Daily Times

Positive criticism is better than advice. The current wave of criticism on government is most severe because, for the first time, a third party had emerged out of the two-party system and formed the government in the country. We take advantage to evaluate different eras from our past, about the economy and prosperity of people based on reports/data from the past. It will merely be a comparison of how and when common people lived happily, no malice.

The dilemma in our country is that approximately 40 per cent of the voters come out to cast their votes and the rest of the 60 per cent remain unconcerned as per past general election reports. Resultantly, parties with a meagre/simple majority with 21 per cent votes out of the 40 per cent can form a government and it has happened many times. How neutral voters can be brought into the election to take it to at least 60 per cent of it, is a solution, which will result in the real government and real opposition. Strong and positive opposition is the key to the future of a prosperous country. As mentioned above, unannounced opposition becomes about 79 per cent against the elected party with 21 per cent votes. And member parliament tries to oblige through jobs, funds, and business to them to bind them to remain in government. That is why winning parties never discuss and compare their success on the issues of income, GDP, price hikes, development works in their tenures and new symbol of success is a slogan, which they claim with pride that they had completed a five-year term in the history of the country. When you fix a target to complete term, only you cannot penetrate masses and then it becomes numbers game only.

Credit goes to all rulers without any discrimination who made the economy of country glow and flow on the direction of masses; benefitting jobs and flourishing business, development etc. Simultaneously, people do not go after policies of government and prices may be because of literacy rate and stronghold of feudalism in rural areas and in cities, parties’ positions are different from rural areas that are influenced by feudalism for more than one hundred fifty years.

Ayub Khan started cleaning up the politics to inculcate policies for social and economic disciplines

Government of Pakistan remained in the lurch as two main founders who died very soon; Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Liaqat Ali Khan. There were perpetual changes at the top seat of the country at these unexpected incidents from 1947 to 1958; showing a lack of top leadership. That kind of fragility paved way for a martial laws and it came in existence through Iskandar Mirza who appointed General Ayub Khan as Chief Martial Law Administrator. During this era, there was nobody to determine a policy/guideline to run the state affairs, all were guests on continuously changing chairs. Soon after Ayub Khan reined in the power, he sent Iskander Mirza in exile. Ayub Khan started cleaning up the politics to inculcate policies for social and economic disciplines. He established strong relationships with administration and policymakers, he took people with the agrarian and industrial background which remained fruitful for the country and ultimately for the nation-building. He involved people from masses to conduct local affairs; members were elected which later chose Ayub Khan as President of Pakistan. A positive development was made by the incumbent to extend meaningful dialogue/friendship with China when India was backed by the US in a skirmish with Pakistan.

Ayub Khan launched 10-year development schemes in various organisations in all major cities of East and West Pakistan. Pakistan progressed in agriculture and strengthened the local industry and people were satisfied with their future seemingly running smoothly. East Pakistan had jute and rice whereas West Pakistan had cotton and wheat. Major electorate/mandate of ruling party administered the largest unit of the country, West Pakistan strictly through a man of nerves, Nawab of Kalabagh. There were no hooligans, mafias, pressure groups to hinder performance and were dealt with the force of Law. More than three hundred government officers were sent home from services on the corruption charges. People enjoyed the rule of law with a workable environment for development plans and growth rate was satisfactory. A strong head of state, Ayub Khan, won a war against India in 1965 under his regime too. Despite the burden of war with India, he managed US Dollars between Pak Rs 4.77 to 8.68 a dollar in the economy in his tenure.

Let us see some landmark projects in his name like the construction of Minar-e-Pakistan; shifting of Capital from Karachi to Islamabad; using his power for Land Reforms, Agriculture University, Faisalabad; Punjab University New Campus, Lahore, Agriculture University, Faisalabad, the start of travel, through Electric train between Lahore to Khanewal on an experimental basis to replace diesel price hikes in future, bought the Gwader land from Masqat, Heavy Mechanical Complex, Taxila; Tank manufacturing; Railway Engine manufacturing at Risalpur and Islamabad; Warsak Dam, Mangla and Tarbela Dams; tea processing plants, Paper Mill Karna Fuly, and providing thousands of boat engines to fishermen in East Pakistan.

The repair of Badshahi Masjid; restoration work of Shalamar Garden; construction of Fourth Minar (new construction) and restoration of Chauburji Lahore.

He also completed bridges over rivers of Ravi, Chenab, Jhelum and one in Attock District. He completed pillar-less steel bridge (Hanging Bridge) over the Indus River, connecting Sukkur to Rohri in Sindh, with a larger span of 790 feet without support. Our new generation may be surprised to read a list of works done in a regime in the past by a ruler named Ayub Khan, never brought in discussions at media/press for the public, who have become habitual of seeing, discussing and travelling Metro Bus services available in different cities. I do not criticise Metro here, I do travel in Metro sometimes but these projects are limited to some areas benefitting lenders. One can compare projects done by Ayub Khan. I do not know for how much loans were involved in those projects but loans are for once, and return of loans with a subsidy is an idea brought in politics in about three decades back, unlike past projects. Can anybody from any group or party in the country blame him any in-equality in trade, business, agriculture, name any branch of business that had adverse remarks with any city or district in his tenure? Yes, he had only a bad patch of his Foreign Minister who created turmoil against him forming his new party and parted ways with him. It ended with his resignation at that time. He ruled East and West Pakistan in the presence of leaders like Maulana Maududi, Bhashani, Mufti Mahmood, Sheikh Mujeeb, Abdul Sattar Niazi, Tameezud Din, and a lot more big names in the politics of Pakistan.

In short, after reading the list of projects done by Ayub Khan, it is quite clear that he did very well but unfortunately fell victim of his own close aide, his FM who managed all through agitation. His development policies, projects and landmarks must be available in old reports and archives.

The writer is a Lahore-based senior journalist and Incharge of Readers Column, Daily Times, Lahore