AYUB KHAN ERA
(1958-1969)
INTRODUCTION:
Ayub khan was born in small village of Rehana in 1907 A.D. His father
Meer Dad was the Junior Commissioner Officer. He got early education from his village and
then for higher education moved to Aligarh University. After studied in Aligarh University Ayub
Khan commissioned as an officer in the Indian Army in 1928. In 1958 President Iskander Mirza
abrogated the constitution and appointed Ayub as chief Martial law administrator.
Military Career of Ayub Khan:
Ayub khan got selected in Royal Military
Academy for getting Military education. After passing out from Royal Military Academy in
1972, he was appointed as second lieutenant in Royal British Army. He was an intelligent and
brave soldier with very short span of time in 1973 he promoted as captain. In 1940 he appointed
as Major of Army. In World War-2 he was second in command of a regiment in Burma. After
partition he was rapidly promoted in the army of the new Muslim state of Pakistan. Ayub Khan
became minister of defence in 1954. On the time of partition he was serving as Brigadier of
British army in 1947. He was appointed as commander in chief in 1951.
Martial law:
The government of Iskander Mirza was unpopular and the political situation
was chaotic. People were in great despair. General Ayub Khan deposed Iskander Mirza in 7th
October 1958. He imposed Martial law and justified his actions on some grounds.
President of Pakistan:
Ayub Khan removed Iskander Mirza and took on the office
of president. This event was known as the GLORIOUS REVOLUTION.
Legitimization under the doctrine of necessity:
There was a legal vacuum when the
military took over on 7 October 1958. Under which legal system the courts would operate. The
president issued a new legal order titled LAWS ORDER on 10th October 1958.
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Law Orders:
The law orders provided for;
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Validation of laws in force before the declaration of martial law
Restoration of jurisdiction of courts
Governance as nearly as possible in accordance with the 1956 constitution.
The above mentioned law orders was called into question before the supreme court in case called
DOSSCO CASE. Already pending even before the imposition of martial law. Chief Justice
Munir of the supreme court was taken to appease the his new masters and in haste to legitimize
the imposition of martial law. He treated the “COUP DETAT” as a revolution wrongly though
like the French Revolution or Soviet revolution.
Causes of the Martial Law
Some important causes of this martial law are given below,
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Political conflict
Poor economic conditions
Lack of political leadership
Smuggling and nepotism
Role of bureaucracy
Ayub Khan politics
Provincial prejudices
Political instability
Delay in elections
Devices applied to Perpetuate the Rule
In order to perpetuate his rule which became a standard practice for successive regimes was
based upon;
1. Selective Co-option(to associate, choose or persuade for cooperation and sharing
responsibility)
2. Containment(to keep in limit or discipline; to nip the opposing groups in the bud)
3. Collateralization(sharing in subordinate position and not as equal partners in power
structure, collaborate or serve as supplementary partner)
4. Economic Problems(at the time of independence there was no organized class of
merchants, traders, or industrialists even at small scale)
Early Issues of Ayub Era
Many issues were found at the early stage of his era. Among them some of them are given
below;
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Rejection of strict laws of dictatorship
Unbalance diplomatic policies
Weak economy of country
Lack of weapons and technology
Social disparities
Crisis of sugar
Failure of import policies
Hatred of east Pakistan
Policies adopted by Ayub khan
The policies adopted by the Ayub Khan are:
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Introduction of monetary policy(1958-1959)
Introduction of bonus voucher scheme
Liberal concessions from government
Five year plan for the economy of Pakistan
From above all the policies the five year plan got more popular and also other people appreciated
it. Some of it detail is given below.
 Five Year Plan For The Economy Of Pakistan (1960-1965):
This plan gave highest priority to agriculture, heavy industrial development and science. This
plan gave Pakistan an increase income of 20% and the growth rate of agriculture increased from
1.43 to 5.1%.Other reasons for the country economy increment was Korean War proved to be a
highly factor.
Constitution of Pakistan (1962)
In February, 1960 Ayub Khan constituted a ten members constitution commission for the
formulation of constitution. Former chief Justice, Shahb-ud-Din, chaired this commission. It
submitted its recommendations to the then president of Pakistan on May 6, 1961. Through a
Presidential Order, the then President Muhammad Ayub Khan promulgated this constitution in
the country on June 8, 1962. Some special features of this constitution are as follows;
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The constitution of 1962 consists of 250 section and 3 schedule.
Pakistan was declared Democratic Islamic Republic.
Urdu and Bengal were declared two national languages of Pakistan.
Reforms Introduced by Ayub Khan:
The two famous reforms introduced by the ayub khan were;
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Legal Reforms
Foreign Policy
 Legal Reforms:
In legal reforms he introduced the Muslim Family Laws in March 2, 1961 . According to this
law,
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Muslims marriages were to be compulsory registered in Union Councils.
Unwanted polygamy was abolished.
The minimum age limit for marriage was fixed.
In case of divorce a period of 90 days was fixed as iddat period.
Orphaned grand-children may receive share from the property of their grandparents.
Increasing population shall be controlled through family planning.
 Foreign Policy:
He introduced the foreign policy of allied Pakistan with the global U.S military alliance against
the Soviet Union.
His cultivation of China angered the USA. The war increased the socio economic problem.
Therefore , Ayub Khan was not successful in his foreign policy.
Relations with Other Countries:
Ayub khan in his reign established
relations with other countries as well. He established relations with USA, Great Britain, China,
Soviet Union.
Shifting of Capital:
After the partition of Pakistan, Karachi was declared as the capital city of
Pakistan by considering various purposes. But Ayub Khan decided to shift the capital of the
country Karachi to Islamabad. He said that Karachi was unsuitable for various purpose for
location and business. In 1967, he officially made Islamabad as the capital city of Pakistan by
saying that Islamabad is a modern and carefully planned city.
Some Major Developments
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Through purge of bureaucracy through scrutiny and screening process.
Land reforms announced in January 1959.
Prohibition of politicians taking part in politics by enacting.
System of basic democracies introduced on 27th October 1959
Presidential referendum in February 1960.
Indirect Presidential elections in December 1964
Shifting of capital order 1959, completed by 1964
Capitalist system of economic development
1962 constitution
Rapid industrialization
1965 war with India
Agitations of 1968-69
Industrial Revolution in Ayub Era:
Ayub Khan’s era is known for the industrialization in the country. He created an environment
where private sector was encouraged to establish medium and small scale industries in Pakistan.
This opened up avenues for new job opportunities and thus the economic graph of the country
started rising.
 He established cotton industry in Faisalabad.
 He established heavy machinery and fan industry in Gujrat.
 He established sports industry in Sialkot.
 He also established the small and medium size of mills in Pakistan. He also give subsidy
to industrialist for importing goods from the foreign countries.
By these steps of ayub khan the large population of the country got jobs and their livelihood and
with the passage of time the economy of Pakistan raised at the high level. The every capital
income of every Pakistanis at highest level as compared to any other country of Asia.
Science, technology & Air Line development:
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In the field of science and technology Ayub khan did a lot. The first satellite AL-BADAR
was also launched for during the research of the space science.
Ayub khan also gave boost to the Pakistan in the field of airline.
SHUKRIA KHANAM was the first women pilot of Pakistan who got the license of plane
flying during the era of ayub khan.
Reforms in Media:
Besides other fields of life Ayub Khan also play its role in the field
of media. In November 25, 1964 Ayub Khan established the first TV station in Lahore
commonly known as the PTV Pakistan Television.
Establishments of Financial & Development
Corporations:
Pakistan Industrial Corporation (PIDC) was set up with the capital of R.S 1 Billion. It was put in
charge to promote the following industries;
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Heavy engendering
Fertilizers
Sugar
Cement
Educational Reform:
After the report of the commission on national education which
identified the importance of education as an investment in national growth in the Primary
education, Secondary education, New curriculum, Building new institutes, Technical
education, University degree coerces, Improve scientific education and Civil Defense training
etc.
Agriculture Reform:
Land reforms & Green revolution—In land reforms a person
could not own more than either 500 acres of canal irrigated land or 1000 acres of unirrigated
land.
Other agriculture reforms are given below;
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Utilization of resumed areas
Creation of pools
Abolition of jagirs
Protection of tenants
Rights for tenants
Building of three major dams
Set up of AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT BANK
Loans for farmer
IN 1959
On October 1959 Ayub Khan introduced the Basic democracies was a pyramidal plan allowing
people to directly elect councilmen they knew. In 1959, the then president introduced a new
system of basic democracies. According to this system the people were to elect the member of
basic democracies. The total number of members of basic democracies consists of 80000. Under
the 1962 constitution these members formed an electoral college to elect the president, the
national assembly and the provincial assemblies.
IN 1960
In 1960, Ayub used those democrats for referendum held in February 14,1960. As a result of
referendum ayub khan became the president of Pakistan for five years. He also got a opportunity
to frame the further the constitution of the Pakistan.
 In 1960, in the era of Ayub khan he also resolved the issue of water from India and in
September 1960 INDUS WATER TREATY was signed between India and Pakistan.
1965 War and Election
After 3.5 years of its life, 1958-62 martial law came to an end . on January 2nd 1965, presidential
elections was to be held. For these elections 4 candidates were selected i.e. Ayub Khan, Fatima
Jinnah and two more members with them was selected. With them no party was affiliated. Ayub
Khan again won the elections and again became the president.
Border incident was becoming frequent from January 1965 to onwards. At Runn of kutch India
was badly defeated by Pak Army. But on February 19,1965 tribunal gave northern 350 sq.miles
to Pakistan and rest to India. Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri wanted to amalgamate
Kashmir into India so Kashmir called for an all out war against Indian Imperialism. India made
Lahore oppensive on September 6, 1965 at 3am their targets were Lahore and Sialkot. Soviet
Union; Neutral USA suspended to both China and supported Pakistan. Finally UN declared cease
fire which came into effect on September 23, 1965.
Pakistan army started operation Gibraltar in Kashmir and in the reaction of this India army
attacked Pakistan. At last Pakistan won the war of 1965 by giving many sacrifices for its
homeland.
Tashqand Treaty:
This treaty was signed by Ayub Khan and Indian Prime Minister. The
aim of this treaty was to cease fire in 1965 war. Pakistan president Ayub Khan ended the 17 day
war between Pakistan and India.
 Indo pak war of 1965 was the turning point of his reign which ended in a settlement
reached by Ayub at Tashkent, called the TASHKENT DECLARATION. The whole
nation felt deceive at this act of Ayub Khan; even his right hand and foreign minister of
that time Zulfiqar Bhutto, resigned from his post and took up the opposition against ayub.
The war had its repercussions on the domestic politics of the country. Two powers
emerged as a result of this incident i.e. Z. A. Bhutto
In west Pakistan and Mujeeb -ur –Rehman opposition in East Pakistan where the Awami
League sought more autonomy for the province.
IN 1966
Tashkent declaration was signed between India & Pakistan. All the talks lasted from January 410. Soviet Union played broker at Tashkent. In accordance with Tashkent Decaration talks were
held on March 1 & 2, 1966.
IN 1969
In 1969, Ayub opened negotiations with different political powers excluding Bhashani and
Bhutto. But under severe pressure of the agitating forces, Ayub handed over control of Pakistan
to commander in chief General Yahya Khan who was the President’s most loyal lieutenant and
was promoted on behalf of his loyalty to the president by over ruling the set rules of promotion.
Final Year In Office
Negotiations were opened up and the pressure was increasing from Z.A Bhutto and then handed
over control of Pakistan by Yahya Khan.
Achievements
Green Revolution:
A green revolution was set in force during five year plan by increasing in
irrigation and introducing mechanized farming and fertilizers. As a result between
1960-1965 agriculture production grow by 3.8% per annum. Between 1960 and
1964-65 irrigation was the main cause of development.
Other Achievements
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Administrative reforms were introduced during his regime.
He improved law and order in Pakistan.
He made Islamabad a new capital of Pakistan.
Making of price control list.
He took steps up eradicate smuggling.
He asked to return black money.
Failures of Ayub
Mujeebs rebellious behavior:
General Ayub Khan was powerful military man
but he did many mistakes on this whole issue. During the war of 1965 east
Pakistanis raised the voice that West Pakistanis left them alone to kill from the
cruel Indian army. This destroyed their confidence over our army and
government. Then duing that period sheikh Mujeeb met numerous times with
Indian high authority and intelligence members of India in London but in the
result he took no any action against him.
Other Failures
 The Indian aggression in 1965 had implications for the economy, including
monetary policy because of this 1966-67 the growth rate of economy
slowed down to 3.1% the lowest in ten year period ending 1969-70.
 Due to increase in prices of fertilizers, edible oil, there was a sharp increase
in the import payments.
 By introducing the system of basic democracy the right of adult franchise
was curtailed.
 The whole of west Pakistan was made in one unit with which the small
provinces were not happy.
Criticism against Ayub Khan:
The criticism against ayub khan started
about government corruption & nepotism. Criticism of his son and family personal
wealth also began. Gohar’s ayub corruption and increasing price of sugar was the
main criticism against the ayub khan.
Conclusion:
Ayub khan was a man of great determination but lacking the quality of
listening to others. He always did what he through better in the light of his known
experience. His regime can be characterized with some developments but he
could not maintain the national harmony among the distant provinces of
Pakistan.