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Political history of Pakistan

The political history of Pakistan is the narrative and analysis of political events, ideas, movements, and leaders of Pakistan. Pakistan gained independence from the United Kingdom on 14 August 1947, when British India was divided by the United Kingdom, in a region what is commonly referred to as the South Asia. Since its independence, Pakistan has had a colorful yet turbulent political history at times, often characterized by martial law and inefficient governments.

Pre-independence era
The Pakistan Movement as it came to be known was based on the principle of two-nation theory, the outcome of the desire of Muslims of India to establish a separate homeland for Muslims. This was a movement against oppression, perceived or real, that living with Hindu majority within combined India will not allow Muslims the opportunities that they rightfully deserve.
Interestingly the Pakistan Movement was staunchly opposed by some of Mullahs whome one would have thought would be inclined to support a Muslim cause, instead the movement was spearheaded by Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Parliamentary democracy
After the independence, Liaquat Ali Khan became the first Prime minister and Jinnah became the first Governor-General. Pakistan consisted of two wings, West-Pakistan and East-Pakistan. The Liaqat government faced major difficulties in East and West Pakistan. The same year, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 began to take place in Kashmir region. Both Liaquat and Jinnah were determined to stop the riots and refugee problems and to set up an effective administrative system for the country. Liaquat Ali Khan did the groundbreaking work for the Foreign Policy of Pakistan while taking initiatives towards the formulation of the constitution. He presented The Objectives Resolution, a prelude to future constitutions, in the Legislative Assembly. The house passed it on 12 March 1949. It has been described as the “Magna Carta” of Pakistan’s constitutional history. Both United States and Soviet Union sent invitation to Liaqat Ali Khan. However, Khan chose to first pay a goodwill visit to United States. This was perceived as a rebuff to Moscow, and has been traced to profound adverse consequences. Khan had wanted Pakistan to remain neutral in the Cold War, as declared three days after Pakistan’s independence when he declared that Pakistan would take no sides in the conflict of ideologies between the nations. Khan later tried to visit Soviet Union but the dates for goodwill visit were not materialized by Soviet Union.

The same year, Jinnah declared Urdu as official language of Pakistan. It sparked protests in East Pakistan (earlier East Bengal), where Bengali was spoken by most of the population. Jinnah also faced problems with Pakistan Army’s Commander-in-Chief General Sir Douglas Gracey who refused to obey the orders of Jinnah. General Gracey argued that Jinnah as Governor-General represented the British Crown of which he himself was an appointee. Therefore, he did not send troops to Kashmir region. Jinnah also faced problems with Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force Air Vice-Marshal Richard Atcherley and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Rear Admiral James Wilfred Jefford who also refused to obey standing orders given by Jinnah.
During Khan’s tenure, India and Pakistan agreed to resolve the dispute of Kashmir in a peaceful manner through the efforts of the United Nations. According to this agreement a ceasefire was effected in Kashmir on January 1, 1949. It was decided that a free and impartial plebiscite would be held under the supervision of the UN.

In 1948, Jinnah died, and a major problem of religious minorities flared during late 1949 and early 1950. Militants from Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan began to attack the minorities in West-Pakistan, which later slipped to India. Sensing another war with India, Khan met Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to sign the Liaquat-Nehru Pact in 1950. The pact was an effort to improve relations and reduce tension between India and Pakistan, and to protect the religious minorities on both sides of the borders.
In East Pakistan, the Bengali Language Movement reached its peak on 21 February 1952, when the police and soldiers opened fire on students near the Dhaka Medical College protesting for Bengali to receive equal status with Urdu. Several protesters were killed, and the movement gained further support throughout East Pakistan. Later, the Government agreed to provide equal status to Bengali as a state language of Pakistan, a right later codified in the 1956 constitution.

For just over half of its 64 years of independence, Pakistan has been ruled by its powerful military. Democratically elected governments have struggled to complete their terms, being alternately dismissed by presidents or removed from power by army chiefs.
Indeed, only one parliament has ever completed its five-year term – and it was headed by General Pervez Musharraf, a military dictator, as both president and army chief.
Al Jazeera traces through Pakistan’s complex political history in this interactive timeline.
The periods in orange represent civilian rule, and in blue represent military rule. The black markers represent key events. Hover over them for more information.