It was on 14th August 1947 that the Musalmans of India celebrated the day ushering into Independence from the British yoke. The Musalmans all over India were so much enthralled that they had pyrrhic dance the whole night between the 13th and 14th August little realizing that the morning of 15th August will only take them from the slavery of the British but put them under the slavery of Hindus of India. On the contrary the Musalmans in the areas comprising Pakistan slept as slaves of the British on the night between 13th and 14th of August and woke up as a freemen on the 14th August 1947. Fate has these turns. Thus Pakistan came into existence on the map of the world and started its journey into history surrounded with handicaps and crisis. The biggest crisis Pakistan faced was that of the crisis of leadership. Grass never grows under a tree and this is what happened to All India Muslim League. Quaid-e-Azam was the supreme boss whose authority could not be challenged and he continued to be the President of All India Muslim League since the day he joined Muslim League at the request of Nawabzada Liaqat Ali Khan and since then the Nawabzada remained the right hand man of the Quaid till 11th September 1948 when the Quaid breathed his last and Liaqat Ali Khan stepped into his shoes as an effective Prime Minister. It was when Quaid-e-Azam nominated himself as the Governor General of Pakistan, Lord Mountbatten pointed out that constitutionally the Quaid would have to act on the advise of the Prime Minister. The Quaid’s reply was that infact it will be the other way round in Pakistan. This was the first death knell in constitutionalism in Pakistan.
On September 11th 1948 Quaid-e-Azam died, he left behind a vacuum which only Liaqat Ali could fill for about three years and fell victim to an assassins bullet on 16th October 1951 at Rawalpindi. Let us not forget that this bullet was fired under a conspiracy hatched by ambitious feudal lords turned politicians. The game of musical chair started after the death of Liaqat Ali Khan, which was staged managed by palace intrigues headed by Major General Iskender Mirza whom fate has kicked up as the first President of Pakistan. Palace intrigues never allow any leader who is not a boot licker of the boss and this is what our politicians have been right after the death of Liaqat Ali Khan. The leaders in Pakistan have never cared for the nation and the country and they care only for themselves and their party, which is their power base.
It was in 1958 that the stage manager of power politics General Iskender Mirza hatched a conspiracy to assume absolute power and towards that end he selected army to be his power base. General Ayub Khan being the Commander-in-Chief was readily available to share power with General Iskender Mirza. Thus came the first martial law in 1958 – The crises of leadership was evident. Naheed Iskender Mirza pointed out to her husband the ineffectiveness of his position as President of Pakistan when General Ayub Khan continues to be the Chief Martial Law Administrator. Iskender Mirza saw the light of day and could not take any army general into his confidence, the Naval Commander-in-Chief was ineffective and he asked Air Commodore Rab Station Commander Mauripur to arrest General Ayub Khan as soon as he returns from his tour of East Pakistan. Ayub Khan returned and was met at the airport by Air Commodore Rab, who had a cold feet and disclosed the Presidents order to General Ayub Khan. Then there was a famous night of the Generals when General Azam Khan, General Wajid Ali Burki and General Shaikh disarmed the guards of the Presidents House and asked to meet General Mirza. General Iskender Mirza came out in his famous red dressing gown down stairs and was faced with a document handing over complete power to General Ayub Khan and thus General Ayub became the President and Chief Martial Law Administrator on October 27, 1958. Twenty days after General Mirza had installed him as Chief Martial Law Administrator; General Mirza and his wife were flown out of Pakistan as a personal guest of President of Pakistan.
Ayub Khan ruled for ten years and the leaders of All India Muslim League in the meantime only managed to obtain allotments of lands, houses and factories through their influence in the power politics, little caring for the Muslim masses on whom they have rode rough shod hanging lollipops before the nation during the period of struggle during 1940 to 1947. Even the laws were changed to provide easy claims and allotments of property without any proper verification. Thus the leaders made hey in Pakistan while the Muslamans suffered in India. Ayub Khan ruled for ten years till Musalmans of Pakistan got sick of him and Ayub Khan acting against the provisions of his self tailored constitution of 1962 handed over power to the then conspirator and seeker of power and a debauch General Yahya Khan. General Yahya Khan started flirting with the leaders Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in West Pakistan and Shaikh Mujeebur Rehman in East Pakistan. He would only play one against the other. One man one vote was the legal frame work order and Mr. Bhutto could not musterup majority in 1970 elections, and Yahya Khan under Bhutto’s influence continued to postpone the inaugural session of the elected Parliament. The culminating point came on 6th March 1971 when Shaikh Mujeebur Rehman declared ” AYE BRAY SANGRAM, SADHENIK SANGRAM ” and thus the foundation of separation of East Pakistan was laid by the leaders of West Pakistan. This was due to the crises of leadership in Pakistan. Bangladesh came into existence in December 1971 not because of India, not because of Brezhnev but because of doings of our so-called leaders in Pakistan, much blame is laid at the doors of United States because Mc Farland the American Ambassador was present in East Pakistan during all this period of crises and as a matter of fact of history President Nixon telephoned President Brezhnev to stop India from dismembering West Pakistan otherwise their relations are going to be strained. Thus India declared unilateral cease-fire and West Pakistan was saved. All this is due to crisis of leadership and the nation being in disarray.
It was due to the crises of leadership that East Pakistan came on the map of the world and Pakistan founded in 1947 as the largest Muslim country of the world was cut to size. This crises still continues, then came in an era of democracy with so-called leaders who only earned for themselves during their stay in power. Democracy and their natural corollary the leadership went into disarray on 5th July 1977 when the Army Chief assumed power and sent the Prime Minister to the gallows. Then followed again a period of 11 years of military rule with no leader inside till General Ziaul Haq died in a mysterious air crash. Again a period of democracy with so called leadership for pelf and power for self, till this leadership was packed on 12th October 1999.
Pakistan since its birth has been involved in crises of leadership leading to corruption, which has doomed Pakistan, when are we going to get out of this doom only God can tell. Today the crisis, which looms on account of its mishandling, is the crisis of Kashmir. Pakistan has missed the bus not only once but many times over. The first they missed the bus was when India had sent the troops to Kashmir with the instructions not to land at Srinagar airfield if they find even one raider near airfield. Mr. V. P. Menon the then Secretary, Ministry of States was glued to the radio transmitter, and he heaved a sigh of relief when the radio boomed that there are no raiders and airfield is clear and they are going to land at Srinagar. Pakistan missed the bus second time when Governor General of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah ordered General Douglas Gracey, the Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army to send troops to Kashmir, the Pakistani Commander-in-Chief refused to comply as he had no instructions in this regard from the joint Supreme Commander Field Marshal Auckenlec who was sitting in Delhi flirting with the Governor General of India. The Quaid had a cold feet, he could do nothing, as a matter of fact what should have been done is to replace the C-in-C and send the troops – History would have been some thing else. The third time Pakistan missed the bus is aptly described in General Akbar’s book ” The Raiders in Kashmir ” Had he received the cease-fire orders two days later history would have been something else. Fate does not allow as many chances to miss the bus. Yet another occasion was when India was involved with China in Nefa, but Ayub had to follow the instructions of his American masters not to embarrass the Indians by any action on Kashmir border. This is how the world diplomacy goes and nations lose and win.
India demands some adjustments on the line of control (LOC) that being so it requires a leader who can take the Kashmiris alongwith him as well as Pakistanis to adjust the requirements of India and Pakistan. On the face of it as per the Lahore Resolution of All India Muslim League in 1940 the matter is quite simple, give Jammu to India and take Kashmir Valley. Last but not the least is both India and Pakistan withdraw their forces from Kashmir and let the Kashmiris decide their own fate. If all this does not suits the warring parties let the matter be taken to the International Court of Justice by the Azad Kashmir government as Kosovo has done it and accept the decision as final. Just hanging on and fighting to retain power is only going to be a doom for the contending nations. We must avoid it if we can avoid it irrespective of the requirements of the interested powers, super or whatever they may be.