Few remember the 25th of March. Even those who remember it, stay silent. On that date in history, tragedy visited Pakistan, not once but twice. The first time was in 1969, the second time in 1971.
In 1969, Pakistan’s first military ruler, Field Marshal Ayub Khan, who had ruled the country since October 27, 1958, handed over the reins of power to his hand-picked commander-in-chief of the army, General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan. The next day, a leading newspaper ran this headline: “COUNTRY PUT UNDER MARTIAL LAW: CONSTITUTION ABROGATED.” Underneath was the subheading: “Ayub quits: Yahya becomes Chief ML Administrator.”
The constitution that Ayub had given to the country in 1962 had a provision for such a circumstance. Should the president step down from office, he should hand over power to the speaker of the national assembly. Yahya Khan abrogated the constitution with no questions asked, just like Ayub had done in 1958.
Ayub had decided to step down from power and not seek re-election after large scale rioting in the country. In his farewell speech, he stated that the prevailing conditions of lawlessness did not permit the convening of the National Assembly. Amazingly, Ayub asked Yahya to “fulfill his constitutional responsibility” and impose martial law. He closed with a wish, that “we continue to march towards progress and prosperity along the path of democracy.”
In that speech, Ayub despaired that it "is impossible for me to preside over the destruction of our country." Privately, he confided that he had failed, and added that there was no leader in the opposition who would rise above his self-interest. He stated that keeping the country together for the past 10 years "was like keeping a number of frogs in one basket." And he spoke ominously about East Pakistan: “The East will last a few years and the West will drag on…There is no communication between the two parts. Let us hope some miracle will save us from complete separation.”
Justifying his military takeover, Yahya declared that “strikes and violence have become a daily routine and the country has been driven to the edge of an abyss. The nation has to be pulled back to safety and normal conditions have to be restored without delay.”
Once in power, Yahya promised to hold general elections under a parliamentary system. He honored that promise in December 1970. Those elections are viewed as the fairest in Pakistan’s history. A clear winner emerged. It was the Awami League that was based entirely in East Pakistan.
Yahya congratulated Shaikh Mujib, head of the Awami League, and referred to him as the future prime minister. He also set March 25th as the date when the National Assembly would be convened in Dhaka for the very first time.
But there were elements in the army, the civil service and the Pakistan People’s Party who could not countenance the thought of transferring power to the East Pakistanis. Since independence, power had always resided in the West. Yahya came under heavy pressure to annul the results of the elections. In the end, he yielded to the demand and annulled the elections. That set in motion a series of events that would see the unraveling of Jinnah’s Pakistan.
Sensing betrayal, East Pakistanis began to revolt. To nip the revolt in the bud, Yahya asked his generals to plan a military operation that would take out the leadership of the Awami League. “Operation Searchlight” was launched on March 25th when the National Assembly session was supposed to have convened. It may well be the biggest blunder in Pakistan’s history since it undid the country that Jinnah had worked so hard to create.
Yahya ignored the advice that Pakistan’s all-weather friend, China, had given him in February. China had advised him to seek a political settlement with the leaders of East Pakistan. Once Operation Searchlight was underway, Yahya spoke to the people of Pakistan on March 26: “It is my hope that the law-and-order situation will soon return to normal in East Pakistan and we can again move towards our cherished goal …namely, transfer of power to the elected representatives of the people.”
After making that bold promise, Yahya disappeared from the scene, as recorded by Lt.-Gen. Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, who took command of the Eastern Garrison in April. By then, Yahya had pretty much washed his hands off the province which, he once claimed, he knew better than the back of his hand, alluding to his tenure as GOC 14 Division in Dhaka.
When asked about the situation in East Pakistan, Yahya would say, "all I can do about East Pakistan is pray." General Hamid, the army’s Chief of Staff and Yahya’s deputy, visited the troops in the East just twice. General Gul Hassan, the Chief of General Staff, would not answer Niazi's phone calls. The top brass of the Pakistan army had abandoned Niazi to his own devices.
Pakistan had been trying to wrest Kashmir from India for years. It had invaded Kashmir twice but lost both times. Now it was India’s opportunity to turn the tables. In the fall, refugees from East Pakistan began to flood West Bengal, giving India the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take down its long-standing nemesis.
Anticipating an Indian invasion of the East, Yahya launched an air attack in the West on several bases of the Indian Air Force, hoping to imitate the success of the Israelis in the 1967 War. The attack did not destroy many Indian aircraft, which had been dispersed unliked those of the Arab forces. That gave India the very excuse it had been waiting for to unleash its full might on the Pakistani forces in the East. Surrounded on all sides, fighting with troops who were outnumbered and demoralized by the Civil War, Niazi surrendered easily.
Many rules flow from these two March 25 episodes. One, military rule is a disaster. Two, the constitution represents the voice of the people. It should not be abrogated by the army. Third, the army should exit the political arena. Fourth, military force cannot be used to unite the country or to conquer Kashmir.
Sadly, these rules have been honoured more than in the breach than in the observance. Two more martial laws would follow, one more invasion of Kashmir would occur, and the military would continue to dominate the civilian institutions.