The Impact of the 1970 election on the Politics of Pakistan
Understanding the parameters of the subject :
The 1970 Elections were obviously one of the most crucial affair shaping the entire Indian
Subcontinent and a vital play in the arena of the Cold War.
This report however is specifically focused on how the elections changed the landscape of the
politics in Pakistan.
Politics is the process of making decisions that apply to members of a group.It refers to
achieving and exercising positions of governance—organized control over a human community,
particularly a state
The State of Pakistan was divided into East Pakistan, Punjab, Sindh, North-West Provinces and
Balochistan. Free elections were held in every province by the government then in power. The
strongest parties were the Awami League led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Pakistan People
Party led by Zulkir ALi Bhutto.
Analyzing the impacts of 1970 in the political sphere:
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The most prominent impact of the 1970 election was the re-enforcement of an India-phobic
foreign policy. All political parties emphasied a strong stance aginst India.
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. It brought on a culture of bloody politics. It reinforced the belief that Pakistans existence and
survival was under threat. This led to Political figures stooping to bloodshed, coups and
general chaos.
14 August 1973: Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto becomes prime minister
5 July 1977: General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq overthrows prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and
declares martial law
4 April 1979: Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto hanged
1988: Zia dismisses Junejo's government
6 August 1990: President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismisses Benazir Bhutto government; Mian
Nawaz Sharif becomes the next prime minister
5 November 1996: President Farooq Leghari dismisses Bhutto government.
12 October 1999: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif overthrown in military coup led by General
Pervez Musharraf.
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With the Awami League being the only secularist party, once it left the Pakistan political
sphere the only options left to the pakistani people were the extremely conservative
parties and the single socialist party PPP which died out after Bhuttos hanging. This has
led to the country being doctrined and dominated by Islamist Parties
Who were the players in the political sphere of Pakistan?
There were only 6 major parties and once the Awami League formed the Bangladesh
Government only 5 major parties were left.
Awami League :
On 23 June 1949, Bengali nationalists from East Bengal broke away from the Muslim League,
Pakistan's dominant political party, and established the All Pakistan Awami Muslim League. The
party was founded at the Rose Garden mansion in the old part of Dhaka. Maulana Abdul Hamid
Khan Bhashani and Shamsul Huq were elected the first President and General Secretary of the
party respectively, Ataur Rahman Khan was elected the Vice-President, Yar Mohammad Khan
was elected as the treasurer, while Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad and A.
K. Rafiqul Hussain were elected the party's first Joint Secretaries. The party was formed to
champion the rights of masses in Pakistan against the powerful feudal establishment led by the
Muslim League. However, due to its strength stemming from the discriminated Bengali
population of Pakistan's eastern wing, the party eventually became associated and identified
with East Bengal.
Pakistan Peoples Party :
The Pakistan Peoples Party commonly referred to as the PPP was a left-wing, socialistprogressive political party of Pakistan. Affiliated with the Socialist International, its political
philosophy and position, in the country's political spectrum, is considered centre-left, and
involves supporting public ownership, egalitarianism, equality, and a strong national defence.
Since its foundation in 1967, it had been a major and influential political left-wing force in the
country and the party's leadership has been dominated by the members of the Bhutto family. Its
centre of power lies in the southern province of Sindh.
Pakistan Muslim League :
The Pakistan Muslim League is the name of several Pakistani political parties that have
dominated the Right-wing platform since the 1960s. The first Pakistan Muslim League was
founded by President Ayub Khan in 1962 as a successor to the original Muslim League. Just a
short period after its foundation, the party broke into two factions: Convention Muslim League
that supported the President and the new Constitution, and the Council Muslim League, that
opposed the new Constitution, denouncing it as undemocratic that made the Presidency an
autocratic position. Following President Ayub's resignation, Nurul Amin, a Right-wing political
veteran, attempted to reunite the factions of Pakistan Muslim League. His efforts were
supported by some, while opposed by others. Before the 1970 Elections, a senior leader of
Council Muslim League, Abdul Qayyum Khan formed his own variant of the Muslim League that
opposed cooperation with a party that once supported a Dictator. I
Jamaat-e-Islami :
Jamaat-e-Islami, abbreviated JI, is a socially conservative and Islamist political party based in
Pakistan. Its objective is the transformation of Pakistan into an Islamic state, governed by
Sharia law, through a gradual legal, and political process.JI strongly opposes capitalism,
communism, liberalism, socialism and secularism as well as economic practices such as
offering bank interest. JI is a vanguard party: its members form an elite with "affiliates" and then
"sympathizers" beneath them. The party leader is called an ameer. Although it does not have a
large popular following, the party is quite influential and considered one of the major Islamic
movements in Pakistan, along with Deobandi and Barelvi (represented by Jamiat Ulema-e Islam
and Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan respectively).
Jamaat-e-Islami was founded in Lahore, British India in 1941 by the Muslim theologian and
socio-political philosopher, Abul Ala Maududi. In 1947, following the partition of India, the
Jamaat split into two organisations, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (the
Indian wing)
Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan :
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP) (Assembly of Pakistani Clergy) is a political party in
Pakistan usually seen as being political vehicle for the religious Barelvi strain of Sunni Islam.
JUP was founded after the founding of Pakistan in 1948 by Shaikh ul Quran Mawlana
Muhammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi and Allama Abul Hasnaat Sayyed Mohammad Ahmad
Qaadri. The All India Sunni Conference (AISC) converted itself as the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan
at Pakistan Level in March 1948. [1] He headed the party until 1970, and was succeeded by
Abdul Hamid Qadri Badayuni, Khwaja Qamar ul Din Sialvi, Syed Faiz-ul-Hassan Shah, Abdul
Sattar Khan Niazi, Shah Ahmad Noorani Siddiqi, and Shah Anas Noorani
Now what brought the country to the 1970 elections?
What was the political situation in Pakistan before the elections?
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14 August 1947: Pakistan is created.
11 September 1948: Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the first governor general of Pakistan,
passes away.
March 12 1949 – Objectives Resolution passes moved by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali
Khan.
16 October 1951: Prime minister Liaqat Ali Khan assassinated.
October 16 – Liaquat Ali Khan assassinated in Rawalpindi. October 17 – Finance Minister Ghulam
Mohammad (1895–1956) of Muslim League becomes the third Governor General. Governor General
Khawaja Nazimuddin of Muslim League becomes second Prime Minister.
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1955: Constitutional crisis, Bogra removed, new assembly, new cabinet.
1956: The Constituent Assembly promulgates first indigenous constitution
1956: Constituent Assembly decides the country shall be a Federal Republic known as
Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
7 October 1958: After a military coup dictorial Ayub Khan takes over.
1960: Ayub Khan becomes first elected president
1 August 1960: Islamabad is declared as the principal seat of the Government of
Pakistan.
In 1962 the second temporary constitution was made which didn't last long and ended soon till the
final Constitution of Pakistan was made in 1973.
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2 January 1964: Fatima Jinnah lost the presidential elections, Ayub completes the
second term.
6 September 1965: Second war between Pakistan and India over Kashmir.
10 January 1966: Pakistan and Republic of India sign agreement to end hostilities.
30 November 1967: Pakistan Peoples Party founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Lahore.
25 March 1969: Ayub Khan resigns; Yahya Khan declares martial law and assumes
presidency.
7 December 1970: Pakistani general election, 1970 were held on 7 December 1970,
although the polls in East Pakistan, originally scheduled for October, were delayed by
disastrous floods and rescheduled for later in December and January 1971.
As for what happened after the election.
The elected Assembly initially did not meet as President Yahya Khan and the Pakistan Peoples
Party did not want a party from East Pakistan in government. This caused great unrest in East
Pakistan which soon escalated into a war and ultimately led to the formation of the independent
state of Bangladesh. The Assembly session was eventually held when Khan resigned four days after
Pakistan surrendered in Bangladesh and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over. Bhutto became the Prime
Minister of Pakistan in 1973, after the post was recreated by the new Constitution.