, Rawalpindi Conspiracy was discovered by Ayub Khan
•    Conspirators were arrested, tried and imprisoned
•    Among them there was Major General Akbar Khan, Chief of General Staff and 14 other officers
•    Liaquat Ali Khan had survived his first coup
•    His success was to be short lived and he was assassinated while addressing a public meeting in Rawalpindi in 1951
•    He was a famous leader and worked hard for the country and was given the title of Shaeed e millat (martyr for the cause of the nation)