Iskander Mirza Dismissal and end of presidency What happened regarding the dismissal and end of presidency? civil-military relations continued to be a dominant factor between President Mirza and General Ayub Khan.
Was there any controversy involving President Mirza and General Ayub Khan?
Was there any controversy involving President Mirza and General Ayub Khan?
Mirza grew up and completed his schooling in Bombay, attending the Elphinstone College of the University of Bombay, but left the university to attend the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst when he was selected by the British Governor-General for the King's Commission. Mirza was the first Indian graduate of the military academy, and gained his commission in the British Indian Army as 2nd Lt. on 16 July 1920. As was customary for newly commissioned British Indian Army officers, he was initially attached for a year to the second battalion of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). On 16 July 1921, he was promoted to lieutenant and was assigned to command a platoon on 30 December 1921. His military career was spent in the Military Police. In spite of hailing from Bengal, his military career was mostly spent in the violent Western region of India, participating in the Waziristan war in 1920. After the campaign, he was transferred to the 17th Poona Horse (Queen Victoria's Own), as an army inspector but left active service to join the Indian Political Service (IPS) on August 1926. His first assignment was posted in Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh as an assistant commissioner before posting as political agent in Hazara in the North West Frontier Province. He received promotion to army captain on 17 October 1927. From 1928-33, Mirza spent time as political agent in the troubled Tribal belt, having served as an assistant commissioner in the districts of Dera Ismail Khan on April 1928, Tonk on May 1928, Bannu on April 1930, and Nowshera on April 1931. In 1931, Captain Mirza was appointed a district officer and later posted as deputy commissioner at Hazara in May 1933, where he served for three years until a posting to Mardan as assistant commissioner from October 1936 (deputy commissioner from January 1937). Promoted to major on 16 July 1938, he became the political agent of the Tribal Belt in April 1938, stationed at Khyber. He remained there until 1945. Mirza was appointed and served as the political agent of Odisha and North West Frontier Province from 1945 until 1946. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel on 16 July 1946. His ability to run the colonial administrative units had brought him to a prominence that prompted the British Indian Government to appoint him as the Joint Defence Secretary of India in 1946. In this position, he was responsible for dividing the British Indian Army into the future armies of Pakistan and India. Around this time, he became closer to Liaquat Ali Khan and began formatting political relations with the politicians of the Muslim League. After the legislative elections held in 1954, the Awami League had been successfully negotiating with the Muslim League for a power-sharing to form the national government against the Republican Party. By 1958, I.I. Chundrigar and A.Q. Khan had successfully reorganized the Muslim League that was threatening the reelection and political endorsement for Mirza for the second term of his presidency. Furthermore, the Republican Party presided by Prime Minister Sir Feroze Khan had been under pressured over the electoral reforms issue at the National Assembly. Upon witnessing these developments, President Mirza ordered the mass mobilization of the military and imposed emergency in the country after declaring the martial law against his own party's administration led by Prime Minister Feroze Khan by abrogating the writ of the Constitution and dissolving the national and provisional assemblies on the midnight of 7/8 October 1958. In morning of 8 October 1958, President Mizra announced via national radio that he was introducing a new constitution "more suited to the genius of the Pakistan nation", as he believed democracy was unsuited to Pakistan "with its 15% literacy rate". Upon abdicating, Mirza took the nation into confidence, saying that: Three weeks ago, I (Iskander Mirza) imposed martial law in Pakistan and appointed General Ayub Khan as Supreme Commander of the [Armed Forces] and also as Chief Martial Law Administrator.... By the grace of God... This measure which I had adopted in the interest of our beloved country has been extremely well received by our people and by our friends and well wishers abroad... I have done best to administer in the difficult task of arresting further deterioration and bringing order out of chaos... In our efforts to evolve an effective structure for future administration of this country... Pakistan Zindabad, Pakistan Zindabad! This martial law imposed by country's first Bengali president was the first example of martial law in Pakistan, which would continue until the dissolution of East Pakistan in 1971. Iskander Mirza appointed then-Army Commander of the Pakistan Army, General Ayub Khan, as the Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA), which proved his undoing within three weeks. The two-man rule political regime was evolved under President Mirza and his appointed chief martial law administration and then-army chief General Ayub Khan. However, the two men had very different point of view on running the government with the new situation, even though they were responsible for bringing about the change. President Mirza had not envisaged any change in his previous powers; he wanted to retain the ability to maneuver things in keeping with his own whims. Judging from the situation, the things however had changed as the time and situation both were demanding the complete solution. General Ayub Khan came to an understanding that the real political power rested with the support from the military, and within a week of enforcing the martial law, President Mirza realized the delicate position he got himself into. In an interview with Dawn, President Mirza regretted his decision saying: "I did not mean to do it" while offering assurances that the martial law would be for the shortest possible duration. In 1959, President Mirza accepted the resignation of Vice-Admiral M.S. Choudhri, replacing with Vice-Admiral A.R. Khan as the new naval chief but the civil-military relations continued to be a dominant factor between President Mirza and General Ayub Khan. In an attempt to consolidate the powers under his control, President Mirza appointed a new administration cabinet that consisted of bureaucrats and technocrats and unsuccessfully tried by role of the CMLA General Ayub Khan as the Prime Minister on 24 October 1958 but such actions could not implemented due to General Ayub Khan's strong protest and briefly lodged a complain to President Mirza about his "high hand" method. The new administration did not satisfy CMLA Ayub Khan who had more control in the administration than President Mirza. Ayub dispatched the military unit to enter in presidential palace on the midnight of 26-27 October 1958 and placed him in an airplane to exile in England. Subsequently, Admiral A. R. Khan and four army and air force generals: Azam, Amir, Wajid, and Asghar Khan were instrumental in the demise of President Mirza. CANNOTANSWER
Furthermore, the Republican Party presided by Prime Minister Sir Feroze Khan had been under pressured over the electoral reforms issue at the National Assembly.
Sahibzada Sayyid Iskander Ali Mirza  (, ; 13 November 1899 – 13 November 1969), was a Pakistani general officer, Bengali businessman and East Pakistani civil servant who was the first president of Pakistan. He was elected in this capacity in 1956 until being dismissed by his appointed army commander General Ayub Khan in 1958.

Mirza was educated at the University of Bombay before attending the military college in Sandhurst in the United Kingdom. After a brief military service in the British Indian Army, he joined the Indian Political Service and spent the majority of his career as a political agent in the Western region of the British India until elevated as joint secretary at the Ministry of Defence in 1946. After the independence of Pakistan as result of the Partition of India, Mirza was appointed as first Defence Secretary by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, only to oversee the military efforts in first war with India in 1947, followed by failed secessionism in Balochistan in 1948. In 1954, he was appointed as governor of his home province of East Bengal by prime minister Mohammad Ali of Bogra to control the law and order sparked as a result of the popular language movement in 1952, but later elevated as interior minister in Bogra administration in 1955.

Playing a crucial role in ousting of governor-general Sir Malik Ghulam, Mirza assumed his position in 1955 and was elected as the first president of Pakistan when the first set of Constitution was promulgated in 1956. His presidency, however, marked with political instability which saw his unconstitutional interferences in the civilian administration that led to the dismissal of four prime ministers in a mere two years. Facing challenges in getting the political endorsements and reelection for the presidency, Mirza surprisingly suspended the writ of the Constitution by having imposed martial law against his own party's administration governed by Prime Minister Feroze Khan on 8 October 1958, enforcing it through his army commander General Ayub Khan who dismissed him when the situation between them escalated, also in 1958. Mirza lived in the United Kingdom for the remainder of his life and was buried in Iran in 1969.

His legacy and image is viewed negatively by some Pakistani historians who believe that Mirza was responsible for weakening of democracy and political instability in the country.

Origins

Ancestral roots and family background

Iskander Ali Mirza was born in Murshidabad, Bengal in India on 13 November 1899, into an elite and wealthy aristocrat family who were titled as Nawab of Bengal and later after 1880 Nawab of Murshidabad. Mirza was the eldest child of Sahibzada Sayyid Muhammad Fateh Ali Mirza (b. 1864–d. 1949) and his first wife, Dilshad Begum née Tyabji (b. 1869–d. 1924).

The title, Mirza (lit. Master), is an honorific surname bestowed to his family to represent royalty, which was customary to give to individuals in medieval India. From his grandfather's ancestral roots, he was of Iraqi Arab descent.

The Mirza family was an influential and wealthy feudal family in Bengal, with close ties with British monarchy. His father, Fateh Ali Mirza belonged to the ruling house of Murshidabad, grandson of the first Nawab Mansur Ali Khan.

He was a direct descendant of Mir Jafar, the first Nawab of Bengal under British Raj who betrayed Siraj ud-Daulah.

Education and military service in India (1920–47)

Mirza grew up and completed his schooling in Bombay, attending the Elphinstone College of the University of Bombay, but left the university to attend the Royal Military College in Sandhurst when he was selected by the British Governor-General for the King's Commission. Mirza was the first Indian graduate of the military college, and gained his commission in the British Indian Army as 2nd Lt. on 16 July 1920. As was customary for newly commissioned British Indian Army officers, he was initially attached for a year to the second battalion of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). On 16 July 1921, he was promoted to lieutenant and was assigned to command a platoon on 30 December 1921.

His military career was spent in the Military Police. In spite of hailing from Bengal, his military career was mostly spent in the violent North-West Frontier Province of India, participating in the Waziristan war in 1920. After the campaign, he was transferred to the 17th Poona Horse (Queen Victoria's Own), as an army inspector but left active service to join the Indian Political Service (IPS) in August 1926. His first assignment was posted in Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh as an assistant commissioner before posting as political agent in Hazara in the North West Frontier Province. He received promotion to Captain on 17 October 1927.

From 1928 to 1933, Mirza spent time as political agent in the troubled Tribal belt, having served as an assistant commissioner in the districts of Dera Ismail Khan in April 1928, Tonk in May 1928, Bannu in April 1930, and Nowshera in April 1931. In 1931, Captain Mirza was appointed a district officer and later posted as deputy commissioner at Hazara in May 1933, where he served for three years until a posting to Mardan as assistant commissioner from October 1936 (deputy commissioner from January 1937). Promoted to major on 16 July 1938, he became the political agent of the Tribal Belt in April 1938, stationed at Khyber. He remained there until 1945.

Mirza was appointed and served as the political agent of Odisha and North West Frontier Province from 1945 until 1946. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel on 16 July 1946. His ability to run the colonial administrative units had brought him to prominence that prompted the British Indian Government to appoint him as the Joint Defence Secretary of India in 1946. In this position, he was responsible for dividing the British Indian Army into the future armies of Pakistan and India. Around this time, he became closer to Liaquat Ali Khan and began formatting political relations with the politicians of the Muslim League. About him Abdul Ghaffar Khan wrote: ""According to my instructions the mass movement was launched. A Muslim Deputy-Commissjoner, Janab Iskander Mirza, avowing his traditional loyalty to the British, excelled his masters, beating to death Syed Akbar, a Khudai Khidmatgar. He went to the extent of poisoning vegetables in a Khudai Khidmatgar camp. Those who ate them were taken seriously ill. I would rather not expose his other crimes but would rather produce him before the Almighty, whom we all have to face on the Day of judgement."

Political career in Pakistan

Defence Secretary (1947–50)

As the partition of India took place by the United Kingdom, Colonel Mirza played a substantial role in a committee that was responsible for dividing British India's Army, Navy and Air Force into the future militaries of India and Pakistan.

He was appointed as first Defence Secretary in the Liaquat administration by the Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, who relied on running the government on British viceregal model with close coordination of civilian bureaucracy, the police and the military. As Defence Secretary, he oversaw the military efforts in the first war with India in 1947, as well as witnessing the failed secession in Balochistan by Khan of Kalat.

In 1950, Mirza was promoted to two-star rank, having skipped the one-star promotion as Brigadier, and upgraded his rank as Major-General in the Pakistan Army by the promotion papers approved by Prime Minister Ali Khan. He was appointed as Colonel Commandant of the Military Police while serving as the Defence secretary in the Liaquat administration. In 1951, Prime minister Ali Khan appointed him as the director of the Department of Kashmir and Afghanistan Affairs (DKA).

His tenure as defense secretary also saw the deployment of Military Police in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) as a result of the Bengali Language Movement, during which the East Pakistan Rifles fatally shot four student activists. Within a short span of time, the Military Police had the control of the state and its officer commanding submitted the report of their course of action to Major General Iskander Mirza in 1954.

In 1951, he backed the Liaquat administration's decision of appointing the native chiefs of staff of the army, air force and navy, and dismissed deputation appointments from the British military. For the four-star appointment, the Army GHQ sent the nomination papers to Prime Minister's Secretariat that included four-senior major-generals in the race for the army command of the Pakistan Army: Major-General Iftikhar Khan, Major-General Akbar Khan, Major-General Ishfakul Majid, and Major-General N.A.M. Raza.

Initially, it was Major-General Iftikhar Khan who was promoted to four-star rank and selected to be appointed as first native commander of the army but died in an airplane crash en route after finishing the senior staff officers' course in the United Kingdom. All three remaining major-generals were bypassed including the recommended senior-most Major-General Akbar Khan and Major-General Ishfakul Majid due to Major-General Mirza's lobbying for the army selection when he presented convincing arguments to Prime Minister Ali Khan to promote the junior-most Major-General Ayub Khan to the post despite the fact that his name was not included in the nomination list. Ayub's papers of promotion were controversially approved and appointed as the first native Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army with a promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General (acting full General) on 17 January 1951 by Prime Minister Ali Khan.

With Ayub becoming the army chief, it marked the change in the military tradition of preferring native Pakistanis and ending the transitional role of British Army officers. In 1951 also, he also helped elevating Commodore M.S. Choudhri to the promotion to two-star rank, Rear-Admiral, to assume the navy command of Pakistan Navy, but it was not until in 1953 when Admiral Choudhri took over the command.

Governorship of East Bengal and Cabinet Minister (1954–55)

Due to rapid political instability in East Bengal, Mirza was relieved as Defence Secretary and took over the governorship of East Bengal, in an appointment approved by then Governor-General Sir Malik Ghulam on 29 May 1954.

On 1 June 1954, Mirza took over the Government of East Bengal from chief minister A. K. Fazlul Huq as part of the governor rule that dismiss the United Front. He imposed the martial law, backed by the East Pakistan Rifles and dismissed the East Bengal Legislative Assembly.

After landing at the Dhaka Airport, Mirza sharply announced in Bengali language to the Pakistan media representatives, that he would not hesitate to use force to establish peace in the province, and personally threatening Maulana Bhashani of shooting him.

Iskander Mirza ruled East Pakistan with an iron fist, having arrested 319–659 political activists on his first week, including Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Yusuf Ali Chowdhury.

By mid-June 1954, the number of arrests reached 1,051, including 33 assembly members and two Dhaka University professors. His authoritative actions had sown a permanent seed of hatred for the Pakistani government in the hearts of the people of East Pakistan despite the fact that Mirza was himself an ethnic Bengali. Amid criticism at the public level in Pakistan led Mirza of relieving him from the post of Governorship to East Bengal to Muhammad Shahabuddin in June 1955. He was the first Bengali to be governor of East Pakistan.
On 24 October 1954, he was appointed as Interior Minister in the Bogra administration of Prime Minister Mohammad Ali Bogra. During this time, he had maintained close political ties to the United States's establishment and was backed by Governor-General Sir Malik Ghulam for this post, which Mirza only remained until 7 August 1955.

As an Interior Minister, he provided strong political advocacy for the controversial geopolitical program, One-unit, which he faced strong criticism in the West Pakistan's politicians and the public in general.

Governor-general of Pakistan (1955–56)

In Bogra administration, he also took care the matters of Commonwealth and Kashmir affairs ministry as he had gained major political influence in the administration in 1955. During this time, Governor-General Malik Ghulam survived another fatal attack of Paralysis that made him unable to talk and walk, seeking treatment in the United Kingdom on a two-month leave.

Appointed only as acting governor-general since 7 August 1955, Mirza dismissed Malik Ghulam to take over his post on 6 October 1955, and forced Prime Minister Bogra to resign when he appointed him as the Pakistan Ambassador to the United States. On 12 August 1955, he invited Muhammad Ali, the Finance Minister, to take over the government as a prime minister.

Presidency (1956–58)

The newly constituted Electoral College unanimously elected Mirza as the first president upon the promulgation of the first set of the Constitution on 23 March 1956. The coalition of the Awami League, the Muslim League, and the Republic Party endorsed his presidency.

The Constitution drives the country's system of government toward parliamentarianism, with executive powers vested under the elected prime minister while the president serving as a ceremonial head of state.

On 12 September 1956, he established and became vice-president of the Republican Party that was in direct conflict with Muslim League, mainly due to disagreement on the idea of republicanism and conservatism. Unable to keep the substantial pressure on Mirza's Republic Party eventually led the Muslim League's successful demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Muhammad Ali on 12 September 1956.

Upon these development, President Mirza invited Awami League to form the central government that appointed Huseyn Suhrawardy as the Prime Minister, who made an alliance with the Republican Party, to take over the charge of the government.

Despite Mirza and Suhrawardy both being Bengalis and hailing from the Indian state of West Bengal, the two leaders had very different views of running the central government and both leader were in brief conflict, causing the harm to the unity of the nation. Prime Minister Suhrawardy found extremely difficult to govern effectively due to the issue of One Unit, alleviating the national economy, and President Mirza's constant unconstitutional interference in Suhrawardy administration.

President Mirza demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Suhrawardy and turned down his request to seek motion of confidence at the National Assembly. Threatened by President Mirza's dismissal, Prime Minister Suhrawardy tendered his resignation on 17 October 1957 and was succeeded by I. I. Chundrigar but he too was forced to resigned in mere two months.

President Mirza had widely lacked the parliamentary spirit, distrusting the civilians to ensure the integrity and sovereignty of country. His unconstitutional interference in the civil administration made the elected prime ministers effectively unable to function the government, as he had dismissed four elected prime ministers in matter of two years. On his last nomination, he appointed Feroz Khan as the seventh Prime Minister of the country, who had been supported by the Awami League and the Muslim League.

Martial law

After the legislative elections held in 1954, the Awami League had been successfully negotiating with the Muslim League for a power-sharing to form the national government against the Republican Party.

By 1958, I.I. Chundrigar and A.Q. Khan had successfully reorganized the Muslim League that was threatening the reelection and the political endorsement for Mirza for his second term of the presidency. Furthermore, the Republican Party presided by prime minister Sir Feroze Khan had been under pressured over the electoral reforms issue at the National Assembly. Upon witnessing these developments, president Mirza ordered the mass mobilization of the military and imposed emergency in the country after declaring the martial law against his own party's administration led by prime minister Feroze Khan by abrogating the writ of the Constitution and dissolving the national and provisional assemblies on the midnight of 7/8 October 1958.

In morning of 8 October 1958, President Mizra announced via national radio that he was introducing a new constitution "more suited to the genius of the Pakistan nation", as he believed democracy was unsuited to Pakistan "with its 15% literacy rate". Upon abdicating, Mirza took the nation into confidence, saying that:

This martial law imposed by country's first Bengali president was the first example of martial law in Pakistan, which would continue until the dissolution of East Pakistan in 1971. Iskander Mirza appointed then-army commander of the Pakistan Army, general Ayub Khan, as the Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA), which proved his undoing within three weeks.

Dismissal and end of presidency

The two-person rule political regime was evolved under president Mirza and his appointed chief martial law administration and then-army chief General Ayub Khan. However, the two men had very different point of view on running the government with the new situation, even though they were responsible for bringing about the change.

President Mirza had not envisaged any change in his previous powers; he wanted to retain the ability to maneuver things in keeping with his own whims. Judging from the situation, the things however had changed as the time and situation both were demanding the complete solution. general Ayub Khan came to an understanding that the real political power rested with the support from the military, and within a week of enforcing the martial law, President Mirza realized the delicate position he got himself into. In an interview with Dawn, President Mirza regretted his decision saying: "I did not mean to do it" while offering assurances that the martial law would be for the shortest possible duration.

In 1959, president Mirza accepted the resignation of Vice-Admiral M.S. Choudhri, replacing with vice-admiral A.R. Khan as the new naval chief but the civil-military relations continued to be a dominant factor between President Mirza and General Ayub Khan.

In an attempt to consolidate the powers under his control, President Mirza appointed a new administration cabinet that consisted of bureaucrats and technocrats and unsuccessfully tried by role of the CMLA General Ayub Khan as the Prime Minister on 24 October 1958 but such actions could not implemented due to General Ayub Khan's strong protest and briefly lodged a complain to President Mirza about his "high hand" method.

The new administration did not satisfy CMLA Ayub Khan who had more control in the administration than President Mirza. Ayub dispatched the military unit to enter in presidential palace on the midnight of 26–27 October 1958 and placed him in an airplane to exile in England. Subsequently, Admiral A. R. Khan and four army and air force generals: Azam, Amir, Wajid, and Asghar Khan were instrumental in the demise of President Mirza.

Post-presidency and death

Mirza left the country in 1959 and lived the remainder of his life in London, England willingly where he financially struggled running a small Pakistan cuisine hotel until his death. It was reported widely by Pakistani media that despite hailing from a wealthy Nawab and aristocrat family, Mirza lived in poverty in England and his regular income was based on retired pension of £3,000 as a former military officer and president. Foreign dignitaries such as Ardeshir Zahedi, Shah of Iran, Lord Inchcape, Lord Hume, and Pakistani billionaires in London had made his life in exile tolerable.

At the London hospital where he died, he once said to his wife, Nahid: "We cannot afford medical treatment, so just let me die."

He died of a heart attack on 13 November 1969, his 70th birthday and was buried in Iran. Hundreds of Iranians, including Prime Minister Abbas Hoveyda, and Pakistani expatriates in Iran bade farewell and offered their prayers.

Family
Mirza was married twice: his first marriage took place on 24 November 1922, when he married an Iranian woman, Rifaat Begum (1907–23 March 1967). The couple had two sons and four daughters.

Humayun Mirza who died on June 13, 2021 was the only surviving son of Iskander Mirza. He was born in Poona, India, and was educated at Doon School. He also studied in the U.K., before moving to the U.S., where he earned his MBA from Harvard. He married the daughter of Horace Hildreth, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan. He retired from the World Bank in 1988 and lived in Bethesda, Maryland. He was the author of a book "From Plassey to Pakistan: The Family History of Iskander Mirza." Humayun's younger brother, Enver Mirza, had died in a plane crash in 1953.

In October 1954, while in West Pakistan, Mirza's second marriage took place in Karachi after he fell in love with an Iranian aristocrat, Naheed Amirteymour (1919–2019), daughter of Amirteymour Kalali. She was a close friend of Begum Nusrat Bhutto. It was this friendship that brought Zulfikar Ali Bhutto into the political arena of Pakistan.

Legacy

Iskander Ali Mirza is often criticized for imposing martial law by the Pakistani historians. Historians have noted that Mirza held that Pakistanis "lacked the parliamentary spirit and because of the lack of training in the field of democracy and the low literacy rate among the masses, democratic institutions cannot flourish in Pakistan". He believed that the judicial authorities should be given the same powers which they used to enjoy during the British Indian Empire.

Mirza's political ideology reflected secularism, and an image of internationalism, strongly advocating the religious separation in state matters. Mirza had never had a high opinion of politicians. He was well known for his conviction that the politicians were destroying the country. He felt that to work towards real and responsible democracy, the country must have what he called "controlled democracy".

Historians also asserted that Mirza's role as the head of state led him to play an active part in power politics, building an image of being a kingmaker in the country's politics. Mirza took full advantage of the weaknesses of politicians and played them against each other, first offsetting the influence of the Muslim League by creating the Republican Party.

During his short span of little over three years as the head of state, four prime ministers were changed, three of them were his appointees, while the only popularly elected Bengali prime minister was dismissed. Iskander Mirza is thus widely held responsible for the instability that brought the active role of Pakistan armed forces in politics.

It was reported by Hindustan Times in 2016, that his family home in Murshidabad, West Bengal was left in ruins.

Honours

(ribbon bar, as it would look today)
 India General Service Medal (1909)
 King George V Silver Jubilee Medal – 1935
 King George VI Coronation Medal – 1937
 Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) – 1939
 Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) – 1945
 Pakistan Independence Medal – 1948
 Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal – 1953
 Grand Collar of the Order of Pahlavi of the Empire of Iran – 1956
 Order of the Supreme Sun, 1st Class of the Kingdom of Afghanistan – 1958

See also
 Conservatism in Pakistan
 Civil-military relations
 Republican Party

References

Notes and External links

 
 

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1969 deaths
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The 1958 Pakistani coup d'état refers to the events between October 7, when the President of Pakistan Iskander Mirza abrogated the Constitution of Pakistan and declared martial law, and October 27, when Mirza himself was deposed by Gen. Ayub Khan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army. There were a number of Prime Ministers between 1956 and 1958 and it reached a stage when General Ayub Khan felt the army should take control to restore stability. East Pakistan’s politicians wanted more say in the running of the central government, which increased tension. Iskander Mirza had lost the support of many of the leading politicians and was alarmed at a plan by Suhrawardy to unite the political leadership of Bengal and Punjab against him. Therefore he turned to Ayub Khan and the military for help.

History 
The prelude to Ayub Khan's declaring martial law in Pakistan was fraught with political tension and sectarian politics in which the political establishment of the new country alienated its citizens through controversial governance and perceived political failings. Among the most controversial failings of the government were the continued uncertainly around canal water disputes causing a rift between the largely still agriculturally dependent economy of Pakistan's government and citizen farmers as well as the general geopolitical failure to adequately deal with the Indian threat to Pakistani Sovereignty in the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir. In 1956 the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan approved a constitution that ended Pakistan's status as an independent Dominion of the British Empire, to create an Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Maj. Gen. Iskander Mirza, as the last Governor General of Pakistan, automatically became the state's first president. The new constitution was, however, followed by a period of political turmoil in Pakistan which further agitated the populace and factions within the military. In the two-year period between 1956 and 1958, this turmoil saw four prime ministers - Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar and Sir Feroz Khan Noon -in rapid succession. A precedent existed in Pakistan whereby a Governor-General—in 1956 that office belonged to Malik Ghulam Muhammad before its powers were assumed by the president—could dismiss a prime minister and rule by decree until a new government could be formed. Many viewed Mirza's use of this power as a deliberate manipulation of the constitution for his own ends. In particular, Mirza's One Unit scheme amalgamating the provinces of Pakistan into two wings - West Pakistan and East Pakistan - was politically controversial and proved difficult and costly to enforce. The quick succession of prime ministers as a result of Iskander Mirza's controversial actions fostered the view within the military that the public would support a coup against Pakistan's civil government and allow Ayub Khan to cease control of the country.

Martial law 
On October 7, President Iskander Mirza declared martial law in Pakistan. He abrogated the constitution of 1956, describing it as "unworkable" and full of "dangerous compromises." He dismissed the government of Sir Feroz Khan Noon, dissolved the National Assembly of Pakistan and the provincial legislatures. Mirza also proceeded to outlaw all political parties. He appointed General Ayub Khan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistani army as the Chief Martial Law Administrator and nominated him to become the new Prime Minister of Pakistan, charged with administering the country.

Deposing of Mirza 
On October 27, Iskander Mirza resigned from the presidency, transferring it to Ayub Khan. Both men saw the other as a rival to their respective positions. Mirza believed his own position had become largely redundant after Ayub Khan assumed most executive powers as chief martial law administrator and prime minister, and acted to assert himself, while Ayub Khan thought Mirza was conspiring against him. It is said that Ayub was alerted of Mirza's plan to have him arrested on his return from Dhaka. It is widely held that Ayub Khan and generals loyal to him forced Mirza to resign. Mirza was later taken to Quetta, the capital of the province of Baluchistan, before being exiled on November 27 to London, England, where he resided until his death in 1969.

Consolidation 
Ayub Khan combined the offices of president and prime minister, becoming both the head of state and government. He created a cabinet of technocrats, diplomats, and military officers. These included Air Marshal Asghar Khan and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the future prime minister. In contrast, with future Pakistani military rulers such as Gen. Zia-ul-Haq and Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Ayub Khan did not seek to hold the posts of president and army chief simultaneously. He appointed Gen. Muhammad Musa as the new commander-in-chief. Ayub Khan also obtained judicial validation of his move when the Supreme Court of Pakistan validated and legalised his take-over under the "Doctrine of necessity."

Reactions 
The coup was received positively in Pakistan as relief from unstable governments and weak political leadership. There was hope that strong central leadership could stabilise the economy and promote modernisation and the restoration of a stable form of democracy. The Ayub Khan regime was also supported by foreign governments such as the United States.

Further reading 
 Maya Tudor, "The Promise of Power:  The Origins of Democracy in India and Autocracy in Pakistan."(Cambridge University Press, 2013).
 Aqil Shah, "Army and Democracy: Military Politics in Pakistan" (Harvard University Press, 2014)
 K.B. Sayeed, "The collapse of Parliamentary Democracy in Pakistan," Middle East Journal, 13.4 (1959), 389–406

See also 
 Dosso case

References 

Pakistani Coup D'etat, 1958
Military coups in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan, 1958
Anti-communism in Pakistan
Conflicts in 1958 Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan  (; 14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974), was the second president of Pakistan. He was an army general who seized the presidency from Iskander Mirza in a coup in 1958, the first successful coup d'état in the country. Popular demonstrations and labour strikes supported by the protests in East Pakistan ultimately led to his forced resignation in 1969.

Trained at the British Royal Military College, Ayub Khan fought in World War II as a colonel in the British Indian Army before deciding to transfer to the Pakistan Army in the aftermath of the partition of India in 1947. His assignments included command of the 14th Division in East-Bengal. He was elevated to become the first native Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army in 1951 by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, succeeding General Douglas Gracey. From 1953 to 1958, he served in the civilian government as Defence and Home Minister and supported President Iskander Mirza's decision to impose martial law against Prime Minister Feroze Khan's administration in 1958. Two weeks later, he took over the presidency from Mirza after the meltdown of civil-military relations between the military and the civilian president.

Upon taking power, he appointed General Musa Khan as Commander-in-Chief in 1958. the policy inclination towards the alliance with the United States was pursued that saw the allowance of American access to facilities inside Pakistan, most notably the airbase outside of Peshawar, from which spy missions over the Soviet Union were launched. Relations with neighboring China were strengthened but deteriorated with Soviet Union in 1962, and with India in 1965. However, when the Soviet Union facilitated the meetings between Pakistan and India that led to the Tashkent Declaration in 1966, relations among the three nations improved. At the home front, the policy of privatisation and industrialization was introduced that made the country's economy Asia's fastest-growing economy. His tenure was distinguished by the completion of hydroelectric stations, dams and reservoirs, by prioritizing the space program and by reducing the nuclear deterrent.

In 1965, Ayub Khan entered the presidential race as the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) candidate to counter the popular and famed non-partisan Fatima Jinnah and was controversially reelected for a second term. He was faced with allegations of widespread intentional vote riggings, authorized political murders in Karachi, and the politics over the unpopular peace treaty with India which closed the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and which many Pakistanis considered an embarrassing compromise. In 1967, wide disapproval of price hikes of food prompted demonstrations across the country led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Ayub Khan dramatically fell from power in 1969 amid the popular uprising in East Pakistan led by Mujibur Rahman. It forced to resign to avoid further protests while inviting army chief Yahya Khan to impose martial law for the second time, he fought a brief illness and died in 1974.

His legacy remains mixed; he is credited with an ostensible economic prosperity and what supporters dub the "decade of development" by bringing an industrial and agricultural revolution to the country, but is criticized for beginning the first of the intelligence agencies' incursions into the national politics, for concentrating wealth in a corrupt few hands, and segregated policies that later led to the breaking-up of nation's unity that resulted in the creation of Bangladesh.

Early life 
Ayub Khan was born on 14 May 1907 in Rehana, a village in the North-West Frontier Province of British India into the Tareen tribe of Pashtuns. His ancestors are noted to have migrated from Afghanistan to Pishin, Balochistan during the Mughal rule of India and then to Rehana, Hazara. 

He was the first child of the second wife of Mir Dad, a Risaldar-Major (a regimental JCO which was then known as VCO) in the 9th Hodson's Horse which was a cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. For his basic education, he was enrolled in a school in Sarai Saleh, which was about 4 miles from his village. He used to go to school on a mule's back and was shifted to a school in Haripur, where he started living with his grandmother.

He went on to study at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and  while pursuing his college education, he was accepted into the Royal Military College at Sandhurst by the recommendation of General Andrew Skeen; he did not complete his degree at AMU and departed for Great Britain. Ayub Khan was fluent in Urdu, English and his regional Northern Hindko dialect.

Military career 

Ayub Khan joined the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, as a trainee in July 1926. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. on 2 February 1928 in the 1/14th Punjab Regiment (1st Battalion of the 14th Punjab Regiment) of the British Indian Army – before this he was attached to the Royal Fusiliers.  Amongst those who passed out with him was the future chief of army staff of the Indian Army, General Joyanto Nath Chaudhuri, who served as the army chief from 1962 to 1966 while Ayub was the president of Pakistan. After the standard probationary period of service in the British Army, he was appointed to the British Indian Army on 10 April 1929, joining the 1/14th Punjab Regiment Sherdils, now known as the 5th Punjab Regiment.

He was promoted to lieutenant on 2 May 1930 and to captain on 2 February 1937. During World War II, he was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1942 and was posted in Burma to participate in the first phase of the Burma Campaign in 1942–43. He was promoted to the permanent rank of major on 2 February 1945. Later that year, he was promoted to temporary colonel and assumed the command of his own regiment in which he was commissioned to direct operations in the second phase of the Burma Campaign; however, he was soon temporarily suspended without pay from that command for visible cowardice under fire.

In 1946, he was posted back to British India and was stationed in the North-West Frontier Province. In 1947, he was promoted to brigadier and commanded a brigade in mountainous South Waziristan. When the United Kingdom announced the partition of British India into India and Pakistan, he was one of the most senior serving officers in the British Indian Army who opted for Pakistan in 1947. At the time of his joining, he was the 10th ranking officer in terms of seniority with service number PA-010.

In the early part of 1948, he was given the command of the 14th Infantry Division in the rank of acting major-general stationed in Dacca, East Pakistan. In 1949, he was decorated with the Hilal-i-Jurat (HJ) by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan for non-combatant service and called back to General Headquarters as the Adjutant General of the army on November of same year.

Commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army 

General Sir Douglas Gracey relinquished the command of the Pakistan Army on 23 January 1951, under pressure of calls for "nationalisation" of the army. The Pakistan government already called for appointing native commanders-in-chief of army, air force, navy and dismissed deputation appointments from the British military. The General Headquarters sent the nomination papers to Prime Minister's Secretariat for the appointment of commander-in-chief. There were four-senior officers in the race: Major-General Akbar Khan, Major-General Iftikhar Khan, Major-General Ishfakul Majid, and Major-General N.A.M. Raza, among these officers Akbar was the senior-most as he was commissioned in 1920.

Initially, Gen. Iftikhar Khan (commissioned in 1929) was selected for appointment as the first native commander-in-chief of the army, but he died in an airplane crash en route to take command after finishing the senior staff officers' course in the United Kingdom. All three remaining generals were bypassed including the recommended senior-most Major-General Akbar Khan and Major-General Ishfakul Majid (commissioned in 1924).

Defence Secretary Iskandar Mirza, at that time, played a crucial role in lobbying for the army post selection as presenting with convincing arguments to Prime Minister Ali Khan to promote the junior-most Major-General Ayub Khan (commissioned in 1928) to the post despite the fact that his name was not included in the nomination list. Ayub's papers of promotion were approved and he was appointed the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army on 17 January 1951 by Prime Minister Ali Khan.

Ayub's becoming the commander in chief of the Pakistan Army marked a change in the military tradition to one of preferring native Pakistanis; it ended the transitional role of British military officers. Although the Pakistani government announced the appointment of the navy's native commander in chief in 1951, it was Ayub Khan who helped Vice-Admiral M.S. Choudhri to be appointed as the first native navy commander in chief, also in 1953. The events surrounding Ayub's appointment set the precedent for a native general being promoted out of turn, ostensibly because he was the least ambitious of the generals in the line of promotion and the most loyal to civil government at that time. Ayub, alongside Admiral Choudhri, cancelled and disbanded the British military tradition in the navy and the army when the U.S. military's advisers were dispatched to the Pakistani military in 1955–57. British military traditions were only kept in the air force due to a British commander and major staff consisting of Royal Air Force officers.

In 1953, Ayub visited Turkey, his first foreign visit as an army commander in chief, and was said to have been impressed with Turkish military tradition; he met only with the Turkish Defence minister during his visit. Thereafter, he went to the United States and visited the US State Department and Pentagon to lobby for forging military relations. He termed this visit as a "medical visit" but made a strong plea for military aid which was not considered due to India's opposition.

Cabinet and Defence Minister 

On 24 February 1954, Ayub signed the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) pact for Pakistan and his role in national politics, along with that of Defense Minister Mirza, began to grow

In 1954, Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Bogra's relations with the military and Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad deteriorated on issues of the economy. Pressure built up to reconstruct the cabinet which eventually witnessed with General Ayub Khan becoming the defence minister and Iskander Mirza as home minister in October 1954. Ayub Khan disdained civilian politicians, whose factional infighting had for years prevented adoption of a constitution. He wrote that he reluctantly joined the cabinet as defence minister with "two clear objectives: to save the armed forces from the interference of the politicians, and to unify the provinces of West Pakistan into one unit."

The controversial One Unit Scheme integrated the four western provinces into one political entity, West Pakistan, as a counterbalance against the numerically superior population of East Bengal, which was renamed East Pakistan. The province of Punjab supported the project, but all the other provinces protested against it and its centralisation of power. Opposition was particularly strong in East Bengal, where it was seen as an attack on the democratic principle of political egalitarianism.

In 1955, Prime Minister Bogra was dismissed by Governor-General Malik Ghulam Muhammad and he was succeeded by the new Prime Minister Chaudhry Muhammad Ali as the Defence Minister.

After the 1954 provincial elections in East Pakistan, the Awami League formed the government there while West Pakistan was governed by the PML, but the PML government collapsed in 1956. He was called on to join the Cabinet as Defence Minister by Prime Minister H.S. Suhrawardy and maintained closer relations with Iskander Mirza who now had become the first President of the country after the successful promulgation of the Constitution in 1956. In 1957, President Mirza promoted him from acting full general to the substantive rank of full general.

Around this time, the MoD led by General Ayub Khan began to see the serious interservice rivalry between the General Headquarters staff and the Naval Headquarters staff. Commander in Chief of Navy Vice-Admiral M. S. Choudri and his NHQ staff had been fighting with the Finance ministry and the MoD over the issues of rearmament and contingency plans. Meanwhile, he continued to serve with Prime Minister Chundrigar and Feroz Noon's government as Defence Minister.

In 1958, he chaired the joint military meeting where he became involved in a heated discussion with Admiral M. S. Choudri. He reportedly complained against Admiral Choudri to President Mirza and criticized Admiral Choudri for "neither having the brain, imagination or depth of thought to understand such (defence) problems nor the vision or the ability to make any contribution". The impasse was broken with Admiral Choudhri resigning from the navy in protest as result of having differences with the navy's plans of expansion and modernization. In 1958, Vice-Admiral Afzal Rahman Khan, who was known to be a confidant of General Ayub Khan, was appointed as naval chief by President Mirza.

President of Pakistan (1958–1969) 

Under threat of being dismissed, Prime Minister H.S. Suhrawardy resigned and Prime Minister I.I. Chundiragar took over the post but in a mere two months he too tendered his resignation after losing a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly. The Constituent Assembly then elected Sir Feroz Noon for the post of the prime minister; Noon had much wider support from the western Republican Party, the eastern Awami League, and the Krishak Sramik.

This new alliance threatened President Iskander Mirza because Suhrawardy and Feroz began campaigning to become prime minister and president in the upcoming general elections. The conservative Pakistan Muslim League, led by its President A.Q. Khan, was also gaining momentum in West Pakistan and threatened for the Dharna movement. These events were against President Mirza hence he was willing to dissolve even Pakistan's One Unit for his advantage.

At midnight on 7 October 1958, President Mirza ordered a mass mobilization of the Pakistan Armed Forces and abrogated the Constitution after sending a letter to Prime Minister Feroz and the Constituent Assembly about the coup d'état.  Most of the country's politicians only became aware of the coup the next morning; only U.S. Ambassador James Langley and the British High Commissioner were kept fully informed of political developments in the country. President Mirza appointed General Ayub chief martial law administrator (CMLA), who then declared martial law. 

Ayub justified his part by declaring that: "History would never have forgiven us if the present chaotic conditions were allowed to go on any further," and his goal was to restore a democracy that the "people can understand and work", not indefinitely rule. When the public was informed, public reactions were mixed. The immediate crackdown on smuggling, corruption, and trafficiking won Ayub plenty of support from the commoners. The middle-class and the upper-middle class were more apprehensive. 

President Mirza himself was apprehensive, though for a different reason. He had been contemplating replacing Ayub Khan, and it seems that Ayub knew. Immediately after the Supreme Court's Chief Justice Munir justified the coup under the doctrine of necessity, he sent the military into the presidential palace and exiled him to England. This was largely done with the support of: Admiral A. R. Khan, General Azam Khan, Nawab of Kalabagh Amir Khan, General Dr. Wajid Khan, and Air Marshal Asghar Khan.

The regime came to power with the intent of instituting widespread reform. An attribute he shared with Mirza, Ayub advocated for greater centralization of power, and his ruling style was more American than British. He "vowed to give people access to speedier justice, curb the crippling birth rate, and take appropriate steps, including land reforms and technological innovation, to develop agriculture so that the country could feed itself". 

Ayub finally 'restored civil administration', though he maintain Presidency and relied on an intricate web of spy agencies to maintain supremacy over the bureacracy, including calling upon civilian intelligence agencies. 

In 1960, a referendum, that functioned as Electoral College, was held that asked the general public:"Do you have confidence in Muhammad Ayub Khan?". The voter turnout was recorded at 95.6% and such confirmation was used as impetus to formalise the new system – a presidential system. Ayub Khan was elected president for the next five years and decided to pay his first state visit to United States with his wife and also daughter Begum Naseem Aurangzeb in July 1961. Highlights of his visit included a state dinner at Mount Vernon, a visit to the Islamic Center of Washington, and a ticker tape parade in New York City.

Constitutional and legal reforms

A Constitutional Commission was set-up under the Supreme Court to implement the work on the Constitution that was led by Chief Justice Muhammad Shahabuddin and Supreme Court justices. The commission reported in 1961 with its recommendations but President Ayub remained unsatisfied; he eventually altered the constitution so that it was entirely different from the one recommended by the Shahabuddin Commission. The Constitution reflected his personal views of politicians and the restriction of using religions in politics. His presidency restored the writ of government through the promulgated constitution and restored political freedom by lifting the martial law enforced since 1958.

The new Constitution respected Islam but did not declare Islam as state religion and was viewed as a liberal constitution. It also provided for election of the president by 80,000 (later raised to 120,000) Basic Democrats who could theoretically make their own choice but who were essentially under his control. He justified this as analogous to the American Electoral College and cited Thomas Jefferson as his inspiration. The Ayub administration "guided" the print newspapers though his takeover of key opposition papers and, while Ayub Khan permitted a National Assembly, it had only limited powers.

On 2 March 1961, he passed and signed the "Muslim Family Laws" bill through the ordinance under which unmitigated polygamy was abolished, consent of the current wife was made mandatory for a second marriage, brakes were also placed on the practice of instant divorce where men could divorce women by saying:"I divorce you" three times under Islamic tradition.

The Arbitration Councils were set up under the law in the urban and rural areas to deal with cases of: (a) grant of sanction to a person to contract a second marriage during the subsistence of a marriage; (b) reconciliation of a dispute between a husband and a wife; (c) grant of a maintenance allowance to the wife and children.

Economy and infrastructure

Industrialization and rural development through constructing modern national freeways are considered his greatest achievements and his era is remembered for successful industrialization in the impoverished country. Strong emphasis on capitalism and foreign direct investment (FDI) in the industry is often regarded as "Great Decade" in the history of the country (both economical and political history). The "Great Decade" was celebrated, which highlighted the development plans executed during the years of Ayub's rule, the private consortium companies, industries and credited with creating an environment where the private sector was encouraged to establish medium and small-scale industries in Pakistan. This opened up avenues for new job opportunities and thus the economic graph of the country started rising. He oversaw the development and completion of mega projects such as hydroelectric dams, power stations, and barrages in all over the country. During 1960–66, the annual GDP growth was recorded at 6.8%.

Several hydroelectric projects were completed, including the Mangla Dam (one of the world's largest dams), several small dams and water reservoirs in West Pakistan, and one dam in East Pakistan, the Kaptai Dam. President Ayub authorized planning of nuclear power plants, overriding the concerns of his own finance minister, Muhammad Shoaib, about their cost. Initially, two nuclear power plants were to be established in the country: one in Karachi and the other in Dhaka. Dr. Abdus Salam. supported by the President, personally approved the project in Karachi while the project in East Pakistan never materialized.

Extensive education reforms were supposedly carried out and 'scientific development efforts' also supposedly made during his years. These policies could not be sustained after 1965, when the economy collapsed and led to economic declines which he was unable to control.

Ayub introduced new curricula and textbooks for universities and schools. Many public-sector universities and schools were built during his era.  He also introduced agricultural reforms preventing anyone from occupying more than 500 acres of irrigated and 1000 acres of unirrigated land. An oil refinery was established in Karachi. These reforms led to 15% GNP growth of the country that was three times greater than that of India. Despite the increase in the GNP growth, the profit and revenue was gained by the famous 22 families of the time that controlled 66% of the industries and land of the country and 80% of the banking and insurance companies of Pakistan.

Defence spending
During the Ayub era, the navy was able to introduce submarines and slowly modified itself by acquiring warships. However, Ayub drastically reduced funding of the military in the 1950s and de-prioritized nuclear weapons in the 1960s. The military relied on donations from the United States for major weapons procurements. Major funding was made available for military acquisitions and procurement towards conventional weaponry for conventional defence. In the 1960s, the Pakistani military acquired Americanproduced conventional weapons such as Jeep CJs, M48 Patton and M24 Chaffee tanks, M16 rifles, F-86 fighter airplanes, and the submarine PNS Ghazi; all through the US Foreign Military Sales program. In 1961, President Ayub started the nation's fullfledged space program in cooperation with the air force, and created the Suparco civilian space agency that launched sounding rockets throughout the 1960s.

Ayub directed Pakistan's nuclear technology efforts towards electrical power generation, disregarding recommendations to use it for military purposes. He reportedly spent ₨. 721 million on civilian nuclear power plants and related education of engineers and scientists.

Ayub Khan filled more and more civil administrative positions with army officers, increasing the military's influence over the bureaucracy. He expanded the size of the army by more than half from the early 1960s to 1969, and maintained a high level of military spending as a percentage of GDP during that period, peaking in the immediate aftermath of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.

Foreign policy

U.S. alliance and 1960 U-2 incident

The main feature of Ayub Khan's foreign policy was prioritized relations with the United States and Europe.  Foreign relations with the Soviet Union were downplayed. He enjoyed support from President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s and, working with Prime Minister Ali Khan, forged a military alliance with the United States against regional communism. His obsession towards modernization of the armed forces in shortest time possible saw the relations with United States as the only way to achieve his organization and personal objectives as he argued against civilian supremacy that would affect the American interests in the region as a result of an election.

The Central Intelligence Agency leased Peshawar Air Station in the 1950s and spying into the Soviet Union from the air station grew immensely, with Ayub's full knowledge, during his presidency.  When these activities were exposed in 1960 after a U-2 flying out of the air station was shot down and its pilot captured by the USSR, President Ayub was in the United Kingdom on a state visit. When the local CIA station chief briefed President Ayub on the incident, Ayub shrugged his shoulders and said that he had expected this would happen at some point.

The resulting Soviet ire severely compromised the national security of Pakistan. Ayub Khan had to publicly offer his apologies to the Soviet Union after USSR Secretary General Nikita Khrushchev made a threat to bomb Peshawar. President Ayub directed his Foreign Office to reduce tensions with the Soviet Union by facilitating state visits by Soviet Premier Kosygin and Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko and agreeing to downplay relations with the United States.

In 1963, Ayub signed the historic Sino-Pakistan Frontier Agreement with China despite US opposition. This alliance of a non-communist country with a communist one was a significant event in the history of the Cold War.

During 1961–65, Ayub lost much of his support from President John Kennedy and President Lyndon Johnson as they sought closer relations with India.  President Johnson placed an embargo on both nations during the war in 1965. Relations with the Soviet Union were eventually normalized when the Soviets facilitated a peace treaty between Pakistan and India in 1965, and reached a trade treaty with Pakistan the following year. In 1966–67, Ayub wrestled with the United States's attempt to dictate Pakistan's foreign policy, while he strengthened relations with the Soviet Union and China. Despite initiatives to normalize relations with the Soviet Union, Ayub Khan remained inclined towards the United States and the western world, receiving President Johnson in Karachi in 1967.

In 1961–62, Ayub paid a state visit to the United Kingdom.  He attracted much attention from the British public when his involvement in the Christine Keeler affair was revealed.

India: 1959 joint defence and 1965 war

In 1959, Ayub Khan's interest in building defence forces had already diminished when he made an offer of joint defense with India during the Sino-Indo clashes in October 1959 in Ladakh, in a move seen as a result of American pressure and a lack of understanding of foreign affairs Upon hearing this proposal, India's Prime Minister Nehru reportedly countered, "Defence Minister Ayub: Joint Defence on what?" India remained uninterested in such proposals and Prime Minister Nehru decided to push his country's role in the Non-Aligned Movement. In 1960, President Ayub, together with Prime Minister Nehru, signed the Indus Waters Treaty brokered by the World Bank. In 1962, after India was defeated by China, Ayub Khan disguised a few thousand soldiers as guerillas and sent them to Indian Kashmir to incite the people to rebel. In 1964, the Pakistan Army engaged with Indian Army in several skirmishes, and clandestine operations began.

The war with India in 1965 was a turning point in his presidency, and it ended in a settlement reached by Ayub Khan at Tashkent, called the Tashkent Declaration, which was facilitated by the Soviet Union. The settlement was perceived negatively by many Pakistanis and led Foreign Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to resign his post and take up opposition to Ayub Khan. According to Morrice James, "For them (Pakistanis) Ayub had betrayed the nation and had inexcusably lost face before the Indians."

According to Sartaj Aziz, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, it was Foreign Minister Bhutto who had inadvertently set Pakistan on the road to war with India. During a cabinet meeting, Bhutto had gone on a populist anti-Indian and anti-American binge and succeeded in spellbinding President Ayub into thinking he was becoming a world statesman fawned upon by the enemies of the United States. When Ayub authorized Operation Gibraltar, the fomenting of an  Kashmiri insurgency against India, Aziz famously told the President: "Sir, I hope you realize that our foreign policy and our economic requirements are not fully consistent, in fact they are rapidly falling out of line". Aziz opposed Operation Gibraltar, fearing the economical turmoil that would jolt the country's economy, but was in turn opposed by his own senior bureaucrats. In that meeting, Foreign Minister Bhutto convinced the president and the finance minister Muhammad Shoaib that India would not attack Pakistan due to Kashmir being a disputed territory, and per Bhutto's remarks: "Pakistan's incursion into Indian-occupied Kashmir, at [A]khnoor, would not provide [India] with the justification for attacking Pakistan across the international boundary because Kashmir was a disputed territory". This theory proved wrong when India launched a full-scale war against West Pakistan in 1965.

His army C-in-C General Musa Khan did not order the Pakistan Army without the confirmation by President Ayub Khan despite Foreign Minister Bhutto's urging  However, after the Indian Army advanced towards the Rann of Kutch, General Musa Khan ordered the army to respond against the opposing force. He faced serious altercations and public criticism with air chief AM Asghar Khan for hiding the details of the war. The Air AHQ began fighting the president over the contingency plans, and this inter-services rivalry ended with Asghar Khan's resignation. To reduce interservices tensions and criticism, navy commander Admiral A. R. Khan authorised the shelling of coastal Indian Navy posts at Dwarka, India.

About the 1965 war's contingency plans, AM Nur Khan briefly wrote that "Rumours about an impending operation were rife but the army had not shared the plans with other forces."

Ayub Khan's main sponsor, the United States, did not welcome the move and the Johnson administration placed an economic embargo that caused Pakistan to lose $500 million in aid and grants that had been received through consortium. Ayub Khan could not politically survive in the aftermath of 1965 war with India and fell from the presidency after surrendering the presidential power to Army Commander General Yahya in 1969.

End of presidency

Presidential election of 1965 

In 1964, President Ayub Khan was confident in his apparent popularity and saw the deep divisions within the political opposition which ultimately led him to announce presidential elections in 1965. He earned the nomination of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and was shocked when Fatima Jinnah was nominated by the Combined Opposition Parties.

Fatima Jinnah had gained a lot of support from Karachi, Lahore, and various parts of West and East Pakistan opposed to President Ayub Khan. Jinnah targeted the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan's over-reliance on the United States, and its troubled relations with the Soviet Union. During the elections, President Ayub earned notoriety when his son, Gohar Ayub Khan, was named in the news media for authorizing political murders in Karachi, particularly of Jinnah supporters.

Angry protesters demonstrated in the streets of Sindh, chanting slogans against President Ayub. Fatima Jinnah won the popular vote in a landslide but Ayub Khan won the election through the Electoral College vote. During this time, Ayub Khan used the Pakistani intelligence community for his own advantage. Military Intelligence actively monitored politicians and political gatherings and the Intelligence Bureau taped politicians' telephone conversations. This was the first departure of the intelligence community from national defence and security to direct interference with national politics, an interference which continued in succeeding years.

It was reported that the elections were widely rigged by the state authorities and machinery under the control of Ayub Khan and it is believed that had the elections been held via direct ballot, Fatima Jinnah would have won. The Electoral College consisted of only 80,000 Basic Democrats. They were easily manipulated by President Ayub Khan, who won the bitterly-contested elections with 64% of the Electoral College vote. According to journalists of the time, the election did not conform to international standards; many viewed the election results with great suspicion.

1969 nationwide riots and resignation 

The controversial victory over Fatima Jinnah in the 1965 presidential election and the outcome of the war with India in the same year brought devastating results for Ayub Khan's image and his presidency. Upon returning from Tashkent, Foreign Minister Bhutto went to the television media and criticized President Ayub for selling the nation's honor and sacrifice, which prompted President Ayub to depose Bhutto. In Karachi, public resentment towards Ayub had been rising since the 1965 elections and his policies were widely disapproved.

In 1967, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto formed the socialist Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and embarked on a nationwide tour where he attacked the Ayub administration's economic, religious, and social policies. Detention of Bhutto further inflamed the opposition and demonstrations were sparked all over the country with the East Pakistani Awami League charging the Ayub administration with segregating policies towards the East. Labour unions called for labour strikes against Ayub Khan's labour legislation and dissatisfaction was widespread in the   country's middle class by the end of 1968. When Ayub Khan was confronted with the Six Point movement led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and with the criticism by Bhutto's PPP, he responded by imprisoning both leaders but that made matters worst for Ayub's administration. Left-wing parties, allied with the conservative mass, began advocating for the Islamic parliamentary democracy system against his presidential rule.

In 1968, he survived an assassination attempt while visiting Dacca and was visibly shaken afterwards, according to close aides; though this was not reported in the press of the day.

In 1969, Ayub Khan opened negotiations with the opposition parties in what was termed as a "Round Table Conference" where he held talks with every opposition party except for the Awami League and the Pakistan Peoples Party.  However, these discussions yielded no results and strong anti-Ayub demonstrations calling for his resignation were sparked all over the country. During this time, Ayub Khan survived a near-fatal cardiac arrest that put him out of the office, and later survived a paralysis attack that put him in a wheelchair. The police were unable to maintain law and order in the country, especially in East Pakistan where riots and a serious uprising were quelled. At one point, Home and Defence Minister Vice-Admiral Rahman told journalists that the "country was under the Mob rule and that Police were not strong enough to tackle the situation".

The PPP also led very strong protests, street demonstrations, and riots against the Ayub Khan's administration when the prices of food consumer products such as sugar, tea, and wheat, hiked up. Disapproval of Ayub Khan was widely expressed by chanted slogans and insults referring to him. On the streets of major cities of West Pakistan, massive wall chalkings that employed derogatory and pejorative terms for Ayub    made headlines in the print and broadcast media. Ayub Khan himself was shocked upon hearing that young protesters and college students in West had been referring him to as "Dog". According to a Dawn editorial in 2014, it was the first time in the country's history when derogatory language was used against its politicians.

Elements in the military began supporting the opposition political parties; it was this that finally brought about the demise of Ayub Khan's era.  On 25 March 1969, President Ayub Khan, after consulting Advocate Raja Muhammad Qalib Ali Khan (the last person to meet the president before resignation) resigned from office and invited commander-in-chief of the army General Yahya Khan to take over the control of the country.

Death and legacy 
Ayub Khan did not comment on East Pakistan's Secessionist War in 1971. He died of a heart attack on 19 April 1974 at his villa near Islamabad.

Ayub Khan's presidency allied Pakistan with the American-led military alliance against the Soviet Union which helped Pakistan develop its strong economic background and its long-term political and strategic relations with the United States. Major economic aid and trade from the United States and European Communities ultimately led Pakistan's industrial sector to develop rapidly but the consequences of cartelization included increased inequality in the distribution of wealth. After 1965, he became extremely concerned about the arrogance and bossiness of the US over the direction of Pakistan's foreign policy when the US publicly criticized Pakistan for building ties with China and Soviet Union; he authored a book over this issue known as Friends not Masters.

Ayub Khan began his diary in September 1966, and ended his record in October 1972 because of his failing health. The diary covers events such as his resignation from office, assumption of power by Yahya Khan, the separation of East and West Pakistan and the replacement of Yahya by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. After his death in 1972, the diary was not released to the public for thirty years due to opinions which would have been detrimental to the reputation of powerful individuals at the time. Ayub Khan wanted his diary to be edited by Altaf Gauhar but after Ayub Khan's death the six-year-long diary was entrusted to Oxford University Press (OUP) to edit and publish. At OUP, Diaries of Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan, 1966-1972 was edited and annotated by Craig Baxter.

The federal capital was relocated under the Ayub administration from the port city of Karachi to the new and carefully planned city of Islamabad in the mountains. Facilitated by the World Bank, the Ayub administration became a party to the Indus Waters Treaty with archrival India to resolve disputes regarding the sharing of the waters of the six rivers in the Punjab Doab that flow between the two countries. Khan's administration also built a major network of irrigation canals, high-water dams and thermal and hydroelectric power stations.

He subsidized fertilizers and modernized agriculture through irrigation development, spurred industrial growth with liberal tax benefits. In the decade of his rule, the GNP rose by 45% and manufactured goods began to overtake such traditional exports as jute and cotton. However, the economists in the Planning Commission alleged that his policies were tailored to reward the elite families and major landowners in the country. In 1968, his administration celebrated the so-called "Decade of Development" when the mass protests erupted in all over the country due to an increasingly greater divide between the rich and the poor.

Criticism, personal wealth, and family
After 1965, the corruption in government, nepotism, and suppression of free speech, thought, and press increased unrest and turmoils in the country against the Ayub administration. The 1965 presidential election, where Ayub Khan was opposed by Fatima Jinnah, was allegedly rigged. In 2003, the nephew of the Quaid-i-Azam, Akbar Pirbhai, re-ignited the controversy by suggesting that Fatima Jinnah's death in 1967 was an assassination by the Ayub Khan establishment. Gohar Ayub Khan became the subject of criticism by many writers when he was accused of leading a victory parade after the 1965 election right into the heartland of opposition territory in Karachi in a blatantly provocative move. The civil administration's failure to stop the rally led to fierce clashes between opposing groups with many locals being killed.

Gohar Ayub Khan also faced criticisms during that time on questions of family corruption and cronyism through his business links with his father-in-law, retired Lieutenant General Habibullah Khan Khattak. One Western commentator in 1969 estimated Gohar Ayub's personal wealth at the time at $4 million, while his family's wealth was put in the range of $10–20 million. Public criticism of Gohar's personal wealth and that of the President increased. All these criticisms harmed President Ayub Khan's image.

Ayub Khan is criticised for the growth in income inequality; 5 million people fell below the poverty line. He is also blamed for not doing enough to tackle the significant economic disparity between East and West Pakistan whilst he was aware of the acute grievances of East Pakistan he did try to address the situation. However, the Ayub Khan regime was so highly centralized that, in the absence of democratic institutions, densely populated and politicized East Pakistan province continued to feel it was being slighted.

Sadaf Farooq from the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Reading argued that workers' wages fell by 60% in the 1960s and that the policy of promoting the entrepreneur elite and industrial cartels to generate economic growth increased regional and social tensions throughout the nation, as well as the emergence of business and industrial cartels

After his death, his descendents became active in national politics in the 1990s until the present; however, these family members have been controversial. His son Gohar is an active member of the conservative PML(N) and was the Foreign Minister in the Sharif ministry in the 1990s but was removed due to his controversial and unauthorized statements about India. His daughter Nasim did not enter politics and married Miangul Aurangzeb, the Wali of Swat.

His son Shaukat was a successful businessman and had four children, three sons and one daughter. All three sons went into business and politics, with Akbar, Arshad and Yousaf Ayub Khan becoming successful members of the provincial and national assemblies.

His grandson, Omar, served in the Aziz ministry as a Finance Minister in the 2000s but joined the PML(N) in 2010; he was declared ineligible for the 2013 general election after allegations of vote rigging were proved. In 2018, he joined PTI. Another grandson, Yousaf, who is a party worker of the PTI, was also declared ineligible for submitting fake documents to the Election Commission.

Honours

National honours
 :
  Recipient of the Nishan-e-Pakistan (NPk)
  Recipient of the Hilal-e-Pakistan (HPk)
  Recipient of the Hilal-i-Jur'at (HJ)
 :
  Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE)

Foreign honours
 :
  Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) (1961)
 :
  Honorary Recipient of the Order of the Crown of the Realm (D.M.N.(K)) (1962)

Dates of rank
Note: The rank insignias were still British Army's pip and crown till 1956 when the British Dominion of Pakistan ended.

See also 
 Cold War
 Ayub National Park
 Ayub Medical College
 Americanism
 American cultural influence in Pakistan

Notes
Footnotes

References

Further reading

External links 

 Ayub Khan Bio
 Official profile at Pakistan Army website
 Video clip of Ayub Khan in Paris----use QuickTime Player.
 Video clip of Ayub Khan with General De Gaulle
 Video clip in Rawalpindi
  Creation as an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George on 26 April 1960

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1907 births
1974 deaths
Hindkowan people
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