Ittefaq Nama

It is the season of heresies, meray aziz humwatno, so here is my list:

1. 1950: Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan refused to send two combat divisions to support U.S. military operations in the Korean War. This was a clear indication that Pakistan was moving towards the Non-Aligned Movement. Khan told his Commander In Chief General Ayub Khan that he would not be blackmailed by the US. Following the Abadan Crisis, the U.S. asked Liaqat Ali Khan to persuade Iran to transfer control of its oil fields to the United States, which Khan refused to do. The U.S. threatened to cut off economic support to Pakistan. Khan retaliated by demanding that the U.S. evacuate its military bases in Pakistan. In a declassified document, Khan’s statements and aggressive mood were a “bombshell” for President Truman’s presidency and for U.S. foreign policy. In 1950, President Truman requested Khan to provide a military base for the CIA to keep an eye on the USSR; Khan again refused to do this. Pakistan’s first PM Liaqat Ali Khan was assassinated in Rawalpindi in 1951.


2. 1958: Commander In Chief General Ayub Khan was Defence Minister and supported President Iskander Mirza’s decision to impose martial law against Prime Minister Feroze Khan Noon’s government. Two weeks later, he took over the presidency from Mirza himself. He granted the US an airbase outside Peshawar from which spy missions over the Soviet Union were launched. In 1965, Ayub Khan fought an election as a presidential candidate against Fatima Jinnah, rigged the election and was re-elected as President. In 1967, popular protest erupted against him over price hikes in food products. In 1969, senior military officers forced him to resign to avoid further protests. Ayub Khan fought a brief illness and died in 1974.

I think this is enough for starters. Here in bloved London, I am doing true Pakistan Studies and discovering real history of country. Please alloy me to present the truth to you, meray aziz humwatno, through this column.

Your Sincerely

NS