DOCSLIB.ORG

Witness to Splendour Splendour to Witness Splendour

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Witness to Splendour Splendour to Witness Splendour WITNESS TO WITNESS TO SPLENDOUR SPLENDOUR Z.A. Bhutto Reproduced by Sani H. Panhwar Member Sindh Council PPP CHAPTER ONE: THE FIRST DAY Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: My Lords, I know that according to protocol and the ethics of the court, I am not supposed to express my thanks and gratitude to this honorable court for permitting me to appear before you this morning. Nevertheless, according to the social conditions of the country, and in Rome do as the Romans do, I am very thankful to you for allowing me this opportunity. In my application to Your Lordships on the 4th of December, I submitted that I would like to present before this honorable court my point of view because not only my life as life of an individual is involved but because, according to my objective appreciation, far more is at stake. My reputation, the honor of my family, my political career and above fall the future of Pakistan itself is involved. This is my view; it may be a mistaken view but it is an honest and sincere view. I am not trying to dramatize or exaggerate. In my application, I said that in the interest of justice I would appreciate that kind favorable consideration be given to my application. On the 5th of December, Your Lordships were kind enough to pass an order stating that Your Lordships had decided at the inception that if needed I should make an appearance before this honorable court in the course of this appeal. Your Lordships reiterated the observation made originally and observed that it was not in any way connected with the developments that took place subsequently as a result of the necessity of Mr. Justice Waheeduddin's departure from the Bench. Your Lordships also, I think, indicated in that order that you would hear me in the interest of justice and that I could speak on any subject. You expressed that hope that I would choose not to cover those points that have already been covered. Witness to Splendour Copyright © www.bhutto.org 2 Now, I would like to give this assurance to Your Lordships straight away that I would not like to cover those points that have already been covered but if at all I go on the beaten track, it would be because I am not familiar with everything that has been said in this court. I have been in a death cell, 7 by 10 feet, for over a year now and even in this room I feel a little dizzy. I cannot really adjust myself to the momentum and equilibrium of this room and to people. It is nice to see people. Therefore, I am being a little slow in this presentation. I do not want to mention here in this honorable court before people who are not Pakistanis-although I have great respect for our friends from abroad- whatever has been done to me. I do not want to show marks on my body or anything like that. But I would like to say that I have something to say and if in that process I do trespass on ground already covered it is not being done with a mala fide intention or to waste Your Lordships' time. I can see, even from my small death cell, the compulsions that are at play for winding up this case. Those are clear to me as I see the panorama. My second assurance to you is that I have no intention of scandalizing the institutions as mentioned in one of the newspapers. I do not know whether that newspaper correctly reported these remarks, but I was a little amused by them. Why should I scandalize institutions? In the first place, precious few institutions are left to scandalize. Secondly, I have been deeply connected and associated with the institutions of this country and I have tried to build them. I have never tried to destroy them. I would not like to be presumptuous and say that I am the author of the Constitution of 1973. However, in the past, even when undemocratic constitutions have been passed, they have been known as Chaudhry Mohammad Ali's Constitution and Ayub Khan's Constitution. In that context Witness to Splendour Copyright © www.bhutto.org 3 this constitution could have been called Z.A. Bhutto's Constitution, if the word Zulfikar Ali Khan Bhutto is too high sounding. I have, actually promoted the institutions. Your Lordships will very well remember that when I was President of Pakistan and Your Lordships were members of Hamoodur Rahman's Commission, Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman and the Hamoodur Rahman Commission wanted to examine me in the President's House. I immediately sent a message through my Special Assistant saying that I could not conceive of the Chief Justice of the High Court of our country coming to me; that it was my duty to go to the Commission and that I would not think it right for the commission to come to me merely because I am the first elected President of Pakistan. Your Lordships, here also when I appeared in October 1977, when Your Lordships were considering Begum Nusrat Bhutto's constitutional petition, you will recall, and all of you were on this Bench except one or two Justices, that the moment any one of the honorable Justices said that I should not go into a certain point, I immediately stopped. When that Judgment was delivered, I was in Kot Lakhpat Jail as an under-trial prisoner, and in retrospect, taking the existing social realities into account, I say it is a positive judgment. I said it was a very difficult judgment because on the one hand there was the legacy and precedent of Dosso's case and other matters. On the other hand, there was an elected Constitution, a democratic Constitution, a unanimous Constitution. A via media, a modus vivendi, had to be found in the prevailing social conditions of Martial Law and from that point of view the judgment was positive. But I felt that this judgment would have rendered an even greater contribution if two aspects, two elements had been incorporated in it. Firstly, if a time limit had been fixed by this honorable Court for elections in this country. I regretted not having said it then, when I was before your Lordships. I was not directly touching on this point out of propriety and Witness to Splendour Copyright © www.bhutto.org 4 consideration that your Lordships might misunderstand my suggesting a time factor, a time element, and might think that I have something personal to gain in terms of Party and results of the election. Thus, I was beating about the bush, so to speak, and I think, it was Mr. Justice Shah and Mr. Justice Dorab Patel who said, "What you are driving at is that we should fix a time limit?”. I replied, precisely, precisely. These were my words. Secondly, if the amendment of the Constitution that has been provided for could have been restricted to those essential mechanisms required for running the administration, that there could be constitutional amendment only in terms of absolute necessity to remove the difficulties in the running of Martial Law, and not a blanket approval to amend the Constitution. You have, in fact, not given this blanket approval to amend the Constitution because you have defined a necessity and actually it is under the scope of that definition that these amendments could have been made. My third observation was that this Judgment is too subtle, too refined and too sophisticated for this Government to take advantage of, that it will be making a hash of it because this judgment does not go on meta Juristic and meta legal considerations and does not wipe the slate clean. Now, the arguments used here for Your Lordships to uphold impartiality, to uphold validity of Martial Law, are being applied in practice rather than the dictum that Your Lordships gave in Begum Nusrat Bhutto's case. For the reasons cited, I wished that I could have elaborated some of my points and because I did not choose to do so, I will put the blame on myself for I had been in a position to understand and appreciate the consequences on the executive side as to a juridical side. Therefore, I regretted very much not having pleaded before this honourable court for a little more time to elaborate fully my point of view. Your Lordships will remember that even in that brief period of an hour or so that I had here before Your Lordships, I made certain observations and Your Lordships will kindly correct me if those Witness to Splendour Copyright © www.bhutto.org 5 observations have not been fulfilled by the fullness of time. I told Your Lordships that in due course of time, there will be a proliferation of Parties, that Parties will split up. I told Your Lordships that the umbrella of Constitution not being there, the question of nationalities will arise because of the Constitutional vacuum. Pakistan was a Federation. Today, it is not a Federation any more. It is being run as de facto unitary Government. My Lord, we had arrived at a consensus on the Federation after a lugubrious and painstaking process. Now that lid has been lifted and the result has been that national interest has not gained by this and I would even like to say that it has suffered. In purely objective terms, it pains me to see the present developments, the way the Parties are proliferating, for Parties are national links and if the national links are weakened or severed, then the national structure cannot remain.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Attorney-General of Pakistan - a Brief Overview Umair Ghori
    Bond Law Review Volume 23 | Issue 2 Article 5 2011 Attorney-General of Pakistan - A brief overview Umair Ghori Follow this and additional works at: http://epublications.bond.edu.au/blr This Article is brought to you by the Faculty of Law at ePublications@bond. It has been accepted for inclusion in Bond Law Review by an authorized administrator of ePublications@bond. For more information, please contact Bond University's Repository Coordinator. Attorney-General of Pakistan - A brief overview Abstract The legal system of Pakistan represents a fusion of the Shariah law and common law systems. Traditionally, the Pakistani legal system adapted the pre-1947 colonial law for local use. Amendments to these colonial laws, in particular inspired by the Islamic traditions, have been interspersed in intervals. As a result, the Pakistan legal system retains fundamental common law doctrines (such as binding precedent and delegated legislation) while gradually integrating laws of Islamic origin within the existing common law framework. However, Pakistan’s legal system is far from being a complete mirror of the English legal system. One such major distinction is that there is no division within the legal profession into barristers and solicitors. This has meant, amongst other things, that the chief legal officer representing the Federation of Pakistan (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Federation’) is the Attorney-General of Pakistan and that there is no comparable office of Solicitor- General in Pakistan as in other common law jurisdictions. This article provides a brief overview of the Attorney-General of Pakistan and the importance of the office to Pakistan as a developing country and a maturing legal system in its own right.
    [Show full text]
  • The Trial and Execution of Bhutto by J. C. Batra
    THE TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF BHUTTO J. C. BATRA Barrister-at-law Consulting Editor Danial Latifi Barrister-at-law (Senior Advocate, Supreme Court) Reproduced by Sani Hussain Panhwar The Trial and Execution of Bhutto; Copyright © www.bhutto.org 1 Dedicated to the people of Pakistan The Trial and Execution of Bhutto; Copyright © www.bhutto.org 2 Contents 1. Political Turmoil. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 2. Behind the bars. .. .. .. .. .. .. 25 3. More Accusations. .. .. .. .. .. .. 67 4. Lahore High Court Judgment. .. .. .. .. 73 5. Reactions and Clemency Appeals .. .. .. .. 98 6. The Final Judgment. .. .. .. .. .. .. 106 7. Renewed Pleas to Save Bhutto. .. .. .. .. 158 8. The Final Review. .. .. .. .. .. .. 164 9. Historic Hanging. .. .. .. .. .. .. 173 The Trial and Execution of Bhutto; Copyright © www.bhutto.org 3 Political Turmoil Suffering is one very long moment. We cannot divide it by seasons. We can only record its moods and chronicle their return. Oscar Wilde Destiny is not always kind. Many great statesmen, soldiers and saints have been its victims and their worth ridiculed. Though I do not believe in Astrology, the "March link" on Pakistan is astounding. Astrologers have always forecast the month of March as being ill-starred for the country. It was on March 23, 1940 that the Muslim League finally committed itself to the two-nation theory and adopted the Lahore Resolution calling for the establishment of Pakistan as a separate State. In March, 1947 communal riots broke up in the Punjab which further led to the division of the Punjab and Bengal. In March, 1953 the Martial Law was imposed in Pakistan for the first time in the wake of the anti-Qadian riots.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mirage of Power, by Mubashir Hasan
    The Mirage of Power AN ENQUIRY INTO THE BHUTTO YEARS 1971-1977 BY MUBASHIR HASAN Reproduced By: Sani H. Panhwar Member Sindh Council PPP. CONTENTS About the Author .. .. .. .. .. .. i Preface .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ii Acknowledgements .. .. .. .. .. v 1. The Dramatic Takeover .. .. .. .. .. 1 2. State of the Nation .. .. .. .. .. .. 14 3. Meeting the Challenges (1) .. .. .. .. 22 4. Meeting the Challenges (2) .. .. .. .. 43 5. Restructuring the Economy (1) .. .. .. .. 64 6. Restructuring the Economy (2) .. .. .. .. 85 7. Accords and Discords .. .. .. .. 100 8. All Not Well .. .. .. .. .. .. 120 9. Feeling Free .. .. .. .. .. .. 148 10. The Year of Change .. .. .. .. .. 167 11. All Power to the Establishment .. .. .. .. 187 12. The Losing Battle .. .. .. .. .. .. 199 13. The Battle Lost .. .. .. .. .. .. 209 14. The Economic Legacy .. .. .. .. .. 222 Appendices .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 261 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Mubashir Hasan is a well known figure in both academic and political circles in Pakistan. A Ph.D. in civil engineering, he served as an irrigation engineer and taught at the engineering university at Lahore. The author's formal entry into politics took place in 1967 when the founding convention of the Pakistan Peoples' Party was held at his residence. He was elected a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1970 and served as Finance Minister in the late Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's Cabinet from 1971-1974. In 1975, he was elected Secretary General of the PPP. Following the promulgation of martial law in 1977, the author was jailed for his political beliefs. Dr. Hasan has written three books, numerous articles, and has spoken extensively on social, economic and political subjects: 2001, Birds of the Indus, (Mubashir Hasan, Tom J.
    [Show full text]
  • Abstract Council of Islamic Ideology Is a Permanent Constitutional Body
    URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.31703/gpr.2020(V-I).27 DOI: 10.31703/gpr.2020(V-I).27 Citation: Hussain, S., Gillani, A. H., & Abbas, M. W. (2020). Role of Council of Islamic Ideology in Islamization During Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Era. Global Political Review, V(I), 241-250. doi:10.31703/gpr.2020(V-I).27 Vol. V, No. I (Winter 2020) Pages: 241 – 250 Role of Council of Islamic Ideology in Islamization During Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Era Sajid Hussain* Aftab Hussain Gillani† Muhammad Wasim Abbas‡ p- ISSN: 2521-2982 e- ISSN: 2707-4587 According to the Constitution of Pakistan 1973, the p- ISSN: 2521-2982 Abstract Council of Islamic Ideology is a permanent constitutional body. Its duties are not only to advise the Parliament whether or not the laws are repugnant to Islam in the light of Quran and Sunnah and but Headings also to recommend measures to be promulgated as legislations to promote Islamic way of life in the country. This paper discusses in detail • Abstract the efforts of the Council of Islamic Ideology in Islamization of Pakistan • Key Words in Bhutto’s era. This study is historical research and data has been • Introduction collected through primary and secondary sources. Many important laws • Research Methodology have been enacted, and departments have been established on the • Establishment of the Council of recommendation of the Council of Islamic Ideology. This article will not Islamic Ideology • Recommendations of the Council to only highlight the establishment, importance of the Council of Islamic the Government Ideology but also its achievements during the era of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
    [Show full text]
  • BORN to BE HANGED Praise Fo R the Book
    BORN TO BE HANGED Praise fo r the Book While tracing the making of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto-the most popular leader of his people, Dr Syeda Hameed easily identifies him as a self-destroying character in a Greek tragedy. But the chief merit of this book lies in explaining the factors contributing to his meteoric rise and the unravelling of his mind through a reading of his prison letters with Dr Mubashir Hasan's help, and how Bhutto, with a Janus like posture, tried to build a socialist castle on the fo undation of Islamic ideology. The guardians of vested interest were not duped; they hanged him fo r shaking their throne. An eye-opener fo r students of Pakistan's muddled politics. -I.A. Rehman, Human Rights Activist and Political Analyst, Pakistan Syeda Hameed's labour of love, spanning two decades, has flowered into a vivid portrayal of one of the most intriguing public figures of South Asia -Asif Noorani, Senior Journalist and Author, Pakistan BORN TO BE HANGE POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY OF ZULFIKAR ALI BHUTTO SYEDA HAMEED RUPA Published by Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd 2017 7/ 16, Ansari Road, Daryaganj New Delhi 110002 Sales Centres: Allahabad Bcngaluru Chennai Hyderabad Jaipur Kathmandu Kolkata Mumbai Copyright «;l Syeda Hameed 2017 Photo courtesy: Author's collection and Sheba George The views and opinions expressed in this book are the author's own and the facts are as reported by her which have been verified to the extent possible, and the publishers arc not in any way liable for the same. All rights reserved.
    [Show full text]
  • PLD 2010 Sc 612 at Page 618
    Actio personalis Moritur cum persona Defamtion is a personal wrong and it extinguish with the death of the complainant. The learned counsel in support of his submission had relied upon setion 306 of Succession Act. According to section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 which stipulates that unless it is other wise provided in the amending or repealing law, the pending proceedings shall be dealt with according to the unammended law.PLD 1985 SC 376 PLD 2010 Sc 612 at page 618 P L D 2010 Supreme Court 612 Present: Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan, Mian Shakirullah Jan and Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, JJ MIR SHAKEELUR REHMAN and others---Appellants Versus YAHYA BAKHTIAR and others---Respondents Criminal Appeals Nos.56 of 1999 and 288 of 2004, decided on 9th February, 2010. (a) Malicious prosecution--- ----Remedies in civil and criminal law---Distinction---In domain of civil law, the person wronged can file a suit for damages for malicious prosecution---Such is a personal action and dies with death of either of the parties---Libel or defamation in criminal law, besides being personal injury is an offence against society as it may have potential of disturbing public peace---Such action survives death of complainant if imputation not only harms reputation of that person but is also intended to be hurtful to his family members or force or institution of which the deceased was member. Halsbury's Laws of England (Vol.28 Libel and Slander P-8, para.14; Maniramlala Baliramala v. Mt.Chattibai AIR 1937 Nagpur 216; Mahant Salig Ram v. Charan Dass and another AIR 1939 Lah.
    [Show full text]
  • If I Am Assassinated; Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
    IF I AM ASSASSINATED By ZULFIKAR ALI BHUTTO Reproduced in PDF Format By: Sani Hussain Panhwar CONTENTS In The Supreme Court of Pakistan Introduction .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 1. White Paper or White Lies? .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 27 2. Misrepresentation .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 33 3.”Warfare,” Rigging and Fraud .. .. .. .. .. .. 46 4. The Election Commission .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 55 5. The Government Machine .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 73 6. The “Larkana-Plan” .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 88 7. Rigged or Fair? .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 102 8. The Inner Cancer .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 125 9. The External Crisis .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 138 10. Death Knell .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 154 11. Foreign Hand .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 169 12. The Death Cell and History .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 197 13. The Hour has struck .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 209 Addendum .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 232 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction Criminal Appeal No. 11 of 1978 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Son of Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto District Jail Rawalpindi ………………………………………. Appellant Versus The State.……………………………………………………….. Respondent The undersigned Appellant respectfully submits: 1. That during the pendency of the present Appeal and while it was being heard before this Honorable Court, the Government of Pakistan has come out with two White Papers, one on the alleged rigging of elections in March 1977, and the other on the alleged misuse of the news media during the tenure of my Government. Obviously the time for publicising the false, fabricated and malicious allegations contained in these two White Papers has been deliberately chosen and is a calculated attempt to prejudice man-kind against me and to prejudice the hearing of my case. The second White Paper on the media, which was issued on 28 August 1978, was in fact printed on 25 March 1978, as would appear from the printing date on the front page and the cover, on which another date was superimposed.
    [Show full text]
  • YAHYA BAKHTIAR Original Letter
    Yahya Bakhtiar to Fatima Jinnah [Letter], 2 February 1965 ∗ YAHYA BAKHTIAR M.A., BARRISTER-AT-LAW JINNAH ROAD QUETTA 2nd. Feb. 1965 I am writing this letter to explain my position during the recent meetings of the COP conference and our Working Committee. As soon as the reports of coercion, browbeating and all sorts of illegalities started pouring in at the Flag Staff House and soon thereafter the result of the Presidential election was announced I realized that the same ting will happen during the election to the Assemblies and openly expressed my opinion about boycotting the assembly elections. That night Shoukat Hayat, Pir Saifuddin and Manzar Bashir also arrived in Karachi and I told them about it. They also agreed with me and we came to the conclusion that we should not recognize the Presidential election as legal and proper and demand that election to the Assemblies and the ∗ Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah Papers, F.274, National Archives of Pakistan, Islamabad. Yahya Bakhtiar, M.A., Bar-at-Law was then President, West Pakistan Muslim League (Council) His address as shown in the letter, was Jinnah Road, Quetta. 62 Pakistan Journal of History & Culture, (Fatima Jinnah Number) office of the President be held on the basis of adult franchise and the National Assembly be moved to forthwith amend the Constitution accordingly. Two days later Mr. Fazlur Rahman arrived from Dacca and we discussed the problem with him also and he was already of the same opinion. Then I left for Quetta. It is not a fact that my opinion on the subject was formed by Shaukat or Fazlur Rahman.
    [Show full text]
  • Revival of Democracy in Pakistan 1988-1999: an Analysis
    Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences (PJSS) Vol. 35, No. 1 (2015), pp. 201-212 Revival of Democracy in Pakistan 1988-1999: An Analysis Khan Faqir, PhD Lecturer in Pakistan studies, University of Science and Technology Bannu, KPK, Pakistan. [email protected] Fakhrul Islam, PhD Director Pakistan Study Centre, University of Peshawar Pakistan Shahid Hassan Rizvi, PhD Chairman Department of History, Islamai University Bahawalpur, Pakistan Abstract The demise of Zia was the beginning of a new era and the dawn of democracy after a long interval. The partial democracy established in during Zia regime was a paradox. It suppressed rather than solving problems thus maintaining a status quo. The decade long authoritarian rule had damaged the fabric of the democracy. A new democratic era 1988-99 started with a hope that it will bring prosperity to the people and will strengthen democratic machinery but was not up to the mark of people. With the fast changing governments, corruption, unstable political parties and high presidential powers of the president democracy does not flourish its roots. During the era 1988-1999 the army played the role of a silent spectator. They got benefit of the weaknesses of successive governments and ultimately appeared on the sky of democratic set up in the shape of a bloodless coup in 1999. This paper is an attempt to highlight the performance of democratic rule, its problems and prospects and causes of its failure. Keywords: Democracy, Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif. I. Introduction General Zia’s sudden death in plane crash on 17 August 1988 changed the picture of the political scene.
    [Show full text]
  • ARABIAN SEA N.W.F P:NORTH -WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE Ontents
    CHINA N.W.FP IR • o Peshawar _- ,t Islamabadii I I Rawalpindi •4:•4", Gutranwala • • • Dera Ismail Khan • Lahore PUNJAB • • Quetta Multan INDIA IRAN BALUCHISTAN ARABIAN SEA N.W.F p:NORTH -WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE ontents THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS 1 INTRODUCTION 2 1. RECOMMENDATIONS 3 POLITICAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS 8 1947 to 1977 8 After July 1977 9 THE EROSION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS 11 The legality of martial law 11 Constitutional amendments since July 1977 12 The Provisional Constitution Order 1981 13 "The power of the courts has been snatched The judiciary 14 away and there is no door left for legal shelter and protection." (From a letter written to POLITICAL IMPRISONMENT 16 Amnesty International in May 1981). Scope 17 Arrests since July 1977 17 1981 20 Arbitrary arrests 23 Incommunicado detention 25 The suspension of habeas corpus 26 S. THE LAWS 28 Detention without trial 28 Political activities banned 28 Military Courts 29 Secret trials 31 6. TORTURE, FLOGGING, AMPUTATION AND STONING TO DEATH 32 Deaths in custody 35 Flogging 37 Amputations 40 Stoning to death 41 THE DEATH PENALTY 42 Offences carrying the death penalty 42 Numbers 43 Lack of safeguards 44 APPENDIX 1: Detention without trial: three cases 46 APPENDIX 2: Floggings for political offences 48 APPENDIX 3: Sentences of amputation 51 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL—A WORLDWIDE CAMPAIGN 52 An international effort 52 The mandate 53 Amnesty International at work 53 Continuous research 53 A permanent campaign 54 Policy and funds 54 The boundaries on the cover map reflect those normally shown on international maps in 1981.
    [Show full text]
  • Performance of the Government in the National Assembly of Pakistan, 1988 and Influence of the Opposition: a Critical Analysis
    J. Appl. Environ. Biol. Sci. , 6(10)166-180, 2016 ISSN: 2090-4274 Journal of Applied Environmental © 2016, TextRoad Publication and Biological Sciences www.textroad.com Performance of the Government in the National Assembly of Pakistan, 1988 and Influence of the Opposition: A Critical Analysis Mr. Muhammad Altaf (7-FSS/PHDHIS/S12 )1, Dr. Abdul Zahoor Khan 2 1Ph.D-Scholar-History at the Department of History & Pakistan Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty Block#I, First Floor, New Campus, Sector#H-10, International Islamic University, Islamabad-Pakistan 2Assistant Professor at the Department of History & Pakistan Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty Block#I, First Floor, New Campus, Sector#H-10, International Islamic University, Islamabad-Pakistan Received: June 22, 2016 Accepted: August 29, 2016 ABSTRACT Political leadership has a vision to run the political process according to the political ethos in which they have been politically educated. It has endorsed that their political attitude was immature enough to reach the political decisions consensually and through intercommunicative linkages. One of the observations is that some of the political forces may hinder the smooth sailing of democratic process which was the result of institutional imbalances. This imbalance was structured through constitutional design and it worked against the democracy due to un- matching of political ideals. This conflict of ideals created the obstacles in harmonizing the working relationships between the office of political executive, presidency and the opposition. In its short span of government, it was infused the spirit of political mobilization among the masses which aligned themselves with political entities with the realization of being an active agent of political bargaining.
    [Show full text]
  • Feminism and the Women's Movement in Pakistan Actors
    COUNTRY STUDY Feminism and the Women’s Movement in Pakistan Actors, Debates and Strategies Dr. Rubina Saigol REGIONAL Feminism and the Women’s Movement in Pakistan Actors, Debates and Strategies Dr. Rubina Saigol Feminist and women’s rights consciousness in Pakistan has historically been shaped in response to national and global reconfigurations of power including colonialism, nationalism, dictatorship, democracy and the Global War on Terror (GWoT). The relationship between the women’s movement and the Pakistani state has undergone significant shifts, from mutual accommodation and a complementary ethos to confrontation and conflict, followed by collaboration, co-optation and, finally, collusion depending upon transformations in the nature of the state at particular moments in history. The strategies of the women’s movement reflect significant shifts, from a focus on education and welfare to legal reform, and ultimately to women’s political and economic rights. A historically consistent and sustained tension between the women’s movement/feminism and the state, as well as between the movement and ‘civil society’ consisting of non-state actors, has resulted from specific articulations of religion at different times confronted by the impulse toward a secular ethos. REGIONAL Contents List of Abbreviations i Foreword ii Historical transformations and the Women’s Movement in Pakistan 1 Colonialism and the Education Reform Movement 2 Rise of Anti-Colonial Nationalist Movements in India 6 Post-colonial Re-structuring of State and Society 8 Cold
    [Show full text]