1. MUHAMMAD AYUB KHAN REGIME
INRODUCTION:
In 1999, Sherbaz Khan Mazari wrote his memoir - Pakistan: A Journey to
Disillusionment. Starting from Mazari's early years in opposition to the Ayub Khan
government, and moving through the Bhutto and Zia periods, the book makes
interesting revelations about the leading political players and the events of those
turbulent times. His description of Pakistan's journey to disillusionment is touchingly
accurate. Superbly researched, written and annotated. The book is dedicated to the
people of Pakistan - leaderless and betrayed. Mazari's best-selling autobiography –
Journey to Disillusionment is an insider's first-hand expose of the complete failure
and corruption of governance in Pakistan since independence and a painfully stark
reminder that among the ills that plague the country, political venality stands tallest and
starkest. Mazari adds to the mountainous pile of incriminating evidence corroborating
the old maxim, 'Politics is the last refuge of the scoundrel'.
EXPLANATION:
Muhammad Ayub Khan was a five-star general and a politician, serving as
the second President of Pakistan as well as its first military dictator from 1958 until his
forced resignation on 1969.In January 1951, Ayub Khan succeeded General Sir
Douglas Gracey as commander in chief of the Pakistan Army, becoming the first
Pakistani in that position. Ayub Khan probably was selected because of his reputation
as an able administrator, his presumed lack of political ambition, and his lack of
powerful group backing. Coming from a humble family of an obscure Pakhtun tribe,
Ayub Khan also lacked affiliation with major internal power blocks and was, therefore,
acceptable to all elements.
Within a short time of his promotion, however, Ayub Khan had become a powerful
political figure. As army commander in chief and for a time as minister of defense in
1954, Ayub Khan was empowered to veto virtually any government policy that he felt
was inimical to the interests of the armed forces.
By 1958 Ayub Khan and his fellow officers decided to turn out the "inefficient and
rascally" politicians--a task easily accomplished without bloodshed. Iskander Mirza was
the first President of Pakistan, serving from 1956 until being forced out from the
presidency in 1958. Iskander Mirza declared Martial Law on midnight of 7 and 8
October 1958 abrogating the 1956 constitution. President Mirza's decision to
declare martial law in 1958 was supported by Ayub, whom Mirza declared chief martial
law administrator. Two weeks later, Ayub deposed Mirza in a bloodless coup and
assumed the presidency. He thereafter relinquished the post of army chief to
General Musa Khan the same year. Ayub subsequently assumed presidential powers in
1960; he was elected to a five-year term. In 1964, Ayub confident in his apparent
popularity and seeing deep divisions within the political opposition, called for
Presidential elections. After defeating Fatima Jinnah in the controversial presidential

2. elections of 1965, Ayub's standing began to slide amid allegations of widespread vote
rigging.
Ayub Khan used two main approaches to governing in his first few years. He
concentrated on consolidating power and intimidating the opposition. He also aimed to
establish the groundwork for future stability through altering the economic, legal, and
constitutional institutions. He was the same Ayub Khan who was pointed as the head of
Punjab Boundary Force in August 1947, to look after the safe migration of Muslims from
India to Pakistan. But he didn‟t fulfill his duties and remain drunk and the history
painfully saw the massacres of Muslim men, women and children and rape of Muslim
women on the cost of “Bottle of vine”.
President Ayub ruled Pakistan for a little more than ten years. During his regime
Pakistan had undergone some achievements but there had been a lot of unsolved
structural problems also which account for his era. In a brief context Ayub‟s era didn‟t
eliminate the basic problems of the society in Pakistan. The major aspects of Ayub‟s era
can be discussed as follows:
Before Ayub‟s era country was smarting under the shadows of dark forces on the
political horizon. In this scenario Ayub‟s regime didn‟t bring any hope of freedom
but the order and discipline, characteristic of all Martial Law regimes.
After abrogating the constitution of 1956, the press & Publication ordination 1960
was employed to clip the wings of criticism of the regime.
The commission, appointed by Ayub to design the political frame work for the
future, proposed a presidential form of government and Basic Democracy found
no place in the future democratic process. And the recommendations were
neglected by the regime.
The constitution formed under the guidance of Ayub Khan removed the word
„Islamic‟ and declared that Pakistan will be a republic under the name of
„Republic of Pakistan”, which was lately rectified as „Islamic Republic of Pakistan‟
through first amendment. In a nut shell the president had acquired the completely
free hand in the management of the affairs of the state in the light of his own
experience.
Ayub introduced a new political system, known as the Basic Democracies, in
1959. It created a four-tiered system. Each tier was assigned certain
responsibilities in local administration of agricultural and community
development, such as maintenance of elementary schools, public roads, and
bridges. All the councils at the tehsil, zilla, and division levels were indirectly
elected. The lowest tier, on the village level, consisted of union councils.
Members of the union councils were the only members of any tier who were
directly elected.
Ayub‟s regime also increased developmental funds to East Pakistan more than
threefold. This had a noticeable effect on the economy of the province, but the
disparity between the two wings of Pakistan was not eliminated.
His regime also initiated land reforms designed to reduce the political power of
the landed aristocracy.

3. Ayub also promulgated a progressive Islamic law, the Muslim Family Laws
Ordinance of 1961, imposing restrictions on polygamy and divorce and
reinforcing the inheritance rights of women and minors.
In 1959, soon after taking office, Ayub ordered the planning and construction of a
new national capital, to replace Karachi. The chosen location of the new capital
in the province of Punjab was close to the military headquarters of Rawalpindi,
which served as an interim capital. Islamabad officially became the new capital in
1967, although construction continued into the 1970s.
The first election under the constitution of 1962 were on non part basis, however,
the political parties were revived in the second election which were held in 1965.
Ms. Fatima Jinnah was the presidential candidate of Combined Opposition
parties (COP). Ayub khan won the election but the results were disputed and
COP demanded that direct election should be substituted for indirect elections.
Ayub was skillful in maintaining cordial relations with the United States,
stimulating substantial economic and military aid to Pakistan. But unfortunately
the war of 1965 brought a sense of defenselessness and deprivation among the
people of East Pakistan. And after that The East Pakistan demanded for
autonomy under the presentation of six points.
In 1969 a mass movement spread by People‟s Party in West Pakistan and by
Awami League in East Pakistan destabilized Ayub‟s regime and on March 25
1965 Ayub resigned from his office and handed over the charge to Commander
in Chief of the Army General Yahya Khan, instead of the speaker of the national
assembly, hence violated himself in „self assumed Constitution‟.
Ayub Khan's legacy is mixed. He was opposed to democracy believing like any other
dictator that parliamentary democracy was not suited for the people of his country. Like
many subsequent military dictators he was contemptuous of politicians and political
parties. He sided with the Americans against the Soviets, and in return received aid,
which resulted in enormous economic growth. He subsidized fertilizers and modernized
agriculture through irrigation development, spurred industrial growth with liberal tax
benefits. In the decade of his rule, gross national product rose by 45%. It is alleged that
his policies were tailored to reward the elite families and the feudal lords. During the fall
of his dictatorship mass protests erupted due an increasingly greater divide between the
rich and the poor. He shunned prestige projects and stressed birth control in a country
that has the seventh largest population in the world: 115 million. He dismissed criticism
with the comment that if there was no family planning, the time would surely come when
"Pakistanis eat Pakistanis."
Government corruption and nepotism, in addition to an environment of repression of
free speech and political freedoms increased unrest. Criticisms of his sons and family's
personal wealth increased especially his son's actions after his father's election in the
allegedly rigged 1965 Presidential elections against Fatima Jinnah is a subject of
criticism by many writers.
Ayub began to lose both power and popularity. Workers wage fell by 60% during the
60s. Furthermore the on track policy of promoting entrepreneur elite and Industrial
cartels to get economic growth generated increasing regional and social tensions. Ayub

4. Khan is critiqued for the growth in income inequality 5 million people fell below the
poverty line. He is also blamed for not doing enough to tackle the significant economic
disparity between East and West Pakistan. Whilst he was aware of the acute
grievances of East Pakistan he did try to address the situation. On one occasion, while
visiting East Pakistan, there was a failed attempt to assassinate him, though this was
not reported in the press of the day. As Ayub's popularity plummeted, he decided in
1969 to give up rule.
CONCLUSION:
A Journey to Disillusionment is not a book which is crying out for a judgment, for the
simple reason that it passes none itself. True that it unreservedly indicts Ayub, Bhutto
and Zia as megalomaniacs who neither had the time or inclination to spare a thought for
the country they aspired to lead. Mazari makes it pretty clear that the actions of virtually
all Pakistan's leaders have engendered a great deal of contempt for the ideals of
democracy. In Pakistan, politics is something entered into not because one has ideals,
but simply to be in a position to dispense largesse. None of Pakistan's leaders come out
well under Mazari's critical eye. Ayub Khan comes across like a bumbler, but Zulfikar
Bhutto comes across as malignant, General Zia-ul-Haq is portrayed as a rather lost
individual who became addicted to power, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif are shown
to have contempt for democracy but only because they don't know any better. Mazari
doesn't just blame the politicians - the army gets a major drubbing too, as well they
should. They have stunted the possibility of elective and accountable democracy ever
being a reality in Pakistan. The judiciary is also criticized for bowing to whatever
government is in power. Sherbaz criticizes a system of which he was very much a part.
Most of the corrupt politicians were his close friends. He could not do anything either to
change questionable traditions of his own tribe or to convert his good friends to his
enlightened ideas. In short, his life as a political leader was a failure. This explains why
Pakistan cannot get out of its political problems: it has many leaders like Sherbaz who
are self proclaimed righteous people but somehow cannot deliver because the `system'
is corrupt. They completely ignore the fact that it is they who make up the system. In my
opinion Ayub was a man of great determination but the he was lacking the quality of
„listening to others‟. He always did what he thought better in the light of his own
experience. His regime can be characterized with some developments but he couldn‟t
maintain the national harmony among the distant provinces of Pakistan, i.e. East
Pakistan and West Pakistan.