Political Survival in Pakistan: Beyond Ideology by Anas Malik

Author:Anas Malik [Malik, Anas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Ethnic Studies, Social Science, Political Science, Regional Studies, General
ISBN: 9781136904196
Google: dLkuCgAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 17583070
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2010-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

Mujib had warned Bengalis that “an artificial crisis is being fabricated to sabotage the making of the constitution” (Ziring, 1997: 355). The Mukti Bahini in East Pakistan was supported by the Indian army and the 1970–71 internal war cost between 300,000 and 3,000,000 lives (Stewart and Hyat, 2002: 111). Pakistan had excluded the majority of the population, East Pakistanis, from membership in the winning coalition and the effective selectorate, producing a secessionist challenge. Mujib had “near-sovereign control,” a solid quasi-state overlaid with the province that positioned East Pakistan well for a bid for full independence, which it achieved. His quasi-state came partly from obtaining control over government offices.

Yahya Khan used heavy Islamic symbolism in his address to the nation as the 1971 war with India unfolded: “The Indian aggressors should know that they have to face twelve crore [120 million] Mujahids of Pakistan, imbued with the love of God and the Holy Prophet. The Indians know that in 1965, our brave forces had smashed them into pieces. But this time, God willing, we shall hit the enemy even harder than before” (quoted in Nawaz, 2008: 298). Others picked up on this theme. An editorial in The Pakistan Times stated that “He [Yahya] spoke in the name of Islam […]. Overnight the ethos is deeply Islamic […]. If crisis truly mirrors the condition and nature of a nation, today our character is transparently clear and no dust of controversy can blur its shining image” (quoted in Nawaz, 2008: 298). Yahya Khan sought legitimacy and unity by invoking religious symbolism. He used the evocative term “Mujahid,” mentioned what is sacred and venerated, God and his Holy Prophet, and used a common term emphasizing one’s faith when he said “God willing” to condition his assertion that the enemy would be hit harder than before. Thus he clearly sought to give the war an “Islamic” frame. Yet the same frame would be severely strained by Bangladesh’s successful secession. The country’s largest province had broken away despite claims that Pakistan was fighting an Islamically legitimate war. This showed that Muslim solidarity was not sufficient to prevent secession, and had an emboldening effect on others— particularly in the conscious choices by Sindhi political leader G.M. Syed, as well as the terms in which unrest in Balochistan was understood by observers, described below.

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