Operation Fair Play

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Operation Fair Play
Part of Cold war
State emblem of Pakistan.svg
Type Strategic and Tactical
Location
Prime Minister Secretariat, Islamabad
Planned by General Headquarters (GHQ)
Objective Relief of Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from the Prime Minister Secretariat
Date 4 July 1977 (1977-07-04)
Executed by 111th Brigade, X Corps
Outcome Success of coup d'etat led by General Zia-ul-Haq

Operation Fair Play was the code name for the 5 July 1977, coup by Pakistan Chief of Army Staff General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, overthrowing the government of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The coup itself was bloodless, and was preceded by social unrest and political conflict between the ruling leftist Pakistan Peoples Party government of Bhutto, and the right-wing Islamist opposition Pakistan National Alliance which accused Bhutto of rigging the 1977 general elections. In announcing the coup, Zia promised "free and fair elections" within 90 days, but these were repeatedly postponed and it was not until 1985 that ("party-less") general elections were held. Zia himself stayed in power for eleven years until his death in a plane crash.

The coup was a watershed event in the Cold War and in the history of the country. The coup took place nearly six years after the war with India which ended with the secession of East Pakistan as Bangladesh. The period following the coup saw the "Islamisation of Pakistan" and Pakistan's involvement with the Afghan mujahideen (funded by US and Saudi Arabia) in the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan.

Events and political background

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) came in power after the general elections held in 1970. The power was given to PPP after the devastating war with India which ended with the secession of East-Pakistan.[1] Proponents of social democracy, left-wing philosophy, and socialist orientation was encourage by the government and such ideas slowly entered in the ordinary lives of the people.[1]

According to some authors and historians some influential groups were not ready to accept the PPP's taking power in 1971.[1] In 1972–74, the intelligence community had thwarted more than one attempt by the military officers to oust the civilian PPP government; all cases were heard by JAG legal branch of the Pakistan military. In 1976, Prime Minister Bhutto forcefully retired seven army generals in order to promote Lieutenant-General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq to four star rank and subsequently appointment as chief of army staff and General Muhammad Shariff as chairman joint chiefs. Reciprocating in the same period, General Zia invited Bhutto of becoming first and only civilian Colonel Commandant of the Armoured Corps.

1977 general elections and political crises

In 1976, nine religious and conservative parties formed a common platform, called Pakistan National Alliance (PNA).[1] In January 1977, Prime Minister Bhutto immediately started campaigning after called for new general elections.[1] The PNA was united behind religious slogans and a right-wing political agenda.[1] The PPP, on the other hand, campaigned on a platform of social justice in agriculture and industry. Despite large turnouts at PNA campaign events and Establishment on PNA's circle, the results of the general elections showed the Pakistan Peoples Party winning 155 out of 200 seats in the National Assembly and the PNA winning only 36. The results "astonished political pundits both inside and outside Pakistan".[1] Bhutto securing supermajority in the Parliament.[1]

The PNA leadership was astonished when the results were announced by the Election Commission (EC) and prudently refused to accept the results and accused the Government of systematic rigging.[1] According to "The Story of Pakistan",

At many places, particularly where the PNA candidates were strong, the polling was alleged to have been blocked for hours. There were also reports that PPP armed personnel in police uniform removed ballot boxes. Marked ballot papers were also found on the streets in Karachi and Lahore. Rumors quickly circulated that the results in key constituencies were issued directly from the Prime Minister’s office.[2]

According to author Ian Talbot, "The reality seems to be that a certain PPP victory was inflated by malpractice committed by local officials, which may have affected 30-40 seats."[3]

The PNA immediately called for street boycott and demanded resignation of Prime Minister Bhutto.[1] The violence spread all over the country when PPP refused PNA's demands; a massive violent demonstration, civil disobedience, and confrontation with the Police ensued. The PNA used mosques to stimulate the masses and tried to create an impression that they were only working for the enforcement of Islamic theocracy.[1] At least 200 people were killed in the clashes between security forces and demonstrators.[4]

Zia had already taken care of the Bhutto Loyalists, and had put to military trial one of the biggest names in Pakistan Army history ; General Tajammul Hussain Malik war hero 1965 & 1971 to show Bhutto his loyalty. This did, however decrease his support within the army and it is believed several factions of the army that sided with Gen. Tajammul later caused Gen Zia's death.[citation needed]

Bhutto responded with the use of Federal Security Force (FSF) and Police to control the situation as many activists of PNA were imprisoned.[1] One leader of the PNA secretly wrote a letter to chiefs of staff of armed forces and chairman joint chiefs to intervene to end the crises; thus inviting armed forces to enforce martial law.[1]

In 1977, one official of the Military Intelligence (MI) had persuaded Prime Minister Bhutto that martial law was imminent, and to speed up the negotiations with the PNA. The PPP realized the seriousness of the crises and political negotiations were started in June 1977. The PPP accepted almost all demands of the PNA and the stage was set for a compromise. The negotiations were stalled when Bhutto took the lengthy tour of Middle East countries and the PNA termed his tour as dilatory tactics. Furthermore, there was an impression created in the print media that negotiations were falling apart.[5]

Pakistan Military response

After the letter reached to the chiefs of staff of armed forces and chairman joint chiefs, there was a fury of meeting of inter-services to discuss the situation.[5] When Bhutto returned to the country and in spite of the agreement was about to sign with the PNA.[5] The military staged a coup against Bhutto to end the political crises. On 4 July 1977, Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Shariff imposed the martial law and dismissed Bhutto from the government.[5]

In electronic media, General Zia and his military government portrayed the coup as a "spontaneous response to a difficult situation" and addressed the nation immediately:

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I (Zia) am the only man who took this decision [Fair Play] .... And I did so on 1700Hrs on 4[th] July after hearing the press statements that talks and negotiation between Mr. Bhutto and the opposition had broken down. Had an agreement been reached between them, I certainly would never had done it....

— General Zia-ul-Haq, statement given to Newsweek, [5]

Bhutto and the PPP was persecuted on the charges of murder of political opponents.[5] Soon after the martial law imposed, the new military government took over the government and the state's affairs.[5]

A military government led by Bhutto's Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq eventually installed a military government, composing the Chairman Joint Chiefs, Chiefs of Navy and the Air Force, and took over government operations in the country.[6][7][7]

Supreme Court's action

The Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of Pakistan Anwar-ul-Haq legitimatized the military response after issuing the Doctrine of necessity orders.[5] On October 24, 1977, the Supreme Court began the trial against Bhutto on charges of "conspiracy to murder" of Ahmed Raza Kasuri.[8]

In 1977, the Supreme Court found Bhutto guilty of murder charges and condemned him to death.[5] Despite appeals of clemency sent by many nations, the government upheld the Supreme Court verdict and followed the Supreme Court orders when Bhutto was hanged in 1979.[5]

Soviet Union and United States position

When the martial law took place, the whole world was quiet, and regional countries (such as India and China) did not issue any statements. Only two countries issued the statements over this issue.[5] The USSR did not welcome the martial law and Bhutto's subsequent execution. The USSR harshly criticized the coup and Leonid Brezhnev condemned Bhutto's execution as an act out of "purely humane motives".[9]

The US played an ambiguous role instead with many charging that the martial law was imposed with the willingness and "tacit"[10] approval of the U.S. and the CIA's involvement.[10][10]

When allegations were leveled against the U.S. by Pakistani historians and scholars, U.S. officials reacted angrily and held Bhutto responsible for his act.[5] Despite U.S. denial, many authors, and the PPP's intellectuals themselves,[11] held the U.S. responsible and suspected the U.S. of playing a "hidden noble role" behind the coup.[11]

In 1998, Benazir Bhutto and the PPP publicly announced their belief in the electronic media that Zulfikar Bhutto was "sent to the gallows at the instance of the superpower for pursuing the nuclear capability [of Pakistan]."[12]

Aftermath

Legacy

Before the third martial law in 1977, Pakistan had been under martial law for nearly 13 years, and saw the wars with India which led to the secession of East Pakistan.[6][7] The Martial law endured the toxic legacies of General Zia-ul-Haq's eleven years of authoritarian rule. The martial law was marked by numerous human rights violations.[5] A weak insurgent movement against General Zia's government was maintained inside the country by elements sympathetic to the former Bhutto government, but was met with great hostility from the United States and General Zia.[5]

The martial law ended in 1988 with the death of President Zia-ul-Haq and many other key military administrators in the government. Following this event, the country returned to democracy and the PPP again came in power. In 1999, martial law was again imposed against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by the armed forces.

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "The_New_York_Time_.28article_published_in_1979.29_and_Sani_H._Panhwar.2C_member_of_Sindh_Provincial_Assembly_and_Party_representative_of_Pakistan_People.27s_Party." defined multiple times with different content
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Bhurgari, Abdul Ghafoor. "The Falcon of Pakistan" Reproduced by Sani H. Panhwar Member Sindh Council, PPP.

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