Pakistan (1947–1971)

Pakistan (1947–1971)
Conventional long name	Dominion of Pakistan and Islamic Republic of Pakistan (1947–1971)
Common name	Pakistan (1947–1971)
Era	Cold War
Status	Sovereign state
Date start	14 August 1947
Date end	16 December 1971
Capital	Karachi (1947–1967), Rawalpindi (interim), Islamabad (planned)
Largest city	Karachi
Official languages	Urdu language, English language
Religion	Islam in Pakistan
Currency	Pakistani rupee

Contents

Pakistan (1947–1971) The period 1947–1971 covers the creation, consolidation, and eventual partition of the state of Pakistan following the Partition of India and the end of the polity that had united West Pakistan and East Pakistan. This era encompassed the premierships of Liaquat Ali Khan, Khawaja Nazimuddin, Mohammad Ali Bogra, Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, I. I. Chundrigar, Feroz Khan Noon, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, I. I. Chundrigar (again), and the long rule of Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan culminating in the emergence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the independence of Bangladesh. The years were shaped by crises involving Indian National Congress, All-India Muslim League, United Nations Security Council, Cold War alignments, and regional movements such as the Kashmir conflict.

Background and Partition

The creation of Pakistan followed debates at the All-India Muslim League session in Lahore led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and negotiations with the Indian National Congress, British Raj, Viceroy of India, and figures like Lord Mountbatten. Communal violence during the Partition of India produced mass migration between Punjab and Bengal Presidency districts, involving actors such as Hindu Mahasabha, RSS, Muslim League National Guard, Indian National Army, and responses by administrators from the Indian Civil Service. The newly created Constituent Assembly of Pakistan faced immediate challenges including the Radcliffe Line, displaced populations in Calcutta, Lahore, and refugee crises managed by agencies like the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.

Early governance saw the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan and political instability involving parties such as the Muslim League, Awami League, National Awami Party, Pakistan Peoples Party, and figures like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Constitutional efforts included the Objective Resolution and the adoption of the 1956 Constitution which made Pakistan an Islamic Republic. Military interventions by leaders such as Ayub Khan (via the 1958 Pakistani coup d'état), Yahya Khan (via the 1969 Pakistani coup d'état), and institutional actors like the Pakistan Armed Forces, Inter-Services Intelligence, and the office of the President of Pakistan reconfigured civil-military relations. Political crises such as the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War and the imposition of martial law in Pakistan under military rulers led to negotiations mediated by the Tashkent Agreement and international figures like Nikita Khrushchev and John F. Kennedy's successors.

Economic policy alternated between import-substitution industrialisation endorsed by technocrats from Planning Commission and liberalised initiatives during Ayub Khan's "Decade of Development" that attracted investment from World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United States, and regional trade with Iran–Iraq. Agricultural reforms affecting Zamindar structures and the Green Revolution technologies altered production in Punjab and Sindh, while industrial growth concentrated in Karachi and Lahore. Social programs involved actors such as All Pakistan Women's Association and educational reforms influenced by institutions like University of Dhaka, University of Karachi, and cultural patrons including Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Abdus Salam. Persistent disparities between East Pakistan and West Pakistan manifested in fiscal allocations debated in the National Assembly of Pakistan and surveyed by economists including Mahbub ul Haq.

Pakistan's strategic posture engaged with the Central Treaty Organization, Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, and alliances with the United States against Soviet Union influence, involving military aid, training, and purchases from manufacturers like Lockheed Corporation. Security operations included counterinsurgency in Balochistan and operations against groups like Mujahideen precursors; internal security was handled by institutions such as the Federal Investigation Agency and provincial police forces. The Kashmir conflict led to wars in 1947–1948 and 1965 and diplomatic engagements at the United Nations and through leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, and mediators including Anastas Mikoyan and Aga Khan. Naval and air components were represented by the Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Air Force, which participated in engagements over Rann of Kutch and other theaters.

Population movements produced shifts in urban centres like Karachi, Dhaka, Lahore, and Peshawar influenced by migrants from Punjab, Bengal, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Cultural life featured writers and intellectuals such as Saadat Hasan Manto, Sadequain, Qurratulain Hyder, musicians like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (early career roots), filmmakers connected to Bollywood and nascent Lollywood, poets such as Allama Iqbal's legacy and Faiz Ahmad Faiz, and artists associated with institutions like the National College of Arts. Religious organizations including Jamaat-e-Islami and movements led by clerics engaged in social debates, while sporting figures from Pakistan cricket team and institutions like the Pakistan Hockey Federation became international representatives. Demographically, census exercises in 1951 and 1961 recorded linguistic communities including Bengali language, Punjabi language, Sindhi language, Pashto language, and minority populations such as Hindus in Pakistan and Christians in Pakistan.

Tensions between East Pakistan and West Pakistan intensified over representation in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, the Six Point Movement led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman under the Awami League, and electoral victories in the 1970 Pakistani general election where mandates clashed with leaders such as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Crackdowns during Operation Searchlight ordered under Yahya Khan and security forces involvement escalated into widespread resistance led by the Mukti Bahini, international attention via the UNGA, humanitarian crises covered by Amnesty International and journalists like Anthony Mascarenhas, and diplomatic pressure from states including India and United States. The culmination was the Bangladesh Liberation War and the surrender of Pakistani forces in Dhaka that produced the independent state of Bangladesh in December 1971 under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and reshaped South Asian geopolitics involving actors such as Indira Gandhi, A. K. Fazlul Huq, and global powers.

Category:History of Pakistan