Pak-Affairs Notes
 

[B][U][CENTER][SIZE="3"]Indo-Pakistani Wars[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]I -INTRODUCTION[/B]
Indo-Pakistani Wars, three wars fought between India and Pakistan since the two nations gained independence from Britain in 1947. The first and second wars (1947-1949; 1965) were fought over the territory of Jammu and Kashmīr, in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The status of the territory remains a matter of dispute between India and Pakistan. The third war (1971) involved Indian military intervention in a civil war in Pakistan. This brief and decisive intervention resulted in the independence of Pakistan’s eastern province, East Pakistan, as the nation of Bangladesh.

[B]II -HISTORICAL BACKGROUND[/B]
The roots of Indo-Pakistani discord can be traced to the process of British colonial withdrawal from the Indian subcontinent. In 1947 the British government decided to partition the British Indian Empire into the independent states of India and Pakistan. This decision followed the failure of the two nationalist parties of British India, the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress, to resolve their differences in negotiations preceding independence. The Muslim League advocated the creation of a separate state called Pakistan to serve as the homeland for Muslims of South Asia. The Congress, on the other hand, officially supported building a single country based on secular (nonreligious) nationalism. That single country would have been predominantly Hindu, however, because Hindus greatly outnumbered Muslims in British India.

These two competing ideologies of state-building collided over the status of Jammu and Kashmīr, which had been one of 562 so-called princely states in the British Indian Empire. These states were nominally independent as long as they recognized the paramountcy (authority) of the British crown. Under this colonial doctrine, the maharajas (monarchs) of these states exercised all powers except those pertaining to defense, foreign affairs, and communications. With the end of colonial rule, the maharajas were informed by the last British viceroy to India, Lord Louis Mountbatten, that they had to choose between joining either India or Pakistan. Mountbatten ruled out the prospect of independence. Furthermore, he decreed that predominantly Muslim princely states that bordered Pakistan would become part of that nation.

Jammu and Kashmīr therefore posed an interesting conundrum. It had a predominantly Muslim population, a Hindu ruler, and its borders abutted both India and Pakistan. The Pakistani leadership laid claim to the princely state on grounds that fellow Muslims in a neighboring state had to be incorporated into Pakistan to ensure its completeness. India, on the other hand, was interested in incorporating the territory into the Indian Union to demonstrate that a predominantly Muslim state could thrive within the context of a secular India. However, the monarch of Jammu and Kashmīr, Maharaja Hari Singh, had hopes of maintaining his state’s independence and delayed accession to either India or Pakistan, even after British rule formally ended in mid-August 1947.

[B]III -THE FIRST INDO-PAKISTANI WAR[/B]

[B]A -Events Before the War[/B]
In October 1947 a rebellion broke out amid the Pashtun tribes in the western areas of Jammu and Kashmīr. The Muslim Pashtuns had long resented the Hindu maharaja’s rule, and in the wake of the British departure they moved to exploit the power vacuum and challenge the maharaja’s authority. Pakistani irregular forces, comprising members of the Pakistani army disguised as local tribesmen, entered the fray to support the Pashtun rebels. Within a week the rebels and their allies attacked and seized the border town of Muzzafarābād and then moved toward Srīnagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmīr.
Hari Singh, now in a state of panic for fear Srīnagar would fall to the rebels, appealed to Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru for military assistance. Nehru set two preconditions for the provision of assistance: first, the maharaja would have to accede Jammu and Kashmīr to India, and second, the accession would have to receive the approval of Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, leader of the secular Jammu and Kashmīr National Conference, the largest political party in the state. In late October, satisfied these preconditions had been met, Nehru accepted the maharaja’s Instrument of Accession that gave India powers of defense, foreign affairs, and communications in Jammu and Kashmīr. Pakistan immediately disputed the validity of the maharaja’s accession, claiming he had signed under duress.

[B]B -Major Events During the War[/B]
On October 27 Indian troops were airlifted into Srīnagar to stop the Pakistan-aided tribal advance. By this time the rebel forces, calling themselves Azad Kashmīr (Free Kashmīr), had captured a third of the state’s territory. Over the next several months the Indian army fought a number of pitched battles with the rebel forces. In the spring of 1948, Indian forces mounted a major offensive designed to regain much of the lost territory. This Indian offensive led to the direct involvement of the regular (uniformed) Pakistani army. The fighting escalated during the course of the year, but neither side made significant territorial gains.

On the advice of Mountbatten, Nehru had referred the dispute to the United Nations Security Council in January 1948. The council subsequently passed a series of resolutions seeking an end to the conflict. The resolutions called upon Pakistan to end its aggression in Jammu and Kashmīr and enjoined India to hold a plebiscite (vote) to determine the wishes of the Kashmīris on the final disposition of their state. Both sides eventually agreed to these terms, and the war ended on January 1, 1949, with the declaration of an UN-sponsored cease-fire. By then about 1,500 soldiers and rebels had died in battle.

[B]C -Events After the War[/B]
Because the territorial dispute remained unresolved, Jammu and Kashmīr was partitioned along a line that reflected troop deployments at the time of the cease-fire. The de facto border was known as the Cease-Fire Line (CFL) until 1972, when it was renamed the Line of Control (LOC).

Since the partition, about one-third of the former princely state has been under Pakistani control. This area includes a small autonomous region—known by Pakistanis as Azad Kashmīr and by Indians as Pakistani-occupied Kashmīr—as well as a larger section directly administered by Pakistan, known as the Northern Areas. The remaining two-thirds of the historic region, including the southern province of Jammu, has been under Indian control. This area is administered as Jammu and Kashmīr State. (In historical references, the name of Jammu and Kashmīr, commonly shortened to Kashmīr, refers to the entire area of the former princely state.) In 1954 the legislative assembly of Jammu and Kashmīr State formally voted to join the state into the Indian Union. In India’s view, the vote ratified the maharaja’s 1947 accession and made the state an integral part of India.

After the war, the United Nations sought to reach an accord that would be acceptable to both parties and finally resolve the status of the disputed territory. However, these efforts proved futile as neither India nor Pakistan appeared willing to make significant concessions.

[B]IV -THE SECOND INDO-PAKISTANI WAR[/B]
In 1965 India and Pakistan went to war over Jammu and Kashmīr a second time. Pakistan, dissatisfied with both multilateral and bilateral negotiations, again sought to wrest Jammu and Kashmīr from India through the use of force. This effort failed as India held its ground, and the war ended in a stalemate after almost two months of armed conflict. Although the second war over the territory was shorter than the first, the increased firepower of the two nations resulted in a more deadly war, with a total of about 6,800 battle casualties.

[B]A -Events Before the War[/B]
A number of factors precipitated the second conflict over Jammu and Kashmīr. In the wake of a border war between India and China in 1962, efforts by the United States and Britain to settle the territorial dispute had, like the UN mediation process, met with little success. Furthermore, India significantly expanded its defense spending after suffering losses in the border war against China. At a regional level, India had started to integrate Jammu and Kashmīr State into the rest of the country, such as bringing it under the jurisdiction of the Indian Supreme Court. All of these factors—the failure of diplomatic efforts, the growth of India’s military, and India’s efforts at integration—provoked Pakistani misgivings about the erosion of its claim to Kashmīr.

When rioting broke out in Srīnagar in December 1963 following the theft of a holy relic from the Hazratbal mosque, the Pakistani leadership construed the anti-Indian tone of the disturbances as a sign of support for the merger of Kashmīr with Pakistan. Accordingly, Pakistani president Muhammad Ayub Khan and his foreign minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, decided to try once again to wrest the territory from India.

[B]B -Major Events During the War[/B]
Pakistani army personnel disguised as local Kashmīris began to infiltrate into the Kashmīr Valley in early August 1965. Once they entered the valley, the infiltrators intended to foment a rebellion among Kashmīri Muslims. The strategy, known as Operation Gibraltar, went awry from the very outset, however. The Kashmīris did not respond as expected; instead, they turned the infiltrators over to the local authorities. Accordingly, the Indian army moved to secure the border and on August 15 scored a major victory after a prolonged artillery barrage. Attacks and counterattacks followed in quick succession.

On September 1 the Pakistanis opened a new front in the southern sector, catching Indian forces unprepared. Indian forces responded with air strikes, leading to Pakistani retaliation. On September 5 the Pakistanis made a significant thrust into Indian territory that threatened to cut off Jammu and Kashmīr State from the rest of India. The following day Indian troops crossed the international border in the Pakistani province of Punjab near its capital of Lahore. Faced with this threat to Lahore, the Pakistanis launched a counterattack at Khem Karan in the neighboring Indian state of Punjab. This attack, spearheaded by the Pakistani First Armored Division, was anticipated by the Indian forces and failed, with Pakistani forces suffering major losses.

[B]C -Events After the War[/B]
By mid-September the war had reached a stalemate, and the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling for a cease-fire. The Indian government accepted the cease-fire resolution on September 21, as did the Pakistani government the following day. The two parties subsequently attended Soviet-hosted peace talks in Toshkent (Tashkent), the capital of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (present-day Uzbekistan). On January 10 the two sides signed the Toshkent Agreement and reestablished the CFL as the de facto border in Jammu and Kashmīr.

[B]V -THE THIRD INDO-PAKISTANI WAR[/B]
Unlike the first and second Indo-Pakistani wars, the third war, fought in 1971, did not involve the status of Kashmīr. Instead, it began as a Pakistani civil war in which East Pakistan, the eastern province of Pakistan, sought to secede from the country. This conflict escalated into a 14-day war between India and Pakistan after India’s military intervened to support the secession of East Pakistan. Although even shorter than the previous wars, the third war resulted in 11,500 battle deaths—the highest of all three conflicts. It also resulted in a truncated Pakistan, as East Pakistan became the sovereign nation of Bangladesh.

[B]A -Events Before the War[/B]
The 1947 partition of the British Indian empire had created a Pakistan comprised of two “wings”—West Pakistan (present-day Pakistan) and East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan; now Bangladesh)—that were separated by 1,600 km (1,000 mi) of Indian territory. In the wake of Pakistan’s first free and fair election in December 1970, the leaders of the western and eastern wings failed to reach an understanding about power sharing. In March 1971, after talks failed to break the deadlock, the Pakistani government launched a military crackdown in East Pakistan. During what was called Operation Searchlight, large numbers of the Bengali intelligentsia in East Pakistan were killed and many prominent Bengali leaders were thrown in jail. In response, the Awami League leadership of East Pakistan declared the province’s independence on March 26. As the crackdown escalated into a full-blown and brutal civil war over the next two months, some 10 million Bengalis fled East Pakistan and took refuge in the neighboring Indian state of West Bengal.
The Indian leadership of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi quickly decided that it was cheaper to resort to war against Pakistan than to absorb millions of refugees into India’s already bloated population. Highly antagonistic relations between India and Pakistan also contributed to India’s decision to intervene in Pakistan’s civil war. Gandhi and her advisers fashioned a strategy to support the creation of a separate state for ethnic Bengalis. This strategy involved support for the indigenous Bengali resistance movement, led by the Mukti Bahini (Liberation Force). To this end, India’s military intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, helped to organize, train, and arm these insurgents. The Mukti Bahini managed to harass the regular Pakistani army units stationed in East Pakistan and helped to create conducive conditions for a full-scale Indian military intervention in early December.

[B]B -Major Events During the War[/B]
On December 3, 1971, the third Indo-Pakistani war formally began with a Pakistani air attack on a number of air bases in northwestern India. The Indian air force responded the next day by striking at several West Pakistani air bases. Along with the airborne attack, the Pakistani army simultaneously launched a ground operation in Kashmīr and in the Punjab region, thereby opening a western front. In the western sector a number of pitched battles took place, particularly in Azad Kashmīr near Pūnch (Poonch) and Chhamb. Other major engagements took place farther to the south in the Punjab region at Derā Nānak and Anūpgarh. Even farther south, an invading Pakistani tank column was bombed by the Indian air force, which carried out as many as 4,000 sorties during the conflict.

The use of air power was more limited in East Pakistan. The real thrust into the province was made by three Indian army divisions that launched a five-pronged attack on Dhaka, the provincial capital, and received the surrender of Pakistani forces there on December 16. The following day, India declared a unilateral cease-fire, and Pakistani leader General Muhammad Yahya Khan called on his forces to reciprocate. East Pakistan immediately seceded from Pakistan and became the sovereign nation of Bangladesh.

[B]C -Events After the War[/B]
In 1972 Pakistani president Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (formerly the foreign minister) met with Indian prime minister Gandhi at the hill resort town of Simla in northern India to discuss a postwar settlement. Although the third Indo-Pakistani war had not been triggered by events in Kashmīr, the unresolved issues surrounding that disputed state weighed heavily in the settlement talks. The two leaders negotiated a settlement that recognized the de facto border in Jammu and Kashmīr as the Line of Control (LOC). Both sides agreed to abstain from the use of force to settle the Kashmīr dispute, and India agreed to return some 90,000 Pakistani prisoners of war.

[B]VI -KASHMĪR: THE UNRESOLVED DISPUTE[/B]
Indo-Pakistani relations continued to be strained after the Simla Agreement, for it did not address the final status of Kashmīr. Armed hostilities continued to erupt in the territory along the LOC, making any political resolution to the dispute highly unlikely. The vast majority of India’s political establishment has indicated a willingness to settle the dispute along the LOC and formally cede the Pakistani-controlled portion of the state to Pakistan. However, Pakistan has refused to accept the status quo in Kashmīr as long as Muslim-majority areas, such as the fertile Kashmīr Valley, are under Indian administration. Meanwhile, the proliferation of nuclear weapons by both India and Pakistan since the 1970s has dramatically increased the stakes of their long-standing territorial dispute.

Both India and Pakistan acknowledge that the Simla Agreement requires them to settle their bilateral disputes without resorting to the use of force. However, neither one has been willing or able to uphold this provision, and they disagree over who is to blame for continuing violence in the territory. In addition, Indian and Pakistani officials interpret other important aspects of the Simla Agreement quite differently. Indian decision-makers believe that the agreement supersedes all former UN resolutions and requires strictly bilateral negotiations to bring a resolution to the dispute. The Pakistani side argues that the agreement leaves open the possibility of multilateral negotiations. The varying interpretations of this document aside, the two parties remain fundamentally at odds over the terms of any resolution to the dispute.

[B]A -The Kashmīr Insurgency[/B]
Since 1989 the dispute over Kashmīr has taken on a new dimension due to the emergence of a separatist insurgency among Muslims in the Indian-controlled portion of the territory. Described as an ethnoreligious (ethnic and religious) insurgency, it initially involved mostly Muslim Kashmīris. Many Pakistanis, Afghans, and Arabs subsequently joined the insurgency, increasing its militancy. Pakistani support has helped to sustain the insurgency materially and prevent its suppression by Indian security forces.
Fighting between the insurgents and Indian security forces has resulted in more casualties than all three Indo-Pakistani wars combined. Although estimates vary, most dispassionate estimates suggest that about 40,000 individuals have lost their lives since the onset of the insurgency. Both the rebels and the Indian security forces are known to have committed substantial human rights violations.

Politically, the principal demand of the insurgency is that India hold a plebiscite to determine the status of the territory. This demand rests on the assumption that the Muslim-majority areas of the state would prevail, leading to secession from the Indian Union. Some of the insurgents support merger with Pakistan, while others want a unified, independent Kashmīr state. The most militant members of the insurgency, whose numbers have swelled in recent years, create mayhem and terror without any clear political agenda.
Meanwhile, India steadfastly refuses to hold a plebiscite on the premise that Jammu and Kashmīr State is an integral part of the Indian Union, as provided for in the Indian constitution. Elections to the state’s legislative assembly have consistently brought to power moderate candidates who support this view.

The Jammu and Kashmīr Liberation Front (JKLF) and the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen are the two principal insurgent groups of indigenous Kashmīri origins. The JKLF renounced violence in the mid-1980s. However, it has refused to enter the political process under the terms of the Indian constitution. In addition to the insurgent groups, a number of separatist organizations have banded together under the aegis of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC). The APHC has also refused to enter the political process even though its members are not involved in the insurgency.

[B]B -Recent Developments[/B]
Since the late 1990s, the situation in Kashmīr has been especially tense. In May 1998 India and Pakistan each exploded nuclear devices during weapons tests. These demonstrations of nuclear capabilities were clearly intended to intimidate the other side. Afterwards, both sides came under intense international pressure to resolve the Kashmīr dispute, lest it escalate into a nuclear war. In an attempt to allay international concerns, Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee accepted the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, to visit Pakistan. Accordingly, Vajpayee traveled to the Pakistani city of Lahore in February 1999 to inaugurate a bus service linking it with the nearby Indian city of Amritsar. This meeting at Lahore was seen as an initial attempt to usher in a more cordial Indo-Pakistani relationship.

In early May, however, units of the Pakistani Northern Light Infantry, a paramilitary unit with troops recruited mostly from the Pakistan-administered Northern Areas, made incursions across the LOC at Dras and Kargil. Although initially caught by surprise, the Indian army responded with vigor and managed to dislodge the Pakistani intruders. Sharif, in an attempt to save face, sought and obtained the intercession of the United States from President Bill Clinton. Clinton’s agreement to intercede rested on the restoration of the sanctity of the LOC. Under Indian military and American diplomatic pressure, Sharif agreed to Clinton’s terms and the conflict was brought to a close.

In October 1999 General Pervez Musharraf, the chief of staff of the Pakistani army, overthrew Sharif’s democratically elected but increasingly authoritarian regime. Pakistan’s relations with India, which had been strained as a consequence of the Kargil conflict, worsened under Musharraf. Indian leaders accused Musharraf of continuing to materially assist the Kashmīri insurgents. Musharraf denied these allegations, insisting that his regime was only involved in providing moral, political, and diplomatic support to the insurgents.

The most dramatic deterioration in relations came after December 13, 2001, when members of two Pakistan-based insurgent groups, the Jaish-e-Muhammad and the Lashkar-e-Taiba, attacked the Indian national parliament in Delhi. Prompt action on the part of local police and paramilitary forces contained the ferocity of the attack and limited the number of deaths. In the aftermath of this attack, India recalled its ambassador from Pakistan, severed road and rail links, and dramatically increased its military deployments along the Indo-Pakistani border and in Jammu and Kashmīr State.

Relations between the two countries continued to worsen through much of 2002 as additional terrorist attacks took place on Indian soil and India continued to exert growing military pressure on Pakistan. In Kashmīr, artillery fire routinely erupted along the LOC. Both countries increased troop deployments along their shared border, amassing a total of about 1 million troops. Fearing an outbreak of war between two nuclear-armed states, the United States and a number of other major powers intervened to defuse the increasing tensions. The status of Jammu and Kashmīr remains one of the most volatile territorial disputes in the world, and India and Pakistan are no closer to reaching a resolution in the foreseeable future.

Pakistan
 

[B][U][CENTER][SIZE="3"]Pakistan[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]I -INTRODUCTION[/B]
Pakistan, officially Islamic Republic of Pakistan, republic in South Asia, marking the area where South Asia converges with Southwest Asia and Central Asia. The capital of Pakistan is Islāmābād; Karāchi is the country’s largest city.

The area of present-day Pakistan was the cradle of the earliest known civilization of South Asia, the Indus Valley civilization (2500?-1700 BC). The territory was part of the Mughal Empire from 1526 until the 1700s, when it came under British rule. Pakistan gained independence in August 1947. It initially comprised two parts, West Pakistan and East Pakistan, which were separated by about 1,600 km (1,000 mi) of territory within India. In December 1971 East Pakistan seceded and became the independent republic of Bangladesh.

[B]II -LAND AND RESOURCES[/B]
Pakistan is bordered on the west by Iran, on the north and northwest by Afghanistan, on the northeast by China, on the east and southeast by India, and on the south by the Arabian Sea. A panhandle of Afghanistan territory in the northwest, the Wakhan Corridor, separates Pakistan and Tajikistan. The area of Pakistan is 796,095 sq km (307,374 sq mi), not including the section of Jammu and Kashmīr under its control. Jammu and Kashmīr is a disputed territory located between Pakistan and India. Pakistan controls a portion of the territory as Azad (Free) Kashmīr and the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA), while India controls a portion as the state of Jammu and Kashmīr.

[B]A -Natural Regions[/B]
Pakistan has great extremes of elevation, reaching the highest point at the Himalayan peak of K2 (also known as Mount Godwin Austen) in the north and the lowest point at the Arabian Sea coast in the south. The Indus River flows the length of Pakistan from north to south. The Indus and its tributaries form a wide river valley with fertile plains in Punjab and Sind (Sindh) provinces. Pakistan is mountainous in the north and west. Earthquakes are frequent, and occasionally severe, in the northern and western areas.
Much of Pakistan is a dry, sun-scorched region. To the west of the Indus are the rugged dry mountains of the Sulaimān Range, which merge with the treeless Kīrthar Range in the south. Farther west are the arid regions of the Baluchistan Plateau and the Khārān Basin. A series of mostly barren low mountains and hills predominate in the western border areas. The Thar Desert straddles the border with India in the southeast.
The country also possesses a variety of wetlands, with the glacial lakes of the Himalayas, the mudflats of the Indus Valley plains, and the extensive coastal mangroves of the Indus River delta. The wetland areas cover an estimated area of 7.8 million hectares (19.3 million acres).

[B]B -Rivers[/B]
The Indus River is the lifeline of Pakistan. Without the Indus and its tributaries, the land would have turned into a barren desert long ago. The Indus originates in Tibet from the glacial streams of the Himalayas and enters Pakistan in the northeast. It runs generally southwestward the entire length of Pakistan, about 2,900 km (1,800 mi), and empties into the Arabian Sea. The Indus and its tributaries provide water to two-thirds of Pakistan. The principal tributaries of the Indus are the Sutlej, Beās, Chenāb, Rāvi, and Jhelum rivers. In southwestern Punjab Province these rivers merge to form the Panjnad (“Five Rivers”), which then merges with the Indus to form a mighty river. As the Indus approaches the Arabian Sea, it spreads out to form a delta. Much of the delta is marshy and swampy. It includes 225,000 hectares (556,000 acres) of mangrove forests and swamps. To the west of the delta is the seaport of Karāchi; to the east the delta fans into the salt marshes known as the Rann of Kutch.

[B]C -Coastline[/B]
The coastline of Pakistan extends 1,050 km (650 mi) along the Arabian Sea. The Makran Coast Range forms a narrow strip of mountains along about 75 percent of the total coast length, or about 800 km (500 mi). These steep mountains rise to an elevation of up to 1,500 m (5,000 ft). Most of the coast is underdeveloped, with deserted beaches and only a few fishing villages.

[B]D -Mountain Peaks and Passes[/B]
Pakistan has within its borders some of the world’s highest and most spectacular mountains. In the northern part of the country, the Hindu Kush mountains converge with the Karakoram Range, a part of the Himalayan mountain system. Thirteen of the world’s 30 tallest peaks are in Pakistan. The tallest include K2 (also known as Mount Godwin Austen), the second highest peak in the world at 8,611 m (28,251 ft), in the Karakoram Range; Nanga Parbat (8,125 m/26,657 ft) in the Himalayas; and Tirich Mīr (7,690 m/25,230 ft) in the Hindu Kush.

Many mountain passes cross Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan and China. Passes crossing over the mountains bordering Afghanistan include the Khyber, Bolān, Khojak, Kurram, Tochi, and Gomal passes. The most well-known and well-traveled is the Khyber Pass in the northwest. It links Peshāwar in Pakistan with Jalālābād in Afghanistan, where it connects to a route leading to the Afghan capital of Kābul. It is the widest and lowest of all the mountain passes, reaching a maximum elevation of 1,072 m (3,517 ft). The route of the Bolān Pass links Quetta in Baluchistan Province with Kandahār in Afghanistan; it also serves as a vital link within Pakistan between Sind and Baluchistan provinces. Historically, the Khyber and Bolān passes were used as the primary routes for invaders to enter India from Central Asia, including the armies of Alexander the Great. Also historically significant is Karakoram Pass, on the border with China. For centuries it was part of the trading routes known as the Silk Road, which linked China and other parts of Asia with Europe.

[B]E -Plants and Animals[/B]
The vegetation of Pakistan varies with elevation, soil type, and precipitation. Forests are largely confined to the mountain ranges in the north, where coniferous alpine and subalpine trees such as spruce, pine, and deodar cedar grow. The southern ranges of the Himalayas, which are of lower elevation, receive heavy rainfall and have dense forests of deodar, pine, poplar, and willow trees. The more arid Sulaimān and Salt mountain ranges are sparsely forested with a type of mulberry called shisham, a broad-leaved, deciduous tree. Dry-temperate vegetation, such as coarse grasses, scrub plants, and dwarf palm, predominates in the valleys of the North-West Frontier Province and the Baluchistan Plateau. The arid western hills are dotted with juniper, tamarisk (salt cedar), and pistachio trees. The area of Ziārat, Baluchistan, has juniper forests that are believed to be 5,000 years old; however, they are dwindling due to deforestation. Dry-tropical scrub and thorn trees are the predominant vegetation in the Indus River plain. Known as rakh, this vegetation is native to the region and can survive temperatures higher than 45°C (113°F). Riverine forests, found in the Indus floodplain, require six weeks of monsoon flooding to sustain them during the dry months. Irrigated tree plantations are found in Punjab and Sind. Mangrove forests in the coastal wetlands are an integral part of the marine food chain.

Animal life in Pakistan includes deer, boar, bear, crocodile, and waterfowl. The wetlands provide an essential habitat for a number of important mammal species, including coated otter, Indus dolphin, fishing cat, hog deer, and wild boar. During the migration season, at least 1 million waterfowl representing more than 100 species visit the extensive deltas and wetlands of Pakistan. Pakistan’s rivers and coastal waters contain many types of freshwater and saltwater fish, including herring, mackerel, sharks, and shellfish.

Threatened or endangered species include the snow leopard, Marco Polo sheep, blue sheep, and ibex (a type of wild goat). These animals can still be found in remote and protected areas of the Himalayas. The houbara bustard has been overhunted as a game bird in Pakistan and is officially protected.

[B]F -Climate[/B]
The climate of Pakistan varies widely, with sharp differences between the high mountains and low plains. The country experiences four seasons. In the mountainous regions of the north and west, temperatures fall below freezing during winter and are mild during summer. In the Indus plains, temperatures range between about 32° and 49°C (about 90° and 120°F) in summer, and the average in winter is about 13°C (about 55°F).

Mountainous areas receive most precipitation as heavy snowfall in winter. In other areas of Pakistan, most precipitation comes with the summer monsoons during July and August. The summer monsoons are seasonal winds that bring torrential rainfall, breaking the hot, dry spell and providing much-needed relief. The rainfall is so heavy that it causes rivers in Punjab and Sind provinces to flood the lowland areas. Rainfall is scarce the rest of the year. Punjab Province has the most precipitation in the country, receiving more than 500 mm (20 in) per year. In contrast, the arid regions of the southeast (the Thar Desert in Sind) and southwest (Baluchistan) receive less than 125 mm (5 in) annually.

[B]G -Natural Resources[/B]
More than 20 different types of minerals have been identified in Pakistan, but few are of sufficient quality or quantity to be commercially exploited. Most mineral deposits are found in the mountainous regions. Pakistan’s exploited natural resources include coal, natural gas, petroleum, gypsum, limestone, chromite, iron ore, rock salt, and silica sand. Pakistan has extensive natural gas reserves, notably in the vicinity of Sui, Baluchistan, from where it is piped to most of the large cities of Pakistan. Petroleum is limited, but exploration for additional reserves holds promise. Most of the country’s coal is of poor quality. The Salt Range in Punjab Province has large deposits of pure salt. Only about 3.3 percent of Pakistan’s total land area is forested, and timber is in short supply.

[B]H -Environmental Issues[/B]
The wetlands in Pakistan are a precious resource. In an arid to semiarid environment, these ecosystems have tremendous value. People, domestic livestock, and wildlife depend on them for livelihood and survival. The wetlands are also a major source of food staples, livestock grazing and fodder, fuel wood, and irrigation water. However, the fragile wetland ecologies are threatened by poor conservation, over-exploitation, and urban and industrial pollution.

Pakistan’s forests also are in urgent need of protection and conservation. The country has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world. The primary causes of deforestation are population growth and settlement, lack of fuelwood alternatives, insect damage and diseases, forest fires, and lack of awareness about the importance of preservation.

In the 1970s the government of Pakistan began making efforts to protect the country’s forests. It has created 14 national parks, covering a total area of 2,753,375 hectares (6,803,738 acres). The protected forests of the parks help prevent soil erosion. The parks are also wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves. Khunjerab National Park, established in 1975, is an important habitat sanctuary for a number of threatened or endangered species, including the snow leopard. It is one of the country’s most important alpine biodiversity regions. Located in the Himalayas, it is also one of the highest-altitude parks in the world at 5,000 m (16,000 ft). Most of the parks generally have no ecological basis, however, existing primarily as tourist attractions or for the preservation of game animals.

Pakistan participates in the World Heritage Convention and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and it has one designated biosphere preserve under the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Program.

[B]III -THE PEOPLE OF PAKISTAN[/B]
The people of Pakistan are ethnically diverse. They trace their ethnic lineages to many different origins, largely because the country lies in an area that was invaded repeatedly during its long history. Migrations of Muslims from India since 1947 and refugees from Afghanistan since the 1980s have significantly changed the demographics of certain areas of the country. The people of Pakistan come from ethnic stocks such as Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Greek, Scythian, Hun, Arab, Mongol, Persian, and Afghan. Although an overwhelming majority of the people are Muslim, religion does not supercede ethnic affiliations. The people follow many different cultural traditions and speak many different languages and dialects.

Pakistan has a population of 150,694,740 (2003 estimate), yielding an average population density of 189 persons per sq km (490 per sq mi). The country’s population was increasing in 2003 at a rate of 2 percent a year. Only 33 percent of the people live in urban areas.

[B]A -Cultural Groups[/B]
Pakistan is a multilingual and multiethnic nation. Most of the people belong to one of the country’s five major ethnolinguistic groups: Punjabis, Sindhis, Pashtuns (Pakhtuns), Mohajirs (Muslims who migrated to the newly formed nation of Pakistan after 1947), and Baluchis. Ethnically distinct subgroups exist within each of these five categories. Overall, ethnic identity is multilayered and complex and may be based on a combination of religion, language, ethnicity, and tribe.

Not all of the ethnolinguistic groups are equally represented in the power structure of Pakistan. Mohajirs, Punjabis, and Pashtuns are the dominant groups, while Sindhis and Baluchis struggle to advance and protect their interests.

Punjabis constitute 58 percent of the population. They have diverse origins, but over the centuries they coalesced into a coherent ethnic group in the historic Punjab region and developed a common language, Punjabi. Today most Punjabis prefer to read and write in Pakistan’s official language, Urdu, and their language-based ethnic identity is relatively weak. Many Punjabis are farmers in the fertile valley of Punjab Province. Punjabis also predominate in the military and the federal government.

Sindhis constitute 13 percent of the population of Pakistan. Their traditional homeland is the province of Sind, where they maintain the country’s largest concentration of large landholdings. Sindhis are a predominantly rural people. They have a strong sense of linguistic and cultural pride and identity. They have a rich literary and folk tradition and prefer to read and write in their own language, Sindhi.

Pashtuns constitute 12.5 percent of the population. Pashtuns are divided into many tribes, and their tribal structure is egalitarian. Pashtuns follow a strict code of conduct known as Pashtunwali (“Pashtun Way”). Pashtun identity, including their interpretation of Islamic law, is formulated and guided by Pashtunwali. The code is based on the absolute obligations of providing hospitality and sanctuary, even to one’s enemies, and exacting revenge at all costs in the defense of one’s honor. The code also requires Pashtuns to abide by the decisions of the jirga (council of tribal leaders) in matters of dispute. Many Pashtuns have blue eyes and claim to be descendants of the European soldiers who fought for Alexander the Great in the region 2,000 years ago. They have a rich oral tradition in their ethnic language, Pashto, but many Pashtuns prefer to read and write in Urdu. Pashtuns are primarily farmers, livestock herders, traders, and soldiers in the Pakistan military.
Baluchis constitute 4 percent of the population. Most Baluchis are nomadic, migrating wherever the desert-like conditions of their homeland, the Baluchistan Plateau, provide enough vegetation to raise their animals. Raising livestock, mainly sheep and goats, and selling their hides and wool is a way of life for the Baluchis. They also have apple, almond, and apricot orchards, and some grow wheat. Baluchi tribal organization is strictly hierarchical, and each tribe is headed by a sardar (tribal chief). Most Baluchis speak Baluchi (Balochi), a language that is similar to Persian. About one-fifth of Baluchis also speak Brahui, a Dravidian-derived language. Baluchis are the least educated and poorest segment of the population and are inadequately represented in government.

Mohajirs constitute about 8 percent of the population. They are Muslims who settled in Pakistan after the partition of British India in 1947. Unlike other cultural groups of Pakistan, they do not have a tribe-based cultural identity. They are the only people in the country for whom Urdu, the official language, is their native tongue. Mohajirs were the vanguard of the Pakistan Movement, which advocated the partition of British India in order to create the independent nation of Pakistan for Indian Muslims. After the partition, a large number of Muslims migrated from various urban centers of India to live in the new nation of Pakistan. These migrants later identified themselves as mohajirs, meaning “refugees” in both Urdu and Arabic. A large number of Mohajirs settled in the cities of Sind Province, particularly Karāchi and Hyderābād. They were better educated than most indigenous Pakistanis and assumed positions of leadership in business, finance, and administration. Today they remain mostly urban.

Sindhis felt dispossessed by the preponderance of Mohajirs in the urban centers of Sind. With the emergence of a Sindhi middle class in the 1970s and adoption of Sindhi as a provincial language in 1972, tensions between Mohajirs and Sindhis began to mount. The 1973 constitution of Pakistan divided Sind into rural and urban districts, with the implication that the more numerous Sindhis would be better represented in government. Many Mohajirs felt that they were being denied opportunities and launched a movement to represent their interests. The movement, which evolved into the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) in the mid-1980s, called for official recognition of Mohajirs as a separate cultural group and advocated improved rights for Mohajirs. Although factional rivalries and violence within the MQM tarnished its image and shrunk its power base, the movement continues to be a potent force in urban centers of the province, particularly Karāchi. The MQM has contributed to a more defined Mohajir identity within the country.

[B]B -Political Regions[/B]
The ethnic groups of Pakistan are distributed according to their historical settlement in the region. The current political regions of Pakistan roughly correspond to the settlement patterns established long before the partition of British India in 1947, when Pakistan was created as a homeland for Indian Muslims. The four provinces are Punjab, the Muslim portion of the historic Punjab region; Sind, the traditional homeland of the Sindhis; the North-West Frontier Province, a small portion of the Pashtun tribal lands; and Baluchistan, a portion of the Baluchi tribal lands. The traditional homelands of the Pashtuns and Baluchis extend beyond the modern political borders, both provincial and national.

Punjab is the most populated province of Pakistan, with 72.6 million people (1998). Most of the people are Punjabis. The province contains most of the country’s largest cities, but the rural agricultural areas are also densely settled. The province is the second largest in area.

Sind is the second most populated province in Pakistan, with about 30 million people (1998). Its population is the most urbanized in Pakistan. Sindhis make up about 60 percent of the population of Sind, living mostly in rural areas. Mohajirs constitute the remaining 40 percent and live mostly in the province’s large cities. Sind is the third largest province in area.

The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) has a population of 17.6 million (1998). The majority of the people are Pashtuns. The province is part of the historic Pashtun tribal lands, which extend throughout southern and southeastern Afghanistan and well into western Pakistan, including the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and northern Baluchistan. The NWFP is Pakistan’s smallest province in area. In the 1980s refugees from war-torn Afghanistan began to settle in the province. Refugee camps and rudimentary villages were set up in the border areas. A large number of refugees also established communities in cities such as Peshāwar. Many became semipermanent residents of Pakistan because Afghanistan remained in a state of war through the mid-1990s. The majority of refugees were Pashtuns, facilitating their assimilation into the province’s population, in many cases through intermarriage.

Baluchistan is the most sparsely populated and least developed province of Pakistan. A majority of the 6.5 million (1998) people who live in Baluchistan are Baluchis. Pashtuns are the second largest ethnic group in the province. In recent years a large number of Afghan refugees have settled in Baluchistan. In area, Baluchistan is the largest province of Pakistan, covering nearly 40 percent of the country’s total territory. However, the province is an arid and inhospitable hinterland.

[B]C -Principal Cities[/B]
Pakistan’s largest city is Karāchi, the capital of Sind Province. It is the country’s only seaport and a major financial, industrial, and commercial center. It is also known as the ethnic melting pot of Pakistan. Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province, is Pakistan’s second largest city and a cultural and educational center. Faisalābād, in central Punjab, is the center of textile and fertilizer industries. Multān, the largest city in southern Punjab, has many ancient Muslim shrines, a huge fertilizer factory, and small cottage industries such as carpet weaving and pottery. Hyderābād, in Sind Province, is a manufacturing center with textile and glass factories, as well as a cultural center with museums, historic mosques, and a medical school. Peshāwar, the capital of the North-West Frontier Province, is a busy, overcrowded frontier outpost and a hub of trade with Afghanistan. For centuries it served as a gateway and trading post between Afghanistan and Southeast Asia.

Islāmābād is the capital of Pakistan and the seat of the federal government; it forms its own administrative unit, the Islāmābād Capital Territory. Just to the south, in bordering Punjab Province, is Rāwalpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistani army and an industrial center.

[B]D -Religion[/B]
Islam is the faith of about 97 percent of the people of Pakistan. About three-quarters of the country’s Muslims are Sunni, and about one-quarter are Shia. Some small Muslim fringe sects, such as the Ahmedis and Zikris, also exist. Hindus and Christians form the largest religious minorities, accounting for about 3 percent of the population. Other religious groups include Sikhs, Parsis, and a small number of Buddhists. The constitution defines Pakistan as an Islamic state but guarantees freedom of religion.

[B]E -Languages[/B]
Urdu is the official language of Pakistan. It is the first language of only a small percentage of the population, but it cuts across linguistic and provincial boundaries as the national language. More than 75 percent of Pakistanis can speak and understand Urdu. In urban areas about 95 percent of the people communicate in Urdu. Urdu replaced English as the official language in 1978.
Most Pakistanis speak at least two languages. A large segment of the population is trilingual, speaking English, Urdu, and an ethnic-based regional language. Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Baluchi, and Brahui are the major regional languages. These languages have many regional dialects, including Saraiki, a widely spoken dialect of Punjabi. Regional languages are recognized as a potent force because language and ethnic identity are closely interrelated; even the national census categorizes groups according to their language, rather than their ethnicity. However, there is growing awareness among Pakistanis that for social mobility, national cohesion, and individual success, it is imperative to be fluent in Urdu and proficient in English.

Several factors contributed to the establishment of Urdu as the lingua franca of Pakistan. It was the language of the educated Muslims in northern India, who spearheaded the Pakistan Movement. Urdu helped foster a linguistic identity among Muslims in the region. Although similar to Hindi as a spoken language, Urdu uses a Persian-derived script and incorporates many Arabic words. Choosing Urdu as the national language provided a linguistic basis for the formation of a Muslim national identity. It also provided the country with a “neutral” language because Urdu does not have ethnic or tribal associations. Since the founding of Pakistan in 1947, state-controlled electronic and print media have promoted Urdu. In the public schools of the country, Urdu is the principal language of instruction.

For all practical purposes, however, English is the de facto official language. Pakistan’s legal system is based on British common law, and judicial and government documents are mostly written in English. Pakistanis of all social strata strive to learn English, which has a certain elite status. Although the quality of instruction in English has declined, English continues to be the language of the educated and those who want to move ahead in life.

[B]F -Education[/B]
Pakistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world. In 2003 only 45.7 percent of adult Pakistanis were literate. Male literacy was 59.8 percent, while female literacy was 30.6 percent. From 1976 to 2001 the number of primary schools doubled, but so did the population. High levels of population growth continue to hamper educational development in the country. The government launched a nationwide initiative in 1998 with the aim of eradicating illiteracy and providing a basic education to all children.

According to the constitution, it is the state’s responsibility to provide free primary education. Five years has been established as the period of primary school attendance, but attendance is not compulsory. While the enrollment rate in primary school is high for boys, less than one-half of girls attend school. In the 1999–2000 school year 96 percent of primary school-aged children were enrolled in school, while only 39 percent of secondary school-aged children attended. In 1996, 3.5 percent of Pakistan’s college-aged population attended institutions of higher education. The wealthiest and best students seek education in British and American universities.

At the time of independence Pakistan had only one university, the University of the Punjab, founded in 1882 in Lahore. Pakistan now has more than 20 public universities. Among Pakistan’s leading public institutions of higher education are Quaid-e-Azam University (1965), in Islāmābād, the University of Karāchi (1951), the University of Peshāwar (1950), and the University of Sindh (1947), near Hyderābād.

Since 1978 the government has encouraged the privatization of education at all levels. This led to the creation of three major private universities: Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Agha Khan University Medical College (in Karāchi), and Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (in Topi, North-West Frontier Province). The National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), in Rāwalpindi, conducts research in the fields of science and technology for both the public and private sectors.

[B]IV -THE ARTS[/B]
Pakistan has a rich and diverse cultural heritage. Pakistanis celebrate their culture through folk music, dance, and festivals. They have a strong appreciation for poetic expression and storytelling. The history of the country comes to life in the splendid architectural detail of centuries-old mosques and forts. After it became part of the expansive Mughal Empire in 1526, the region that is now Pakistan entered a golden age of literature, architecture, and music.

[B]A -Literature[/B]
Most Pakistanis adore poetry and commonly memorize long poems. A mushaira (poetry reading) in Pakistan can attract hundreds of listeners. Among classical poets in the Urdu language, Mirza Ghalib is perhaps the most widely admired. Ghalib, who wrote in the 19th century, is known for his lyrical and spiritual ghazals. Ghazals are the most popular form of poetry in the Urdu and Persian languages.

The official national poet of Pakistan is Allama (“the Wise”) Muhammad Iqbal. He earned the title of poet-philosopher of Pakistan not only because he was an exceptionally talented poet, but also because he was active in the politics of his time. In 1930 he called for the creation of a separate Muslim state in northwestern British India. He wrote poetry in Urdu and Persian and gave university lectures in English.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz is perhaps the most adored modern poet in Pakistan. Faiz began writing poetry in the 1950s after a distinguished journalism career. His ghazals are primarily concerned with class struggle, rather than the conventional themes of love and beauty. A progressive writer, Faiz was also a political dissident, and military governments banned his poetry from television and radio. Ahmad Fraz, Muneer Niazi, and Parveen Shakir are some of the other popular Urdu-language poets of Pakistan.

Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, a Sufi mystic who in the first half of the 18th century wrote about love and Sindhi life, is the most revered poet of the Sindhi language. His poetry is widely recited by illiterate and educated Sindhis alike. Khushal Khan Khattak is the most famous poet of the Pashto language. In the 17th century he wrote poetry describing the beauty of women and nature, using military metaphors. The most well-known poet of the Punjabi language is Bulleh Shah, of the 17th century, whose poetry challenged the religious orthodoxy. In recent years short stories and travelogues have gained literary prominence, in addition to poetry.

[B]B -Music and Film[/B]
The classical music tradition in Pakistan traces its roots to the 13th-century poet and musician Amir Khusru, who composed the earliest ragas, the traditional rhythmic form. To play the ragas, Muslim musicians invented the sitar, a long guitar-like stringed instrument, and the tabla, a small pair of hand drums.

Qawwali, a form of devotional song, arose as part of the Sufi (Islamic religious sect) tradition. This rich vocal tradition is based on melodic and free-rhythmic song-poems and classical musical forms. It is traditionally performed at the shrines of Sufi saints, but today qawwali singers also perform for major secular events. Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan won international popularity in the late 20th century by infusing qawwali performances with new form and style. Other traditional musical forms—including the Punjabi bhangra, the Sindhi juhumar, and the Pashtun khattack—have also acquired new forms and continue to be popular for dancing. Punjabi, Pashto, and Sindhi folk songs are popular in rural Pakistan. Modern Pakistani musical groups and singers have introduced new forms of pop music based on traditional melodies.

Most Pakistanis prefer and enjoy songs from Pakistani and Indian movies. These songs are commonly played on radio and television. A synthesis of musical scores from movies, traditional folk music, and popular Western music is gaining popularity.

The film industry of Pakistan, known as Lollywood, is concentrated in Lahore. Most Pakistani movies are long, melodramatic love stories with plenty of songs. The film industry is often regulated and censored by the government. Films must follow the conventions of Islamic law, and the showing of physical contact such as kissing is prohibited. In the mid-1970s the industry produced about 150 movies a year, but since then the number has declined. In the 1980s the market for Pakistani films shrunk as a result of restrictions imposed by the military regime of Muhammad Zia ul-Haq and the availability of smuggled videotapes of Indian and Western movies.

Television became a major cultural influence in Pakistan in the 1980s, when the state-controlled network, Pakistan Television, attained national reach. It aired both Pakistani and American shows. In recent years satellite and cable television services have significantly increased access to international networks offering many different cultural and political perspectives.

[B]C -Architecture[/B]
Pakistan has inherited a combination of Mughal and British colonial architectural forms. Mughal architects combined the Muslim preferences for large domes, slender towers, and archways with the Hindu use of red sandstone, white marble, and inlaid jewels. Mughal artists decorated the monuments with verses from the Quran, the sacred text of Islam. The best example of this architecture is the Badshahi Mosque and Lahore Fort (built between the 1580s and 1670s). The courtyard of the mosque can accommodate 100,000 worshipers, making it the second largest mosque in the world. Pakistan also has the world’s largest mosque, the Faisal Mosque in Islāmābād, a gift from Saudi Arabia that was constructed in the 1980s. It was designed by a Turkish architect to look like an Arab desert tent. Other examples of Mughal architecture include Shalimar Gardens (laid out in 1641), in Lahore; the Shah Jahan Mosque (17th century), in Thatta, Sind Province; and the mid-18th-century tomb of the great Sindhi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, in Bhit Shāh, near Hyderābād.

Quranic calligraphy and miniature painting have a strong tradition in Pakistan dating to Mughal rule. The most celebrated miniature and mural paintings and calligraphic works were created in the 20th century by Abdul Rehman Chughtai and Sadequain. These Mughal traditions are also visible on colorfully painted and decorated trucks and buses that ply the country.

[B]D -Libraries and Museums[/B]
Karāchi is the seat of some of the most important libraries in Pakistan; these include the Liaquat Memorial Library (1950), the Central Secretariat Library (1950), and the University of Karāchi library. Also of note are the National Archives of Pakistan, in Islāmābād, and the Punjab Public Library (1884), in Lahore.

The National Museum of Pakistan (1950), in Karāchi, is noted for its archaeological material from the Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa sites in the Indus Valley. Important materials from this ancient civilization are also found at the Institute of Sindhology, in Jām Shoro, and the Hyderābād Museum. The Lahore Museum (1864), the country’s largest museum, and the Peshāwar Museum (1906) also have exhibits on the rich cultural history of the region. The Industrial and Commercial Museum, in Lahore, contains exhibits on the manufactures of Pakistan. The National Museum of Science and Technology is a participatory science center in Lahore.

[B]V -ECONOMY[/B]
Like most developing countries, Pakistan is confronted with the problems of rapid population growth, sizable budget deficits, and heavy dependence on foreign aid and loans. The economy is strained from supporting a large military establishment and from providing for the needs of Afghan refugees.
Pakistan receives considerable economic assistance from foreign countries and from international organizations. Over the years Pakistan has accumulated a foreign debt of about $40 billion. Debt repayment, defense spending, and general administrative expenditures consume 80 percent of Pakistan’s annual budget. Only 20 percent is available for development of the social sector. After Pakistan exploded a nuclear device in May 1998, it faced the imposition of international sanctions. The fact that the country survived the sanctions without a collapse of its currency or violent street demonstrations is generally regarded as proof of the country’s resilience. Heading into the 21st century, Pakistani leaders have a chance to seize the moment in order to modify and build a sound social and economic order that may steer the nation to a more durable path of progress.
In 2001 Pakistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) was $58.7 billion. The government budget in 2000 included $9.9 billion in revenues and $13.5 billion in expenditures.

[B]A -Economic Development[/B]
After East Pakistan seceded to become the independent nation of Bangladesh in December 1971, the elected government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto tried to pick up the pieces of a truncated Pakistan. It devised economic policies that led to a drastic devaluation of the Pakistani currency, thereby boosting agricultural exports. To ease unemployment pressure the government encouraged the export of Pakistani labor to the Middle East. It also embarked on the nationalization of industries, banks, and agriculture-based industries. This expansion of the public sector ultimately shook private-sector confidence so that investment plummeted. The annual growth rate declined, averaging between 2.7 percent and 3.7 percent during most of the 1970s.

During the 1980s the country’s economy grew an average rate of 6 percent annually. This high growth rate was largely created by three factors: aid from the United States, the influx of foreign exchange from Pakistanis working abroad, and high crop yields. First, Pakistan received an average of $600 million per year in economic and military aid from the United States from 1981 to 1989, largely because of Pakistan’s support for anti-Soviet forces in the Afghan-Soviet War. (During this decade Pakistan was the third-largest recipient of U.S. aid, after Israel and Egypt.) Second, Pakistan received $2.5 billion in remittances from Pakistanis working abroad in the Persian Gulf States and other countries. Third, good weather conditions produced bumper cotton and wheat crops.

At the same time, the government did little to devise policies to boost the confidence of private investors or promote the welfare of Pakistani citizens. The negative fallout of the Afghan war on Pakistan was an expansion of the black market (the illicit sale of commodities) and the proliferation of portable weapons and violence. Despite the high economic growth rate, the economy remained largely agricultural, and socioeconomic disparities between the rich and poor widened. Also during the 1980s, the military regime increased defense spending to such an extent that the fiscal deficit rose to 10 percent of the GDP. In addition, public debt ballooned from less than 40 percent of the GDP to more than 80 percent. The debt trap that Pakistan finds itself in today originated during this decade.

The economy of Pakistan slowed to an average annual growth of 3.8 percent during the 1990s. Factors contributing to the sluggish growth included corruption and mismanagement at the highest levels of government and the rise of ethnic and sectarian violence in Karāchi and other urban centers. These factors shook investor confidence.

The economic performance of the 1990s was also related to the structural adjustment programs (SAPs) of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Loans from these international lending agencies were subject to conditions on Pakistan’s national economic policies. Pakistan received its first formal loan in 1988. In Pakistan the primary focus of the IMF-sponsored program was to lower the budget and current-account deficits. These objectives were to be achieved by reducing public expenditures and broadening the tax base. In addition, in 1992-1993 the IMF further insisted that Pakistan reduce defense expenditures, impose an agricultural tax, and improve methods of tax collection. These reforms were never fully implemented, however, and the IMF-sponsored program did not achieve the desired result. Inflation rose from 8 percent in the 1980s to 11 percent in the 1990s, although a nominal reduction in the budget deficit was visible. Direct foreign investment did not improve and the export sector remained sluggish.

A high-powered Privatization Commission was created in 1990 to encourage privatization of public-sector industries, economic deregulation, and other reforms designed to boost confidence in the principles of a free-market economy. However, the commission was slow to implement its privatization program.

[B]B -Agriculture[/B]
About 28 percent of Pakistan’s total land area is cultivated. Agriculture and related activities, including fishing, engage 47 percent of the workforce and provide 25 percent of the GDP. Chief cash crops are cotton (textile yarn and fabrics produce more than one-half of export earnings) and rice. Principal crops in 2002 (with output in metric tons) included sugarcane, 48 million; wheat, 18.5 million; rice, 5.8 million; cotton lint, 5.1 million; and corn, 1.7 million. Livestock included cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, and poultry.
Land reform is a controversial issue in Pakistan. At independence in 1947, a large proportion of the arable land was concentrated in a small number of large estates, many of them owned by absentee landlords and cultivated by tenant farmers. Land reforms introduced in 1959 provided some security of tenure to tenants but did little to break up the large estates. In the 1970s the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto introduced more extensive land reforms.

The amount of land any individual could own was significantly reduced, and landlords were not compensated for the land they surrendered. Most of the expropriated land was distributed to tenants, but the government retained land that was not suitable for farming. Landlords strongly resisted the reforms, however, and the government bureaucracy was somewhat lax in enforcing them. In the end, the reforms shook the landlords but did not break their hold. By the end of the 20th century, about half of the country’s arable land was held by only a small percentage of wealthy landowners.
The Bhutto government also developed favorable credit and loan policies for farmers. The tractor became the new status symbol in rural Pakistan. Improved mechanization gave a boost to agricultural productivity. Formerly an importer of wheat, Pakistan achieved self-sufficiency in the grain by the late 1970s.

[B]C -Fishing[/B]
Fishing resources, although underdeveloped, are extensive. In 1999 the catch was 674,606 metric tons, three-quarters of it obtained from the Indian Ocean. Types of fish caught include sardines, sharks, and anchovies; shrimp are also an important part of the industry.

[B]D -Mining[/B]
In the early 1990s the most important nonfuel minerals (with annual production in metric tons) included gypsum (532,000), rock salt (895,000), limestone (8.8 million), and silica sand (154,000). In 2001 coal production was 3.20 million metric tons, crude petroleum production reached 23.3 million barrels, and production of natural gas was 23.4 billion cubic meters (826 billion cubic feet).

[B]E -Manufacturing[/B]
The manufacturing capacity of Pakistan is still small, but production has been steadily expanding. In 2001 manufacturing accounted for 16 percent of the GDP. About 17 percent of the labor force is engaged in industry, including manufacturing and mining. Important products include processed foods, cotton textiles, silk and rayon cloth, refined petroleum, cement, fertilizers, sugar, cigarettes, and chemicals. Many handicrafts, such as pottery and carpets, also are produced.

[B]F -Energy[/B]
Pakistan’s total output of electricity in 2001 was 67 billion kilowatt-hours. Hydroelectric dams on the Indus and its tributaries help furnish the country’s energy needs, but the supply of hydroelectricity drops sharply during the dry winter months. About 28 percent of the country’s electricity is produced through dams. The country also has natural-gas fields. About 69 percent of the country’s electricity is generated in thermal installations fueled by natural gas and petroleum.

Pakistan has two nuclear power plants, but neither produces a significant amount of electricity. The Karāchi plant was built with Canadian help in the early 1960s, and the Chashma plant, on the Indus River in southern Punjab, was built in the 1980s with financial support from China.

Pakistan is not self-sufficient in energy production. The country relies on imported petroleum to fuel its electricity-generating thermal plants. However, the country’s exports bring in hardly enough revenues to meet the cost of petroleum imports. During the 1990s rising oil prices had a devastating effect on the economy, leading to a rise in the country’s foreign debt.

[B]G -Currency and Banking[/B]
The basic monetary unit is the Pakistani rupee, consisting of 100 paisa (61.93 rupees equal US$1; 2001 average). The State Bank of Pakistan, established in 1948, issues banknotes; manages currency and credit, the public debt, and exchange controls; and supervises the commercial banks. Pakistani banks were nationalized in 1974, but in the early 1990s the country transferred two banks to private ownership and issued licenses for ten new commercial banks. A number of major foreign banks maintain offices in the country. In conformity with Islamic doctrine, domestic banks in Pakistan have redefined the payment and collection of interest as profit. Investment partnerships between the bank and the customer have replaced loans at interest.

[B]H -Foreign Trade[/B]
The foreign trade of Pakistan consists largely of the export of raw materials and basic products such as cotton yarn and the import of manufactured products. In 2000 exports earned $9.1 billion and imports cost $11.1 billion. The chief exports were cotton textiles, cotton yarn and thread, clothing, raw cotton, rice, carpets and rugs, leather, fish, and petroleum products; the main imports were machinery, electrical equipment, petroleum products, transportation equipment, metal and metal products, fertilizer, and foodstuffs.
The United States is the largest trading partner of Pakistan. The United States is also one of the largest contributors of direct foreign investment in Pakistan. In 2000 Pakistan imported more than $646.5 million worth of U.S. products, mostly wheat, chemicals, fertilizers, machinery, and transport equipment. Pakistan’s exports to the United States amounted to $2.12 billion. Pakistan’s other trading partners are Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, China, Germany, Hong Kong, France, the Persian Gulf States, and Iran.

[B]I -Transportation[/B]
The lack of modern transportation facilities is a major hindrance to the development of Pakistan. Its terrain, laced with rivers and mountains, presents formidable obstacles to internal overland transportation. The country has 254,410 km (158,083 mi) of roads. The railroad network totals 7,791 km (4,841 mi).

Karāchi is the principal port of Pakistan. The coastline is underdeveloped because of the rugged topography, but it has promise for development. In recent years successive governments of Pakistan have made efforts to build infrastructure along the Makran Coast. Toward this end, the government of Pakistan signed an agreement with China in the late 1990s to develop an international shipping port at Gwādar as an alternative to Karāchi. Gwādar is located on a peninsula that is accessible to large ships traveling from the Gulf of Oman, which leads to the Persian Gulf.

The Karakoram Highway was constructed between China and Pakistan in 1978 and opened to regular traffic in 1982. This all-weather road is 1,300 km (800 mi) long and passes through the Himalayas, reaching an elevation of 5,000 m (16,000 ft) at Khunjerab Pass. It is of strategic significance for Pakistan and China, connecting Islāmābād with Kashgar, in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the national airline, is in large part government owned. PIA offers flights within Pakistan and to a number of other countries. Many privately owned international airlines also serve Pakistan. In the early 1990s the government ended the airline’s monopoly on domestic service, and a number of private carriers have since begun domestic operations. The country’s main international airports serve Karāchi, Lahore, Islāmābād, and Rāwalpindi.

[B]J -Communications[/B]
In 2001 Pakistan had 23 telephone mainlines for every 1,000 people. The number of cellular-phone subscribers is growing rapidly. Radio receivers number 94 and television sets 131 per 1,000 residents.

Television broadcasting began in Lahore in 1964 and in Karāchi in 1966. Since then television-broadcasting centers have been set up in Peshāwar, Rāwalpindi, Islāmābād, and Quetta, giving the Pakistani television network an almost total nationwide reach. In the early 1990s satellite dishes made it possible for international television programming to reach even the remotest areas of the country. More recently, the availability of cable television has improved accessibility to the international networks. Newspapers are mainly printed in Urdu and English. Pakistan has 352 daily newspapers, most with small circulations. The major dailies are concentrated in Lahore, Karāchi, and Islāmābād.

[B]VI -GOVERNMENT[/B]
Since independence in 1947 Pakistan has had three constitutions, adopted in 1956, 1962, and 1973, consecutively. The 1973 constitution was the result of consensus among the political parties that were represented in the parliament. After a military coup d’état in 1977, martial law was imposed and the constitution was suspended. In 1985 a civilian government was reestablished, and the 1973 constitution was restored, although in a radically amended form. The Eighth Amendment confirmed and legalized all acts and orders that had been issued under the martial law regime, including amendments to the constitution. The amended constitution significantly expanded the powers of the president. It also included clauses that promoted Islam as the supreme law of Pakistan. In 1997, however, the constitution was amended to repeal the main provisions of the Eighth Amendment, stripping the president of the power to dismiss the prime minister and dissolve the parliament. After another military coup in 1999, the constitution was suspended and the democratically elected parliament was dissolved. In August 2002 a presidential decree amended the constitution to grant sweeping powers to the president. Parliamentary elections were held in October to restore civilian rule in the country. The 1973 constitution was formally revived in November.

[B]A -Executive[/B]
Pakistan’s head of state is a president. Under the constitution, the president is elected to a five-year term by members of the national and provincial legislatures. A prime minister is the chief executive official. After legislative elections, the president appoints the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the legislature to serve as prime minister. As amended in August 2002, the constitution allows the president to dissolve the national legislature, appoint military chiefs and Supreme Court justices, and chair the National Security Council, a quasi-military advisory body.

[B]B -Legislature[/B]
Under the constitution, legislative power is vested in the bicameral Federal Legislature. The National Assembly (lower house) has 342 seats; 60 of these seats are reserved for women and 10 are reserved for non-Muslims on a basis of proportional representation. Members of the National Assembly are directly elected for five-year terms. The Senate (upper house) has 87 seats; senators are elected indirectly by the provincial and national legislatures for six-year terms.

[B]C -Judiciary[/B]
The highest court in Pakistan is the Supreme Court. The judicial system in each province is headed by a high court. There is also a federal Sharia Court, which hears cases that primarily involve Sharia, or Islamic law. Legislation enacted in 1991 gave legal status to Sharia. Although Sharia was declared the law of the land, it did not replace the existing legal code.

[B]D -Local Government[/B]
According to the constitution, Pakistan is a federation. The country is divided into four autonomous (self-governing) provinces; two federally administered areas; and the Islāmābād Capital Territory, which consists of the capital city of Islāmābād.

The four provinces are Baluchistan, the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), Punjab, and Sind. The provinces are headed by governors appointed by the president. Under the constitution, each province has a directly elected provincial assembly headed by a chief minister. However, the provincial assemblies were suspended following the 1999 military coup.
The Islāmābād Capital Territory, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA) are under the jurisdiction of the federal government. In the FATA, however, tribal leaders manage most internal affairs. Azad (Free) Kashmīr has a separate and autonomous government but maintains strong ties to Pakistan. Control of the territory included within FANA and Azad Kashmīr is a matter of dispute between Pakistan and India.

[B]E -Political Parties[/B]
Pakistan’s founding nationalist party, the Muslim League, dissolved after martial law was imposed in 1958. The Pakistan Muslim League (PML) founded in 1962 bore little resemblance to the original party. The PML subsequently splintered into several factions. In the aftermath of the military coup of 1977, political parties were banned from 1979 until civilian rule was restored in 1985. Although political parties were not banned after the military coup of 1999, they could not participate in government because the parliament and provincial assemblies were dissolved. Many political parties participated in the October 2002 elections that restored civilian rule in Pakistan.

The main political groups are the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam), or PML-Q, a faction of the PML that generally supports President Pervez Musharraf and the military; the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), or PML-N, the PML faction that remains loyal to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif; the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), led by former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the largest party within the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (a 15-party pro-democracy bloc); and the Muthida Majlis-e-Amal (United Council of Action), an alliance of six hardline Islamic groups.

[B]F -Health and Welfare[/B]
Health services in Pakistan are limited by a lack of facilities. In 1999 the country had one physician for every 2,703 people and one hospital bed for every 1,535 people. In 1976 an old-age pension system was inaugurated, but it covers relatively few Pakistanis.

[B]G -Defense[/B]
Military service in Pakistan is voluntary. In 2001 the country’s armed forces had 620,000 members, including 550,000 in the army, 45,000 in the air force, and 25,000 in the navy. Another 247,000 were in paramilitary units.

[B]VII -HISTORY[/B]
The area of present-day Pakistan has a long history of human settlement as the cradle of the Indus Valley civilization, the earliest-known civilization in South Asia. This Bronze Age culture flourished in the area of the Indus River Valley from about 2500 to 1700 BC. The Indus River is considered the lifeblood of Pakistan, and the ancient culture that arose there serves as an icon of Pakistan’s territorial identity. Important archaeological sites in Pakistan include Mohenjo-Daro (Sindhi for “Mound of the Dead”), in Sind Province, and Harappā, near the Ravi River (a tributary of the Indus) in Punjab Province.

Pakistan’s cultural identity is traced to the centuries of Muslim rule in the region. In AD 711 Mohammad bin Qasim, an Arab general and nephew of Hajjaj, ruler of Iraq and Persia, conquered Sind and incorporated it into the Umayyad Caliphate. Thereafter Muslims continued to rule areas of present-day Pakistan for almost 1,000 years. For the first 300 years the region of Sind was the only part of the Indian subcontinent that was under Muslim rule. Muslim rule began to spread to other areas after the Afghan sultan Mahmud of Ghaznī, leader of the Ghaznavids, invaded in 997. After he conquered the region of Punjab in the early 11th century, he made Lahore his capital. Between 1175 and 1186 the regions of Sind and Punjab were conquered by Muhammad of Ghur, leader of the Turkish Ghurid Empire, which was centered in what is now west central Afghanistan. His generals conquered all of north India by the time he was assassinated in 1206.

That year his general Qutubuddin Aybak laid the foundations of an independent Muslim kingdom in India, the Delhi Sultanate. Thirty-five sultans ruled this rich and powerful sultanate from 1206 to 1526. The sultanate included most of Punjab and Sind during this period.

The golden age of Muslim rule in the Indian subcontinent came with the glory and grandeur of the Mughal Empire (1526-1858). Between 1526 and 1707 six powerful Mughal kings ruled in succession: Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb. As the boundaries of the empire grew, Islam spread in India through incoming Muslim rulers, intermarriages, conversions among the lower Hindu castes, and the teachings of Sufi mystics. The death of Aurangzeb in 1707 marked the beginning of the decline of the Mughal Empire, and of Muslim rule in India.

[B]A -British Rule[/B]
The waning control of the Mughal Empire left the subcontinent vulnerable to new contenders for power from Europe. The British changed the course of history by penetrating India from the Bay of Bengal, in the east; until then invading forces had entered India from the northwest, mostly by way of the Khyber Pass. The English East India Company established trading posts in Bengal and represented British interests in the region. In 1757 company forces defeated Mughal forces in Bengal in the Battle of Plassey.

This victory marked the beginning of British dominance in the subcontinent. The company continued to expand the area under its control through military victories and direct annexations, as well as political agreements with local rulers. The British annexed the area of present-day Sind Province in 1843. The region of Punjab, then under the control of the Sikh kingdom of Lahore, was annexed in 1849 after British forces won the second of two wars against the Sikhs. Some areas of Baluchistan were declared British territory in 1887.

As the British sought to expand their empire into the northwest frontier, they clashed with the Pashtun tribes that held lands extending from the western boundary of the Punjab plains into the kingdom of Afghanistan. The Pashtuns strongly resisted British invasions into their territories. After suffering many casualties, the British finally admitted they could not conquer the Pashtuns. In 1893 Sir Mortimer Durand, the foreign secretary of the colonial government of India, negotiated an agreement with the king of Afghanistan, Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, to delineate a border. The so-called Durand Line cut through Pashtun territories, dividing them between British and Afghan areas of influence. However, the Pashtuns refused to be subjugated under British colonial rule. The British compromised by creating a new province in 1901, named the North-West Frontier Province, as a loosely administered territory where the Pashtuns would not be subject to colonial laws.

The British maintained their empire in the Indian subcontinent for nearly 200 years. The first 100 years were marked by chaos and crisis. The Sepoy Rebellion, also known as the Indian War of Independence, erupted in 1857 and became a widespread revolt against British rule. After the British quelled the rebellion in 1858, they immediately took steps to maintain control. The British government officially abolished the Mughal Empire and exiled Muhammad Bahadur Shah to Burma. In addition, the British government transferred authority from the English East India Company to the British crown, establishing direct imperial rule in India. To help consolidate control the British initiated a series of educational, administrative, and political processes between 1858 and 1900. English was introduced as the official language.

The Muslim response to the imposition of British rule evolved around the ideas and leadership of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. In 1875 Sir Syed founded Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College (now Aligarh University) because he believed that Muslims could best improve their social and economic standing by gaining a Western education, rather than the traditional Islamic education. He encouraged Muslims to pursue higher education based on the Western model as a way to advance themselves, and their community, in the new order. He also encouraged Muslims to seek government jobs and show loyalty to the British Raj. At the same time he sought British patronage for improving the lives of the Muslims of India. He demanded a separate Muslim electorate, arguing that Muslims were at a disadvantage among India’s overwhelming majority of Hindus. Hindus also were advancing themselves in the new order more quickly than Muslims, the majority of whom held low socioeconomic status as farmers and laborers. The emerging educated Muslim groups found Sir Syed’s ideas inspiring.

In the 1880s the British initiated political reforms that allowed the formation of political parties and local government. The Indian National Congress was created in 1885 to advocate for Indian autonomy from British rule. Many Muslims believed the organization focused on Hindu interests, however, and in 1906 Muslims formed the Muslim League to represent their interests. Muslims demanded, and were granted, separate electorates in the Government of India Act of 1909. This guaranteed Muslims representation in the national and provincial legislative councils, although the authority of these legislative councils was severely limited under the British colonial government. Both Muslims and Hindus demanded autonomy (self-government), and in 1919 constitutional reforms were introduced that gave the legislative councils greater authority. However, the reforms fell short of granting autonomy and did not satisfy political demands. The Amritsar Massacre of 1919 further galvanized nationalist, anti-British sentiment.

The concept of an autonomous Muslim state was publicly proposed during the Allahābād session of the Muslim League in 1930 by the leading Muslim poet-philosopher in South Asia, Mohammad Iqbal. He envisioned a system in which areas that had Muslim majorities would constitute an autonomous state within India. During the next decade, this concept evolved into the demand for the partition of India into separate Muslim and Hindu nations, known as the Two Nations Theory. In 1940 Muslim League president Mohammed Ali Jinnah presided over the organization’s annual session, held that year at Lahore, in which the League made its first official demand for the partition of India. The Lahore Resolution called for an independent, sovereign Muslim state.

During preindependence talks in 1946, the British government found that the stand of the Muslim League on separation and that of the Congress on the territorial unity of India were irreconcilable. The British then decided on partition and on August 14, 1947, granted independence to Pakistan. India gained its independence the next day. They both became independent dominions within the Commonwealth of Nations. Pakistan came into existence in two parts: West Pakistan, coextensive with the country’s present boundaries, and East Pakistan, now known as Bangladesh. The two were separated by 1,600 km (1,000 mi) of Indian territory.

[B]B -Problems of Partition[/B]
The division of India caused tremendous dislocation of populations. Some 3.5 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from Pakistan into India, and about 5 million Muslim refugees (known as Mohajirs) migrated from India to Pakistan. The demographic shift caused an initial bitterness between the two countries that was further intensified by each country’s accession of a portion of the princely states in the region. Nearly all of these 562 widely scattered polities joined either India or Pakistan; however, the Muslim princes of Hyderābād and Jūnāgadh and the Hindu ruler of Kashmīr chose not to join either country.

On August 14 and 15, 1947, these three princely states had become technically independent. But when the Muslim ruler of Jūnāgadh, with its predominantly Hindu population, joined Pakistan a month later, India annexed his territory. In September 1948 India used force of arms to annex Hyderābād (now part of Andhra Pradesh state, in central India), which had a mostly Hindu population. The Hindu ruler of Kashmīr, whose subjects were 85 percent Muslim, decided to join India. Pakistan, however, questioned his right to do so, and a war broke out between India and Pakistan. Although the United Nations (UN) subsequently resolved that a plebiscite be held under UN auspices to determine the future of Kashmīr, India continued to occupy about two-thirds of the state and refused to hold a plebiscite. Pakistan controlled the remaining portion as Azad (Free) Kashmīr, an autonomous region, and the Northern Areas, federally administered. This deadlock, which still persists, has intensified suspicion and antagonism between the two countries.

[B]C -Early Governments and the Constitution of 1956[/B]
The first government of Pakistan was headed by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan and it chose the seaport of Karāchi as its capital. Jinnah, considered the founder of Pakistan and hailed as the Quaid-i-Azam (Great Leader), became head of state as governor-general. The government faced many challenges in setting up new economic, judicial, and political structures. It endeavored to organize the bureaucracy and the armed forces, resettle the Mohajirs (Muslim refugees from India), and establish the distribution and balance of power in the provincial and central governments. Undermining these efforts were provincial politicians who often defied the authority of the central government, and frequent communal riots. Before the government could surmount these difficulties, Jinnah died in September 1948.

In foreign policy, Liaquat established friendly relations with the United States when he visited President Harry S. Truman in 1950. Pakistan’s early foreign policy was one of nonalignment, with no formal commitment to either the United States or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the two major adversaries in the Cold War. In 1953, however, Pakistan aligned itself with the United States and accepted military and economic assistance.
Liaquat was assassinated in 1951. Khwaja Nazimuddin, an East Pakistani who had succeeded Jinnah as governor-general, became prime minister. Ghulam Muhammad became governor-general. Nazimuddin attempted to limit the powers of the governor-general through amendments to the Government of India Act of 1935, under which Pakistan was governed pending the adoption of a constitution. Ghulam Muhammad dismissed Nazimuddin and replaced him with Muhammad Ali Bogra, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, who subsequently was elected president of the Muslim League.

In the 1954 provincial elections in East Pakistan, the Muslim League was routed by the United Front coalition, which supported provincial autonomy. The coalition was dominated by the Awami League. However, Ghulam Muhammad imposed governor’s rule in the province, preventing the United Front from taking power in the provincial legislature. After the constituent assembly attempted to curb the governor-general’s power, Ghulam Muhammad declared a state of emergency and dissolved the assembly. A new constituent assembly was indirectly elected in mid-1955 by the various provincial legislatures. The Muslim League, although still the largest party, was no longer dominant as more parties, including those of the United Front coalition, gained representation. Bogra, who had little support in the new assembly, was replaced by Chaudhri Muhammad Ali, a former civil servant in West Pakistan and a member of the Muslim League. At the same time, General Iskander Mirza became governor-general.

The new constituent assembly enacted a bill, which became effective in October 1955, integrating the four West Pakistani provinces into one political and administrative unit, known as the One Unit. This change was designed to give West Pakistan parity with the more populous East Pakistan in the national legislature. The assembly also produced Pakistan’s first constitution, which was adopted on March 2, 1956. It provided for a unicameral (single-chamber) National Assembly with 300 seats, evenly divided between East and West Pakistan. It also officially designated Pakistan an Islamic republic. According to its provisions, Mirza’s title changed from governor-general to president.

[B]D -Unstable Parliamentary Democracy[/B]
The new charter notwithstanding, political instability continued because no stable majority party emerged in the National Assembly. Prime Minister Ali remained in office only until September 1956, when he was unable to retain his majority in the National Assembly and was succeeded by Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, founder of the Awami League of East Pakistan. He formed a coalition cabinet that included the Awami League and the Republican Party of the West Wing, a new party that was formed by dissident members of the Muslim League. However, President Mirza forced Suhrawardy to resign after he discovered that the prime minister was planning to support Firoz Khan Noon, leader of the Republican Party, for the presidency in the country’s first general elections, scheduled for January 1959. The succeeding coalition government, headed by Ismail Ibrahim Chundrigar of the Muslim League, lasted only two months before it was replaced by a Republican Party cabinet under Noon.

President Mirza, realizing he had no chance of being reelected president and openly dissatisfied with parliamentary democracy, proclaimed martial law on October 7, 1958. He dismissed Noon’s government, dissolved the National Assembly, and canceled the scheduled general elections. Mirza was supported by General Muhammad Ayub Khan, commander in chief of the army, who was named chief martial-law administrator. Twenty days later Ayub forced the president to resign and assumed the presidency himself.

[B]E -The Ayub Years[/B]
President Ayub ruled Pakistan almost absolutely for a little more than ten years. Although his regime made some notable achievements, it did not eliminate the basic problems of Pakistani society. Ayub’s regime increased developmental funds to East Pakistan more than threefold. This had a noticeable effect on the economy of the province, but the disparity between the two wings of Pakistan was not eliminated. His regime also initiated land reforms designed to reduce the political power of the landed aristocracy. Ayub also promulgated a progressive Islamic law, the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance of 1961, imposing restrictions on polygamy and divorce and reinforcing the inheritance rights of women and minors.

In 1959, soon after taking office, Ayub ordered the planning and construction of a new national capital, to replace Karāchi. The chosen location of the new capital in the province of Punjab was close to the military headquarters of Rāwalpindi, which served as an interim capital. Islāmābād officially became the new capital in 1967, although construction continued into the 1970s.
Perhaps the most pervasive of Ayub’s changes was his introduction of a new political system, known as the Basic Democracies, in 1959. It created a four-tiered system of mostly indirect representation in government, from the local to the national level, allowing communication between local communities and the highly centralized national government. Each tier was assigned certain responsibilities in local administration of agricultural and community development, such as maintenance of elementary schools, public roads, and bridges. All the councils at the tehsil (subdistrict), zilla (district), and division levels were indirectly elected. The lowest tier, on the village level, consisted of union councils. Members of the union councils were known as Basic Democrats and were the only members of any tier who were directly elected.

A new constitution promulgated by Ayub in 1962 ended the period of martial law. The new, 156-member National Assembly was elected that year by an electoral college of 120,000 Basic Democrats from the union councils. After the legislative elections political parties were again legalized. Ayub created the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) as the official government party. The presidential election of January 1965, also determined by electoral college rather than direct vote, resulted in a victory for Ayub, although opposition parties were allowed to participate.

Ayub was skillful in maintaining cordial relations with the United States, stimulating substantial economic and military aid to Pakistan. This relationship deteriorated in 1965, when another war with India broke out over Kashmīr. The United States then suspended military and economic aid to both countries. The USSR intervened to mediate the conflict, inviting Ayub and Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri of India to meet in Toshkent (Tashkent). By the terms of the so-called Toshkent Agreement of January 1966, the two countries withdrew their forces to prewar positions and restored diplomatic, economic, and trade relations. Exchange programs were initiated, and the flow of capital goods to Pakistan increased greatly.

The Toshkent Agreement and the Kashmīr war, however, generated frustration among the people and resentment against President Ayub. Foreign Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who opposed Pakistan’s capitulation, resigned his position and founded the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in opposition to the Ayub regime. Ayub tried unsuccessfully to make amends, and amid mounting public protests he declared martial law and resigned in March 1969. Instead of transferring power to the speaker of the National Assembly, as the constitution dictated, he handed it over to the commander in chief of the army, General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, who was the designated martial-law administrator. Yahya then assumed the presidency.

[B]F -Yahya Regime[/B]
In an attempt to make his martial-law regime more acceptable, Yahya dismissed almost 300 senior civil servants and identified 32 families that were said to control about half of Pakistan’s gross national product. To curb their power Yahya issued an ordinance against monopolies and restrictive trade practices in 1970. He also committed to the return of constitutional government and announced the country would hold its first general election on the basis of universal adult franchise in late 1970.

Yahya determined that representation in the National Assembly would be based on population. In July 1970 he abolished the One Unit, thereby restoring the original four provinces in West Pakistan. As a result, East Pakistan emerged as the largest province of the country, while in West Pakistan the province of Punjab emerged as the dominant province. East Pakistan was allocated 162 seats in the 300-seat National Assembly, and the provinces of West Pakistan were allocated a total of 138.

[B]G -Civil War[/B]
The election campaign intensified divisions between East and West Pakistan. A challenge to Pakistan’s unity emerged in East Pakistan when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (“Mujib”), leader of the Awami League, insisted on a federation under which East Pakistan would be virtually independent. He envisaged a federal government that would deal with defense and foreign affairs only; even the currencies would be different, although freely convertible.

Mujib’s program had great appeal for many East Pakistanis, and in the December 1970 election called by Yahya, he won by a landslide in East Pakistan, capturing 160 seats in the National Assembly. Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) emerged as the largest party in West Pakistan, capturing 81 seats (predominantly in Punjab and Sind). This gave the Awami League an absolute majority in the National Assembly, a turn of events that was considered unacceptable by political interests in West Pakistan because of the divided political climate of the country. The Awami League adopted an uncompromising stance, however, and negotiations between the various sides became deadlocked.

Suspecting Mujib of secessionist politics, Yahya in March 1971 postponed indefinitely the convening of the National Assembly. Mujib in return accused Yahya of collusion with Bhutto and established a virtually independent government in East Pakistan. Yahya opened negotiations with Mujib in Dhaka in mid-March, but the effort soon failed. Meanwhile Pakistan’s army went into action against Mujib’s civilian followers, who demanded that East Pakistan become independent as the nation of Bangladesh.

There were many casualties during the ensuing military operations in East Pakistan, as the Pakistani army attacked the poorly armed population. India claimed that nearly 10 million Bengali refugees crossed its borders, and stories of West Pakistani atrocities abounded. The Awami League leaders took refuge in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and established a government in exile. India finally intervened on December 3, 1971, and the Pakistani army surrendered 13 days later. East Pakistan declared its independence as Bangladesh.

Yahya resigned, and on December 20 Bhutto was inaugurated as president and chief martial law administrator of a truncated Pakistan. Mujib became the first prime minister of Bangladesh in January 1972. When the Commonwealth of Nations admitted Bangladesh later that year, Pakistan withdrew its membership, not to return until 1989. However, the Bhutto government gave diplomatic recognition to Bangladesh in 1974.

[B]H -The Bhutto Government[/B]
Under Bhutto’s leadership Pakistan began to rearrange its national life. Bhutto nationalized the basic industries, insurance companies, domestically owned banks, and schools and colleges. He also instituted land reforms that benefited tenants and middle-class farmers. He removed the armed forces from the process of decision making, but to placate the generals he allocated about 6 percent of the gross national product to defense. In July 1972 Bhutto negotiated the Simla Agreement, which confirmed a line of control dividing Kashmīr and prompted the withdrawal of Indian troops from Pakistani territory.

In April 1972 Bhutto lifted martial law and convened the National Assembly, which consisted of members elected from West Pakistan in 1970. After much political debate, the legislature drafted the country’s third constitution, which was promulgated on August 14, 1973. It changed the National Assembly into a two-chamber legislature, with a Senate as the upper house and a National Assembly as the lower house. It designated the prime minister as the most powerful government official, but it also set up a formal parliamentary system in which the executive was responsible to the legislature. Bhutto became prime minister, and Fazal Elahi Chaudry replaced him as president.

Although discontented, the military grudgingly accepted the supremacy of the civilian leadership. Bhutto embarked on ambitious nationalization programs and land reforms, which he called “Islamic socialism.” His reforms achieved some success but earned him the enmity of the entrepreneurial and capitalist class. In addition, religious leaders considered them to be un-Islamic. Unable to deal constructively with the opposition, he became heavy-handed in his rule. In the general elections of 1977, nine opposition parties united in the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) to run against Bhutto’s PPP. Losing in three of the four provinces, the PNA alleged that Bhutto had rigged the vote. The PNA boycotted the provincial elections a few days later and organized demonstrations throughout the country that lasted for six weeks.

[B]I -Zia Regime[/B]
The PPP and PNA leadership proved incapable of resolving the deadlock, and the army chief of staff, General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, staged a coup on July 5, 1977, and imposed another martial-law regime. Bhutto was tried for authorizing the murder of a political opponent and found guilty; he was hanged on April 4, 1979. The PPP was reorganized under the leadership of his daughter, Benazir Bhutto.

Zia formally assumed the presidency in 1978 and embarked on an Islamization program. Through various ordinances between 1978 and 1985, he instituted the Islamization of Pakistan’s legal and economic systems and social order. In 1979 a federal Sharia (Islamic law) court was established to exercise Islamic judicial review. Other ordinances established interest-free banking and provided maximum penalties for adultery, defamation, theft, and consumption of alcohol.

On March 24, 1981, Zia issued a Provisional Constitutional Order that served as a substitute for the suspended 1973 constitution. The order provided for the formation of a Federal Advisory Council (Majlis-e-Shoora) to take the place of the National Assembly. In early 1982 Zia appointed the 228 members of the new council. This effectively restricted the political parties, which already had been constrained by the banning of political activity, from organizing resistance to the Zia regime through the election process.

The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in December 1979 heightened Pakistan’s insecurity and changed the fortunes of General Zia’s military regime. Afghan refugees began to pour into Pakistan. After about a year, the United States responded to the crisis. In September 1981 Zia accepted a six-year economic and military aid package worth $3.2 billion from the United States. (The United States approved a second aid package worth $4.0 billion in 1986 but then suspended its disbursement in 1989 due to Pakistan’s nuclear-weapons program.) After a referendum in December 1984 endorsed Zia’s Islamization policies and the extension of his presidency until 1990, Zia permitted elections for parliament in February 1985. A civilian cabinet took office in April, and martial law ended in December. Zia was dissatisfied, however, and in May 1988 he dissolved the government and ordered new elections. Three months later he was killed in an airplane crash possibly caused by sabotage, and a caretaker regime took power until elections could be held.

[B]J -Shifting Civilian Governments[/B]
Benazir Bhutto became prime minister after her PPP won the general elections in November 1988. She was the first woman to head a modern Islamic state. A civil servant, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, was appointed president. In August 1990 he dismissed Bhutto’s government, charging misconduct, and declared a state of emergency. Bhutto and the PPP lost the October elections after she was arrested for corruption and abuse of power.

The new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, head of the Islamic Democratic Alliance (a coalition of Islamic parties including the Pakistan Muslim League), introduced a program of privatizing state enterprises and encouraging foreign investment. Fulfilling Sharif’s election promise to make Sharia (Islamic law) the supreme law of Pakistan, the national legislature passed an amended Shariat Bill in 1991. Sharif also promised to ease continuing tensions with India over Kashmīr. The charges against Bhutto were resolved, and she returned to lead the opposition. In early 1993 Sharif was appointed the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League.

In April 1993 Ishaq Khan once again used his presidential power, this time to dismiss Sharif and to dissolve parliament. However, Sharif appealed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and in May the court stated that Khan’s actions were unconstitutional, and the court reinstated Sharif as prime minister. Sharif and Khan subsequently became embroiled in a power struggle that paralyzed the Pakistani government. In an agreement designed to end the stalemate, Sharif and Khan resigned together in July 1993, and elections were held in October of that year. Bhutto’s PPP won a plurality in the parliamentary elections, and Bhutto was again named prime minister.

In 1996 Bhutto’s government was dismissed by President Farooq Leghari amid allegations of corruption. New elections in February 1997 brought Nawaz Sharif back to power in a clear victory for the Pakistan Muslim League. One of Sharif’s first actions as prime minister was to lead the National Assembly in passing a constitutional amendment stripping the president of the authority to dismiss parliament. The action triggered a power struggle between Sharif, Leghari, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah. When the military threw its support behind Sharif, Leghari resigned and Shah was removed. Sharif’s nominee, Rafiq Tarar, was then elected president.
Pakistan was beset by domestic unrest beginning in the mid-1990s. Violence between rival political, religious, and ethnic groups erupted frequently in Sind Province, particularly in Karāchi. Federal rule was imposed on the province in late 1998 due to increasing violence.

[B]K -Relations with India[/B]
Relations between India and Pakistan became more tense beginning in the early 1990s. Diplomatic talks between the two countries broke down in January 1994 over the disputed Kashmīr region. In February Bhutto organized a nationwide strike to show support for the militant Muslim rebels in Indian Kashmīr involved in sporadic fighting against the Indian army. She also announced that Pakistan would continue with its nuclear weapons development program, raising concerns that a nuclear arms race could start between Pakistan and India, which has had nuclear weapons since the 1970s. In January 1996, despite some controversy, the United States lifted economic and some military sanctions imposed against Pakistan since 1990. The sanctions, imposed to protest Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program, were lifted to allow U.S. companies to fulfill contracts with Pakistan and to help foster diplomatic relations between the two countries.

In early 1997 Sharif resumed talks with India over the Kashmīr region; however, negotiations quickly broke down when armed hostilities erupted again. Tensions escalated further in 1998, when India conducted several nuclear tests. Pakistan responded with its own tests, detonating nuclear weapons for the first time in its history. The Pakistani government then declared a state of emergency, invoking constitutional provisions that operate when Pakistan’s security comes under “threat of external aggression.” Many foreign countries, including the United States, imposed economic sanctions against both India and Pakistan for exploding nuclear devices. In the months following the explosions, the leaders of Pakistan and India placed a moratorium on further nuclear testing, and the United States initiated negotiations between the two countries aimed at reducing tensions and circumventing an arms race in the region.

In early 1999 Sharif and Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee signed the Lahore Declaration, which articulated a commitment to work toward improved relations. However, in April fears of a nuclear arms race revived when both countries tested medium-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Furthermore, in May 1999 Kashmīri separatists, widely believed to be backed by Pakistan, seized Indian-controlled territory near Kargil in the disputed Kashmīr region. Fighting between Indian forces and the separatists raged until July, when Sharif agreed to secure the withdrawal of the separatists and India suspended its military campaign. Tensions again escalated over the disputed region following several armed attacks on Indian targets by Kashmīri separatists in late 2001 and early 2002. By mid-2002 India and Pakistan had amassed an estimated 1 million troops along their shared border, prompting mediation efforts by the international community to improve relations between the two nuclear powers.

[B]L -Musharraf Takes Power[/B]
The Pakistani military accused Sharif of giving in too easily to pressure from India and for pinning the blame for the Kargil attack on army chief Pervez Musharraf. In October 1999 Sharif tried to dismiss Musharraf from his position. He attempted to prevent Musharraf’s return to Pakistan from abroad by refusing to let his airplane land. The commercial airplane was forced to circle the Karāchi airport until army forces loyal to Musharraf took over the airport. Army forces also seized control of the government in a bloodless coup that lasted less than three hours.

Musharraf declared himself the chief executive of Pakistan, suspended the constitution, and dissolved the legislature. He appointed an eight-member National Security Council to function as the country’s supreme governing body. Many Pakistanis, already chafing under Sharif’s increasingly autocratic rule and suffering from a sagging Pakistani economy after ten years of government excesses and corruption, welcomed the coup. Sharif was arrested, and in April 2000 he was convicted of abuse of power and other charges and sentenced to life imprisonment; his sentence was subsequently commuted and he was allowed to live in exile in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Pakistan set a deadline of October 2002 for holding national elections to restore civilian rule. The Commonwealth of Nations, however, formally suspended Pakistan’s membership because the coup ousted a civilian government.

After assuming power, Musharraf’s military government adopted a reformist posture. It identified economic reform as the most urgent measure needed to restore the confidence of foreign and local investors. As part of this strategy, Musharraf initiated an ambitious program based on accountability, improved governance, and widening of the tax net. However, in the wake of the coup new international sanctions were imposed to oppose the military regime. Donor agencies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were unwilling to provide new loans or reschedule Pakistan’s foreign debt.

[B]L1 -Pakistan Allies with United States[/B]
In 2001 Pakistan established itself as a vital U.S. ally and key regional player after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. Pakistan became a frontline state of high strategic importance as the U.S.-led war on terrorism unfolded in neighboring Afghanistan. Pakistan had been an ally of the Taliban, which had established a fundamentalist Islamic regime in Afghanistan in 1996. The Taliban was accused of harboring the suspected mastermind of the terrorist attacks, Osama bin Laden. The Taliban and bin Laden’s international terrorist network, al-Qaeda, became the target of U.S.-led air strikes in Afghanistan that began on October 7. The Musharraf government agreed to provide logistical support and use of Pakistan’s airspace for the offensive, and to share military intelligence to fight global terrorism. Formally breaking with the Taliban, Pakistan withdrew all of its diplomats from Afghanistan and officially closed its shared border. On September 22, meanwhile, the United States lifted most of the economic sanctions it had imposed after Pakistan exploded nuclear devices in 1998, brightening prospects for Pakistan’s economy.

[B]L2 -Constitutional Amendments and Elections[/B]
Musharraf pledged to hold provincial and parliamentary elections in October 2002. In a bid to secure his position as president, a title he had adopted in 2001, Musharraf called a referendum in April 2002 on extending his presidency for five years. The referendum returned a majority of votes in favor of the proposal, although low voter turnout, loose voting rules, and the absence of poll monitors tainted the results. In addition, political parties denounced the referendum because under the constitution, the president is to be selected by members of the national and provincial legislatures.

In August Musharraf decreed 29 amendments to Pakistan’s constitution, granting himself sweeping new powers. The amendments allow him to dissolve the parliament, force the resignation of the prime minister, appoint military chiefs and Supreme Court justices, and chair a new National Security Council. The council is to include top military leaders and provide oversight of elected representatives, thereby giving the armed forces a formal role in governing the country. Prior to the October elections, Musharraf banned former prime ministers Sharif and Bhutto, who both live in exile, from running as candidates in the election. Musharraf also imposed new requirements for candidates, allowing only individuals with college degrees and no outstanding loans to participate.

In the October elections, no single party or coalition of parties won a majority of seats in the National Assembly (lower house). The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam), a new PML faction formed prior to the elections as a pro-Musharraf party, won the largest number of seats. However, pro-democracy opposition parties and hardline Islamic parties also made a strong showing in the election. The second largest number of seats went to Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which led the 15-party Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy. An alliance of six Islamic parties, the Muthida Majlis-e-Amal (United Council of Action), finished in third place, winning the largest number of seats of any religious grouping in Pakistan’s history. The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Sharif’s PML faction, finished in a distant fourth place.

Indus Valley Civilization
 

[B][U][CENTER][SIZE="3"]Indus Valley Civilization[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]I -INTRODUCTION[/B]
Indus Valley Civilization (2500?-1700 BC), earliest known civilization of South Asia, corresponding to the Bronze Age cultures of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Crete (Kríti). The remains of settlements belonging to this culture have been found throughout the Indus River valley in Pakistan, westward along the coast to the Iranian border, in India's northwestern states as Far East as New Delhi, and on the Oxus River in northern Afghanistan. The Indus Valley civilization encompasses one of the largest geographical areas covered by a single Bronze Age culture.

[B]II CHARACTERISTICS[/B]
Excavated settlements reveal blocks of mud-brick buildings separated by streets, and large public buildings dominate the cities, such as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappā. These buildings were at one time identified as colleges, temples, granaries, and palaces, but later research has not confirmed such interpretations. The cities are usually divided into two distinctive groups of buildings, one of which may be enclosed by a wall.

The work of Indus Valley artisans shows a high degree of craft specialization. Characteristic artifacts include a distinctive black-on-red pottery, ceramic toys and figurines, etched carnelian beads, metal (bronze, silver, and gold) ornaments and tools, and stamp seals with an undecipherable script. Unfortunately, the nature of the social organization in this complex culture still evades complete interpretation.

Sometime after 2000 BC, complex ecological changes occurred in the Indus Valley area, forcing abandonment of many settlements and altering the basic characteristics of the civilization. Late Indus Valley culture is known mainly from excavated small farming villages. Artifacts associated with these sites are stylistically similar to earlier types but show more regional variation.

[B]III -HISTORY OF EXCAVATIONS[/B]
The Indus Valley civilization was first defined by the British archaeologist Sir John Marshall's diggings at Mohenjo-Daro and M. S. Vat's excavations at Harappā (both in what is now Pakistan) in the 1920s, and it is sometimes called Harappān civilization after the latter site. In 1946 the British archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler, excavating at Harappā, located stylistically different pottery in the earliest occupied areas.

Subsequent discoveries at nearby Kot Diji established that this early pottery at Harappā belonged to the early Bronze Age Kot Diji culture. Since 1960 Indian, Pakistani, and Western scholars have defined several additional early Bronze Age cultures at Goth Āmri, Sothi, Gumla, and other sites in Pakistan, each of which has some traits in common and contributed to the formation of the Indus Valley civilization.

Parliamentary History Of Pakistan
 

The Muslims of India had, since the middle of nineteen century, begun the struggle for a separate homeland on the basis of the two Nation theory. The British rulers realized that the Hindus and Muslims of India remained two separate and distinct nations and socio-cultural entities. The British rulers were left with no option but to eventually accept the demand of the Muslims of India.

On 3rd June1947, Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, called the conference of all the leaders of the Sub-continent and communicated to them his Government's Plan for the transfer of power. At that time, a notification was issued in the Gazette of India, published on 26th July 1947 in which the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was given shape with 69 Members (later on the membership was increased to 79), including one female Member.

The State of Pakistan was created under the Independence Act of 1947. The Act made the existing Constituent Assemblies, the dominion legislatures. These Assemblies were allowed to exercise all the powers, which were formerly exercised by the Central Legislature, in addition to the powers regarding the framing of a new Constitution, prior to which all territories were to be governed in accordance with the Government of India Act, 1935.

The first session of the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was held on 10th August 1947 at Sindh Assembly Building Karachi. On 11th August 1947 Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was elected unanimously as the President of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and the Assembly formally approved the National Flag.

On 12th August 1947, a resolution was approved regarding officially addressing Mr. Muhammad Ali Jinnah as "Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah". On the same day, a special committee called the "Committee on Fundamental Rights of Citizens and Minorities of Pakistan" was appointed to look into and advise the Assembly on matters relating to fundamental rights of the citizens, particularly the minorities, with the aim to legislate on these issues appropriately. On 14th August 1947, the Transfer of Power took place. Lord Mountbatten, Governor General of India, addressed the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. The Quaid gave a reply to the address in the House, on which the principles of the State of Pakistan were laid. On 15th August 1947, Quaid-i-Azam was sworn in as the first Governor General of Pakistan. Mian Sir Abdur Rashid, Chief Justice of Pakistan, administered oath of office from him. The Quaid remained in this position till his death i.e.11th September 1948.

The foremost task before the first Constituent Assembly is of framing the Constitution for the nation. On 7th March 1949, the Objectives Resolution, which now serves as the grund norm of Pakistan, was introduced by the first Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, and later adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 12th March 1949. On the same day, a Basic Principles Committee comprising of 24 Members was formed to prepare a draft Constitution on the basis of the Objectives Resolution. On 16th October 1951, Prime Minister Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, mover of the Objective Resolution, was assassinated and Khawaja Nazimuddin took over as the Prime Minister on 17th October 1951.

The final draft of the Constitution was prepared in 1954. By that time, Muhammad Ali Bogra had taken over as the Prime Minister. However, just before the draft could be placed in the House for approval, the Assembly was dissolved by the then Governor General Ghulam Muhammad on 24th October1954. The Prime Minister was, however, not dismissed and was asked to run the administration, with a reconstituted Cabinet, until such time as the elections were held.

Maulvi Tamizuddin, President of the Assembly, challenged the dissolution in the Sindh Chief Court, and won the case. The Government in return, went to the Federal Court, where the famous judgment was given by the then Chief Justice Muhammad Munir, according to which Maulvi Tamizuddin lost the case.

The second Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was created on 28th May 1955 under Governor General's Order No.12 of 1955. The Electoral College for this Assembly was the Provincial Assemblies of respective Provinces. The strength of this Assembly was 80 Members, half each from East Pakistan and West Pakistan. One of the major decisions taken by this Assembly was the establishment of West Pakistan (One Unit), with the aim to create parity between the two wings (East and West Pakistan). This Assembly also achieved its target by giving the first Constitution to the nation i.e. the Constitution of Pakistan 1956. Choudhary Muhammad Ali was the Prime Minister at that time. The draft of this Constitution was introduced in the Assembly on 9th January 1956 and was passed by the Assembly on 29th February 1956. The assent was given on it by the Governor General on 2nd March 1956. This Constitution was enforced with effect from 23rd March 1956. Under this Constitution, Pakistan became an Islamic Republic, hence 23rd March became our Republic day. It was the same day in 1940 that the historic Pakistan Resolution was adopted at Minto Park, Lahore.

On 5th March 1956, Major General Sikandar Mirza became the first elected President of Pakistan. The 1956 constitution provides for Parliamentary form of government with all the executive powers in the hands of Prime Minister. President was Head of the State and was to be elected by all Members of the National and Provincial Assemblies. He was to hold office for 5 years. The President was to act on the advice of Prime Minister, except where he was empowered to act in his discretion.

Under 1956 Constitution, Parliament was unicameral. Legislative powers vested in the Parliament, which consisted of the President and the National Assembly comprising 300 Members divided equally between East and West Pakistan. In addition to these 300 seats, five seats were reserved for women for each of the two wings, for a period of ten years: thus bringing the total membership of the House to 310.

However, in the absence of any law to control the Political Parties and the problem of floor crossing, political instability perpetually ensued. Although the first general election were scheduled for early 1959, President Sikandar Mirza abrogated the Constitution, dissolved the National and Provincial Assemblies, and declared Martial Law, on 7th October 1958. He appointed General Muhammad Ayub Khan, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, as the Chief Martial Law Administrator.

On 27th October 1958 General Muhammad Ayub Khan took-over as a second President of Pakistan. One of the first major steps taken by General Ayub Khan was the appointment of a Constitution Commission on 17th February 1960. The objective of this commission was to submit proposals, as to how best democracy can be strengthened and molded according to the country’s socio-political environment and Islamic principles of justice. The Commission submitted its report to the government on 29th April 1961. On the basis of this report a new Constitution was framed and given to the nation on 1st March 1962.

General elections under the new Constitution were held on 28th March 1962 and elections to the special seats reserved for women were held on 29th May 1962. The first session of the third National Assembly was held on 8th June 1962 at Ayub Hall, Rawalpindi.

The Constitution of 1962 envisaged a Federal State with Presidential form of government, with National Assembly at the centre and the Provincial Assemblies in the Provinces. The Legislatures, both at centre and in provinces were unicameral. The Federal system had been curtailed by allowing the Provincial Governors to be appointed directly by the President. All executive authority of the Republic of Pakistan, under the Constitution, vested in the office of the President. President appointed his Cabinet members who were directly responsible to him.

The electoral system was made indirect, and the `Basic Democrats', for both wings were declared Electoral College for the purpose of electing the Assemblies and the President. Basic democrats were 80,000 in number (40,000 from each East & West Pakistan). The total membership of the National Assembly was 156, one half of whom were to be elected from East Pakistan and other half from West Pakistan, also three seats were reserved for women from each province. The term of this Assembly was three years. The norm was established that if the President was from West Pakistan, the Speaker was to be from East Pakistan and vice versa. One of the major achievements of this Assembly was the passage of Political Parities Act, 1962.

On 25th March 1969 the second Martial law was imposed and General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan took-over as the President of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA). He later issued a Legal Framework Order (LFO), under which the first ever general elections were held on 7th December 1970. This was the first Assembly elected on the adult franchise and population basis. It consist of 313 members, 169 from East Pakistan and 144 from West Pakistan including 13 reserved seats for women (6 were from West Pakistan and 7 from East Pakistan). Soon after the elections, due to grave political differences, the Province of East Pakistan seceded from West Pakistan and became Bangladesh. On 20th December 1971 Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto took over as the President of Pakistan as well as the first civil Chief Martial Law Administrator.

The first session of the National Assembly, due to the delay caused by the separation of East Pakistan, was held on 14thApril 1972 at the State Bank Building, Islamabad, in which all 144 Members from West Pakistan and two from former East Pakistan (Mr. Noor-ul-Amin and Raja Tridev Roy who had chosen to join Pakistan) participated. On 17th April 1972 an Interim Constitution was adopted by the National Assembly, which provided for a Presidential form of Government. Under this Constitution, the National Assembly was not to be dissolved earlier than 14th August 1973. The Interim Constitution dealt in detail with the distribution of powers between the Centre and the Provinces.

The Assembly also formed a Constitution Committee on 17th April 1972 to prepare the first draft for framing a Constitution. The report of the Committee was presented with a draft Constitution on 31st December 1972. It was unanimously passed by the Assembly in its session on 10th April 1973 and was authenticated by the President on 12th April 1973. This Constitution, called the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973, was promulgated on 14th August 1973. On the same day, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto took oath as the Prime Minister, while Mr. Fazal Illahi Choudhary took oath as the President of Pakistan.

The 1973 Constitution provides for a parliamentary form of government where the executive authority of the state vests with the Prime Minister. The President, according to the Constitution, is at the apex, representing the unity of the Republic.

From 1947 to 1973, the country had a unicameral system of legislature. Under the 1973 Constitution, Pakistan adopted bicameral system at the centre, called “The Parliament”, composing the President, the National Assembly and The Senate. Originally, the general seats of the National Assembly were 200 with additional 10 seats reserved for women, bringing the total strength to 210. The newly created Upper House i.e. the Senate had 63 members. Later in 1985 through a Presidential Order (P.O. No. 14 of 1985), seven seats were added to the general seats and ten to the reserved seats for women in the National Assembly. Ten seats were exclusively reserved for minorities to be filled through separate electorate system. Thus the total strength of the lower house reached to 237 members. Similarly the strength of Senate was also increased from 63 to 87.

Under the 1973 Constitution the National Assembly is elected for five years term, unless sooner dissolved. The seats in National Assembly, unlike the Senate, are allocated to each province and other units of the federation, on the basis of population. The Constitutional provision of 20 special seats for women lapsed in 1990, thus decreased the Assembly strength from 237 to 217. Under the Constitution, elections to the 10 seats reserved for minority were held on separate electorate basis.

Despite the tenure of the Assembly being five years, as prescribed in the Constitution, Mr. Z.A.Bhutto, on 7th January 1977 announced the holding of elections before time. Consequently, on 10th January 1977, he advised the President to dissolve the National Assembly. Elections were held on 7th March 1977. The opposition charged the government with rigging the elections to the National Assembly and thereafter boycotted the Provincial Assemblies elections. Since the opposition had not accepted the National Assembly elections result, they did not take oath. This resulted in severe political crisis and Martial Law was imposed by the then Army Chief, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, on 5th July 1977.

On 24th December 1981, under Presidential Order (P.O.15 of 1981) a Federal Council (Majlis-e-Shoora) was constituted by the President. The President nominated its members. The first session of this Council was held on 11th January 1982. In this way, limited and controlled political activities were resumed, as a result of which general elections were later held for the National and Provincial Assemblies on 25th February 1985, on non-party basis.

On 2nd March 1985, the revival of Constitution Order (P.O.14 of 1985) was issued in which a large number of amendments were made in the Constitution. The first session of the National Assembly was held 20th March 1985. Mr. Muhammad Khan Junejo, was nominated as the Prime Minister of Pakistan by the President (General Zia-ul-Haq). He received vote of confidence on 24th March 1985.

In November 1985, the 8th Constitutional Amendment was adopted by the Parliament. Besides changes in other Articles in the Constitution the significant Article 58(2)(b) was added, according to which the President acquired discretionary powers to dissolve the National Assembly. On 29th May 1988 the President dissolved the Assembly by using the power acquired under Article 58(2)(b).

The General elections for the eighth National Assembly was held on 16th November 1988. The President convened the first session on 30th November 1988. Mr. Miraj Khalid was elected as a Speaker National Assembly on 3rd December 1988. Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was nominated as Prime Minister of Pakistan and took the oath of the Office on 2nd December 1988. The President, Ghulam Ishaq Khan under Article 58(2) (b) on 6th August 1990, dissolved the Assembly.

The General elections for the ninth National Assembly was held on 24th October 1990. The first session was held on 3rd November 1990. Mr. Gohar Ayub Khan elected as Speaker National Assembly and he took oath on 4th November 1990. Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif took oath as Prime Minister of Pakistan on 11th November 1993. The Assembly was dissolved by the then President, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, under Article 58(2)(b) on 18th April 1993. The dissolution of the National Assembly was challenged in the Supreme Court of Pakistan and after hearing the case the Assembly was restored by the apex court on 26th May 1993. The Assembly was dissolved on the advice of the Prime Minister on 18th July 1993.

The elections for tenth National Assembly was held on 6th October 1993. The first session was held on 15th October 1993. Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani took oath of the office of the Speaker National Assembly on 17th October 1993. Mohtarma Benizar Bhutto administered the oath as Prime Minister of Pakistan on October 19th October 1993. The President Farooq Ahmad Khan Laghari dissolved the Assembly on 5th November 1996.

The elections for eleventh National Assembly was held on 3rd February 1997. The first session was held on 15th February 1997. Mr. Illahi Bukhsh Soomro took oath of the office of the Speaker National Assembly on 16th February 1997. Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif took oath as Prime Minister of Pakistan and Leader of the House on 17th February 1997. The new Assembly came into power with an overwhelming majority. The Article 58(2)(b) was later on omitted from the Constitution vide 13th Amendment in the Constitution in April 1997.

It may be pertinent to note at this point that while, ostensibly, sixteen amendments have been made in the Constitution so far, the ninth and the eleventh Constitutional Amendments were, however, passed by the Senate alone and fifteenth by the National Assembly alone, hence these amendments lapsed. The fourteenth Amendment in the Constitution empowered a check on floor crossing of legislators.

Chief of Army Staff General Pervaz Musharraf, who was also Chairman Joint Staff Committee, took over the government from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and declared himself as Chief Executive through a Proclamation of Emergency, on 12th October 1999. Through Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) issued on October 14th 1999, he held the Constitution in abeyance, suspended the Senate, National and Provincial Assemblies, Chairman and Deputy Chairman Senate, Speaker, Deputy Speaker National and Provincial Assemblies and dismissed the Federal and Provincial governments. The President Mr. Muhammad Rafiq Tarar was, however allowed to continue in his office. Under PCO (order No. 6) 29th October 1999, (as amended by C.E. Order No.5, 4th July 2001), the National Security Council was established for the purpose to tender advice to the Chief Executive (later on President), on matters relating to Islamic ideology, national security, sovereignty, integrity and solidarity of Pakistan so as to achieve the aims and objective as enshrined in the Objectives Resolution 1949.

Syed Zafar Ali Shah, MNA and Illahi Bukhsh Soomro, Speaker National Assembly, challenged the suspension orders in the Supreme Court. The Court in its judgment on 12th May 2000 validated the military takeover by giving three years time frame to the government, starting from 12th October 1999. The Court in its judgment asked the government to complete its agenda and then hand over powers to the elected government. The court also allowed the military government to bring necessary Constitutional Amendments, provided that those should not change the basic feature of Federal Parliamentary democracy, independence of judiciary and Islamic provisions in the Constitution. The court reserved the right of Judicial Review and power of validity of any act or any action of the government, if challenged, in the light of State necessity.

On 20th June 2001, through a notification (C.E. Order No.1) the Chief Executive assumed the office of the President of Pakistan under President's Succession Order, 2001. On the same day, through another Order (C.E. Order No. 2, 2001), the President converted the orders of suspension of legislative bodies and their presiding officers, in to dissolution.

The elections for twelfth National Assembly was held on 10th October 2002.

Mohammed Ali Jinnah
 

[CENTER][SIZE="3"][B][U][COLOR="Blue"]Jinnah, Mohammed Ali[/COLOR][/U][/B][/SIZE][/CENTER]

Jinnah, Mohammed Ali (1876-1948), Indian politician and longtime leader of the Muslim League. Jinnah became the founding father of Pakistan and its first governor-general (1947-1948).

Jinnah was born in Karāchi, a city in what is now Pakistan. (At that time, India and Pakistan were part of a British colony known as British India). Although his family, who were Muslim, came from the state of Rājkot in western India, Jinnah’s father was a prosperous merchant in Karāchi. After being educated in Karāchi and Bombay (now Mumbai), Jinnah studied law at Lincoln’s Inn in London, England, and was admitted to the bar in 1896. After serving briefly as a magistrate in Bombay, he practiced law in that city and soon rose to the top of the profession. He possessed strong advocacy skills and relied on his rhetorical ability to win many cases.

Jinnah’s first important contact with political affairs was in 1906, when he acted as private secretary to Dadabhai Naoroji, president of the Indian National Congress, a political organization that was working for Indian autonomy from British rule. In 1913 Jinnah joined the Muslim League, formed to protect Muslim interests against India’s Hindu majority, though at the time he still hoped for accord between the two groups. In 1916 he was elected president of the Muslim League and in 1919 became the representative of Bombay Muslims in the Imperial Legislative Council, a national legislative body with limited authority under the British colonial government. In the same year, however, the government enacted the Rowlatt Acts, which gave the Indian colonial authorities emergency powers to suppress so-called revolutionary activities. Jinnah, a staunch nationalist, resigned from the council in protest.

In 1920 the Indian National Congress launched the non cooperation movement, a mass campaign to boycott all aspects of British rule in India. Jinnah disagreed profoundly with the movement and resigned from the Congress. Jinnah advocated a moderate approach of cooperation with the British and gradual transfer of power. He continued to believe in the possibility of Hindu-Muslim unity, and worked strenuously toward that end in his second and third terms of office as president of the league. The differences between the Congress and the Muslim League were profound.

Moreover, there was a serious personality clash between Jinnah and Mohandas Gandhi, the leader of the Congress. These differences emerged clearly in the Round Table Conference of 1930, where Indians and British members of parliament met to discuss India’s political future. Jinnah’s frustration at the impossibility of settlement led him to suspend his political activities for four years, during which time he practiced law in England. In 1934 he returned to India on a visit to preside over a Muslim League session and decided that he must remain permanently in India to look after Muslim interests.

The Government of India Act of 1935 transferred considerable power to Indian provincial governments, and in the general elections of 1937 the Congress won a majority in 7 of 11 provinces. The Congress refused to form coalition governments with the Muslim League as Jinnah had proposed. As a result, tensions between Hindus and Muslims grew rapidly. In Hindu-majority provinces, many Muslims felt they were unfairly treated, and at one point Jinnah demanded the appointment of a royal commission to inquire into their grievances. Most Muslims concluded that no legislative weighting or other safeguards could protect them in a united India, where the Hindus would be an overwhelming majority.

In March 1940 Jinnah presided over a Muslim League session at Lahore, where the first official demand was made for the partition of India and the creation of the state of Pakistan, in which Muslims would be a majority. During three decades of political life, Jinnah had believed in the possibility of Hindu-Muslim unity, and it was with the utmost reluctance that he came to the view that partition was essential.

Having reached this conclusion, however, Jinnah never swerved from it. His tenacity through constitutional discussions between the league, the Congress, and the British government in 1942, 1945, and 1946 made partition certain. During these years Jinnah came to be known as Quaid-i-Azam, or “Great Leader.” When Pakistan was created on August 14, 1947, he became its first governor-general, and the title of Quaid-i-Azam was officially bestowed on him by a resolution of the first constituent assembly. Jinnah died of tuberculosis in Karāchi in 1948.

Economic Survey of Pakistan 2005-06
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Economic Survey of Pakistan 2005-06: executive summary[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

[I][COLOR="DarkRed"][B]The following is the executive summary of the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2005-06.[/B][/COLOR][/I]

Pakistan’s economy has delivered yet another year of solid economic growth in 2005-06 in the midst of an extraordinary surge in oil prices and devastating earthquake of October 8, 2005 causing widespread damages. Pakistani corporates and consumers continue to be the bright spot.

Consumer spending remained buoyant and investors remained upbeat on the strength and sustainability of the current growth momentum, despite higher energy prices and natural calamities. With economic growth at 6.6 per cent in 2005-06, Pakistan’s economy has grown at an average rate of almost seven per cent per annum during the last four years (2002/03-2005/06) and over 7.5 per cent in the last three years (2003/04–2005/06), thus positioning itself as one of the fastest growing economies of the Asian region. The growth momentum that Pakistan sustained for the last four years is underpinned by dynamism in industry, agriculture and services, and the emergence of a new investment cycle supported by strong credit growth.

The pre-requisites for a sustained economic growth appear to have gained firm footing during the last four years. The outgoing fiscal year (2005-06) has been an extraordinary year for the economy of Pakistan. At the very onset of the year the economy faced headwinds from rising oil prices, hovering around $70–75 per barrel and putting severe strains on the country’s trade balance on the one hand and budget on the other, and massive earthquake of October 8, 2005 causing extensive damage to property, infrastructure, school, hospital, etc., and loss of over 70,000 human lives. The rescue, relief and reconstruction of earthquake affected areas also put budget under severe stress.

Pakistan’s economy has proved itself as remarkably resilient in the face of shocks of extraordinary proportions. Growth has remained buoyant. Real GDP grew strongly at 6.6 per cent in 2005-06 as against the revised estimates of 8.6 per cent last year and 7.0 per cent growth target for the year. Key drivers of this year’s growth have been service sectors and industry. Large-scale manufacturing grew by 9.0 per cent as against 15.6 per cent of last year and 14.5 per cent target for the year, exhibiting signs of moderation on account of higher capacity utilization on the one hand and strong base effect along with several other factors on the other hand. The services sector continued to perform strongly at 8.8 per cent. Construction too continued to perform strong showing, partly helped by activity in private housing market, spending on physical infrastructure, and reconstruction activities in earthquake affected areas. Consumer spending remained strong and investment spending gained further traction.

Pakistan’s economy continues to maintain solid pace of expansion since the fiscal year 2002-03 recovery in the economy has been strong, rapid and sustained. During the fiscal year 2005-06, Pakistan’s economic fundamentals have gained further strength. The most important achievements of this year include:

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Growth and investment[/COLOR][/B]

Pakistan’s economy continued to maintain solid pace of expansion for the fourth year in a row in the fiscal year 2005-06 despite facing headwinds from rising energy prices at $70-75 per barrel and the widespread damage caused by the earthquake of October 8, 2005. The growth momentum that Pakistan sustained for the last four years is underpinned by dynamism in industry, agriculture and services, and the emergence of a new investment cycle supported by strong credit growth.

Real GDP grew by 6.6 per cent in 2005-06 as against 8.6 per cent last year and fell short of the target (7.0 per cent). With economic growth at 6.6 per cent in 2005-06, Pakistan’s economy has grown at an average rate of almost 7.0 per cent per annum during the last four years and over 7.5 per cent in the last three years, thus enabling it to join the exclusive club of the fastest growing economies of the Asian region.

Growth of value addition in Commodity Producing Sector (CPS) slowed to 4.3 per cent in 2005-06 as against 9.2 per cent last year. Both the important components of the commodity producing sector namely, agriculture and manufacturing performed less than their targets. Within the CPS, agriculture and manufacturing grew by 2.5 per cent and 8.6 per cent, respectively.

Agriculture and particularly its crop sector could not perform up to the expectation especially major crops registered a 3.6 per cent contraction in growth. Livestock, a major component of agriculture, exhibited strong showing and pulled the overall growth in agriculture to 2.5 per cent as against the target of 4.2 per cent. Livestock has been the only saving grace as far as the performance of agriculture is concerned this year.

Overall manufacturing, accounting for 18.2 per cent of GDP, registered an impressive growth of 8.6 per cent against the target of 12.0 per cent and last year’s achievement of 12.6 per cent. Large-scale manufacturing grew by 9.0 per cent as against 15.6 per cent of last year and 14.5 per cent target for the year, exhibiting signs of moderation on account of higher capacity utilization on the one hand and strong base effect along with several other factors on the other hand. Small-scale manufacturing grew at estimated 9.3 per cent in 2005-06.

The Construction sector continued its strong showing, partly helped by activity in private housing market, spending on physical infrastructure, and reconstruction activities in earthquake affected areas. The construction sector is estimated to grow by 9.2 per cent in 2005-06 as against extraordinary growth of 18.6 per cent last year.

The services sector grew by 8.8 per cent in 2005-06 as against 8.0 per cent of last year. Growth in the services sector in 2005-06 was primarily attributable to strong growth in the finance and insurance sector, better performance of wholesale and retail trade, as well as transport and the communications sector. Finance and insurance sector spearheaded the growth in the services sector and registered stellar growth of 23.0 per cent during the current fiscal year 2005-06 which is slightly lower than 29.7 per cent of last year. Value added in the wholesale and retail trade sector has increased by 9.9 per cent over the previous year, compared to 11.1 per cent growth last year. The transport, storage and communications sector grew by 7.1 per cent compared to 3.5 per cent growth last year. Major contribution towards growth has come from the services sector which has emerged as a new growth power house for some time.

The commodity producing sectors (agriculture and industry) has contributed one-third of the GDP growth and the services sector contributed the remaining two-third to the real GDP growth of 6.6 per cent. The CPS contributed 31.7 per cent or 2.1 percentage point to this year’s growth while the remaining 68 per cent or 4.5 percentage points contribution came from services sector. Within the CPS, agriculture contributed 0.55 percentage points or 8.4 per cent to overall growth while industry contributed 1.54 percentage points or 23.3 per cent. Within services sector wholesale and retail trade has contributed 27.9 per cent or 1.84 percentage points to GDP growth.

Pakistan’s per capita real GDP has risen at a faster pace during the last three years (5.6 per cent per annum on average in rupee terms) leading to a rise in average income of the people. Such increases in real per capita income have led to a sharp increase in consumer spending during the last three years. Per capita income defined as Gross National Product at market price in dollar term divided by the country’s population, grew by an average rate of 13.9 per cent per annum during the last four years -– rising from $579 in 2002-03 to $847 in 2005-06. Per capita income in dollar term registered an increase of 14.1 per cent over last year -– rising from $742 to $847. As opposed to an average annual increase of 1.4 per cent during 2000-03, real private consumption expenditure grew by 13.1 per cent in 2004-05 and further by 8.1 per cent in 2005-06.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Investment[/COLOR][/B]

During the fiscal year 2005-06, gross fixed capital formation or domestic fixed investment grew by 30.7 per cent as against a sharp rise of 28.6 per cent last year. Private sector investment grew by 31.6 per cent this year as against a growth of 29.1 per cent last year. Major growth in investment by private sector is witnessed in agriculture (15.3 per cent), manufacturing (14.4 per cent), mining and quarrying (45.5 per cent), construction (9.5 per cent), transport and communication (20.2 per cent), and wholesale and retail trade (424.5 per cent). Public sector investment on the other hand registered massive growth of 46.7 per cent as against a hefty 32.9 per cent increase last year. The growth in domestic investment was largely a public sector phenomenon last year but this year, it was mainly public-private sector partnership driven. Total investment increased from 18.1 per cent of GDP last year to 20.0 per cent of GDP in 2005-06. Fixed investment as percentage of GDP is estimated at 18.4 per cent as against 16.5 per cent last year. Both public sector investment and private sector investment as percentage of GDP have increased to 4.8 per cent and 13.6 per cent, respectively, up from 4.4 per cent and 12.1 per cent last year.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Savings[/COLOR][/B]

National savings as percentage of GDP stood at 16.4 per cent in 2005-06 fractionally lower than last year’s level of 16.5 per cent. Domestic savings stood at 14.4 per cent of GDP in 2005-06 slightly lower than 14.5 per cent of GDP last year.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Agriculture[/COLOR][/B]

Agriculture is the mainstay of Pakistan’s economy. Nearly twenty-two per cent of total output (GDP) and 44.8 per cent of total employment is generated in agriculture. It also contributes substantially to Pakistan’s exports. Agriculture also contributes to growth as a supplier of raw materials to industry as well as market for industrial products. Furthermore, 44.8 per cent of country’s work force is employed in agriculture, but 65.9 per cent of country’s population living in rural areas is directly or indirectly linked with agriculture for their livelihood. Whatever happens to agriculture is bound to affect not only the country’s growth performance, but to a large segment of the country’s population as well.

Over the last five years, growth in agriculture has witnessed a mixed trend. During the first two years (2000-01 and 2001-02), the country experienced the crippling drought, which badly affected its agriculture and eventually overall growth in agriculture turned negative for these two years. In the preceding years (2002-03 to 2004-05), relatively better availability of irrigation water had positive impact on overall agricultural growth and this sector exhibited a modest to strong recovery.

However, the performance of agriculture during the fiscal year 2005-06 has been weak. Against the target of 4.2 per cent and last year’s achievement of 6.7 per cent, overall agriculture grew by 2.5 per cent in 2005-06, due to a relatively poor performance of major crops and forestry, and weaker one of minor crops and fishery. At the same time, Livestock has been the sole saving grace. Major corps, accounting for 35.2 per cent of value added in agriculture, registered a decline of 3.6 per cent as production of two of the four major crops, namely cotton and sugarcane has been significantly less than last year for a variety of reasons including, excessive rains at the time of sowing, high temperature at the flowering stage, late harvesting of wheat crop, a strong base effect (cotton) and lastly the incidence of frost, damaging sugarcane crop in the month of January, 2006. The production of third major crop, namely wheat, remained more or less at last year’s level at 21.7 million tons thereby registering a meagre growth of 0.4 per cent. The production of rice -– the fourth major crop -– has been the sole major crop which registered an impressive growth of 10.4 per cent, but failed to turn the negative growth in major crops to a positive one.

Minor crops, accounting for 12.3 per cent of agricultural value added, barely managed to register a positive growth of 1.6 per cent in 2005-06 as against a growth of 3.0 per cent last year. The performance of livestock, the single largest sector accounting for almost one–half of agricultural value added, has been impressive as this sector grew by 8.0 per cent on the back of substantial increase in the population of species, milk, etc. The performance of fisheries has been poor as it grew by 1.9 per cent only in 2005-06. Forestry has been registering negative growth for three consecutive years -– registering a negative growth of 9.7 per cent in 2005-06 as against a negative growth of 30.4 per cent.

Pakistan’s agriculture has been suffering, on and off, from a severe shortage of irrigation water in recent years. As against the normal surface water availability at canal heads of 103.5 million-acre feet (MAF), the overall (both for Kharif and Rabi) water availability has been less in the range of 5.9 per cent (2003-04) to 29.4 per cent (2001-02). Relatively speaking, the Rabi season faced more shortage of water than Kharif during these periods. During the current fiscal year (2005-06), the availability of water for Kharif 2005 (for the crops such as rice, sugarcane and cotton) has been 5.5 per cent more than the normal supplies and 19.8 per cent more than last year’s Kharif. Excessive winter rainfalls (January-March 2005) along with the melting of snow on mountains top were responsible for higher than normal availability of water during Kharif 2005. The water availability during the Rabi season (for major crop such as wheat), as on end of March, 2006 was estimated at 30.0 MAF, which was 17.3 per cent less than the normal availability, and 29.8 per cent more than last year’s Rabi.

Amongst major crops, cotton production is estimated at 12.417 million bales for 2005-06 lower by 13 per cent over the last year’s production of 14.265 million bales. Wheat production is estimated at 21.7 million tons in 2005-06 as against 21.612 million tons last year, showing an increase of 0.4 per cent. Rice production has increased by 10.4 per cent in 2005-06 from 5.025 million tons last year to 5.547 million tons in 2005-06. Sugarcane production, however, decreased from 47.244 million tons in 2004-05 to 44.312 million tons in 2005-06, showing a decrease of 6.2 per cent.

As regards the minor crops, the production of chillies and onions increased by 34.8 and 29.0 per cent, respectively, during 2005-06. The production of all the pulses — masoor, moong and mash -– is down by 13.5, 12.6 and 9.8 per cent, respectively, during 2005-06. Lesser production over last year is due to shortfall in area. The production of potato also decreased by 17.9 per cent on account of frost, which affected the potato crop. Agriculture credit disbursement of Rs91.161 billion during July-March, 2005-06 is higher by 23.5 per cent, as compared to Rs73.811 billion over the corresponding period last year. The fertilizer off-take stood at 2,982,000 nutrient tons in July-March 2005-06 or higher by 6.1 per cent, as compared to 2,811, 000 nutrient tons for the corresponding period last year.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Manufacturing, mining and investment policies 2005-06[/COLOR][/B]

The overall manufacturing sector continued to maintain its growth momentum with more vigour during the current fiscal year. Overall manufacturing recorded an impressive and broad based growth of 8.6 per cent, against a target of 12.0 per cent and last year’s growth of 12.6 per cent. Large-scale manufacturing registered an impressive growth of 9.0 per cent in the current fiscal year 2005-06 against a target of 14.5 per cent and last year’s achievement of 15.6 per cent.

The main contributors to this impressive growth of 9.0 per cent in July-March 2005-06 over last year are the automobile group (29.76 per cent), engineering goods group (6.46 per cent), non-metallic mineral products (9.49 per cent), leather products (10.91 per cent), chemicals (9.08 per cent), pharmaceuticals (14.83 per cent) and electricals (11.78 per cent). The items that registered positive growth were cotton cloth (0.07 per cent) and cotton yarn (11.16 per cent) in the textile group; cooking oil (17.6 per cent) in the food, beverages and tobacco groups; nitrogenous fertilizer (4.46 per cent), in the chemical group, cement (9.75 per cent) in the non-metallic mineral products group and jeeps and car (29.9 per cent), LCVs (29.3 per cent) and motorcycles/scooters (15.04 per cent) in the automobile group. The individual items exhibiting negative growth include: sugar (2.40 per cent), coke (77.39 per cent), power looms (24.67 per cent) and billets (47.95 per cent).

The output of the mining and quarrying sector grew by 3.8 per cent this year as against the rise of 9.6 per cent last year. The principal minerals which have shown positive growth are: baryte (11.4 per cent), limestone (9.9 per cent), natural gas (4.5 per cent), rock salt (13.2 per cent), sulphur (5.4 per cent) and gypsum (12.6 per cent). While negative growth was exhibited by chromite (6.7 per cent) and magnetite (10.7 per cent).

Foreign direct investment has witnessed an increase of 238.7 per cent in the first ten months (July-April, 2005-06), whereas, net foreign private investment stood at $3,376 million against $1,027 million last year, thereby showing increase of $2,349 million. The increase in foreign private investment is because of the inflow of portfolio investment of $355.8 million as compared to inflow of $135.5 million in the comparable period last year.

The privatisation programme maintained its pace during 2005-06 and succeeded in privatising some high-ticket items despite an inhospitable global environment. By end April 2006, Pakistan completed or approved 160 transactions at gross proceeds of Rs985 billion. This includes 57 transactions for Rs337.908 billion completed during October 1999 to April 2006.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Poverty and income distribution[/COLOR][/B]

In Pakistan, the Poverty Reduction Strategy was launched by the government in 2001 in response to the rising trend in poverty during 1990s. Preliminary findings of Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLM 2004-05) on poverty status were released at the end of February 2006, which indicates that the poverty level in Pakistan has been reduced during the last four years. A strong growth (7.5 per cent on average) for three years in a row, with per capita income growing at an average rate of 5.6 per cent; a large inflow of remittances (over $4.0 billion per annum) in recent years, a huge expenditure on poverty-related and social sector program, and many other interventions have made a significant dent to poverty in Pakistan.

As per HIES survey 2004-05, the percentage of the population living below the poverty line is provisionally estimated at 25.4 per cent in 2005, down from 32.1 per cent in 2001. This suggests a decline of 6.7 percentage points in poverty in the last four years. More importantly, the rural poverty has declined more than urban poverty. The provisional estimates show that rural poverty has declined from 39.0 per cent in 2001 to 31.8 per cent in 2005, a decline of 7.2 percentage points. Urban poverty on the other hand is provisionally estimated to have declined from 22.7 per cent in 2001 to 17.2 per cent in 2005, a decline of 5.5 percentage points.

The social sector and poverty related expenditures grew at an average rate of more than 20 per cent per annum during 2001-05. There is nearly a three-fold increase in the projected PRSP expenditure for 2006-07 when compared with the actual expenditures of base year 2001-02. Within the various categories of pro-poor expenditure, human development comes out to be the priority item of the Government with expenditures under this head constituting, on average, more than 50 per cent of all PRSP related expenditures. Further reduction in poverty, however, serves as a major challenge for the government. A clear lesson from the past four years of Pakistan and from other countries’ experience is that sustained growth on a consistent basis is needed to reduce poverty.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Fiscal development[/COLOR][/B]

Pakistan has gained further strength on fiscal side. Revenues are buoyant, expenditure is rationalized, fiscal deficit is at sustainable level and revenue deficit has almost been eliminated. Resultantly, Public debt is fast moving towards a sustainable level. Much progress has been made towards fiscal consolidation. The wide-ranging tax and tariff reforms as well as reforms in tax administration have started paying dividends. Tax collection by the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has picked up. As a result of prudent fiscal management over the last 5 years, the burden of interest payment in domestic budget has declined sharply, thereby, releasing resources for development and social sector programme.

During the five years from 2000-01 to 2005-06, tax collection by the CBR increased by 81.0 per cent. The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) was targeted to collect Rs690 billion but it is most likely to collect Rs710 billion -– Rs20 billion more than the target and 20.6 per cent more than last year. The total expenditure remains more or less stable in a narrow band of 17 to 18.8 per cent of GDP during the last six years. Substantial decline in interest payments from as high as 7.5 per cent of GDP in 1998-99 to 3.1 per cent of GDP in 2005-06, has provided fiscal space to reorient expenditure in favour of development expenditure. Resultantly the share of current expenditure in total expenditure declined from 89 per cent of total expenditure in 1998-99 to 78 per cent in 2005-06. In addition, the share of development expenditure doubled from 11 per cent to 22 per cent in the same period. During the last six years the development expenditure improved from 2.2 per cent of GDP in 2000-01 to 4.2 per cent of GDP in 2005-06. Second largest component of the current expenditure, namely, defence spending remained stagnant at around 3.1 per cent to 3.3 per cent of GDP during the last six years.

Government is achieving the goal of fiscal stabilization without compromising spending on the social sector. Non-defence-non-interest expenditure has improved from 7.8 per cent of GDP in 1999-2000 to 11.8 per cent of GDP in 2005-06. During the last six years the real growth in current expenditure hovered around 3 per cent per annum and pace of growth has slowed down. Total expenditure grew by 3.4 per cent in the first three years (2000-03) but accelerated to 5.6 per cent during the last three years (2003-06). The main contribution is coming from development expenditure which grew by 7.4 per cent per annum in first three years (2000-03) and by 23.8 per cent in recent three years (2003-06).

Total consolidated revenues are targeted at Rs1,095.6 billion in 2005-06 compared to Rs900.0 billion in 2004-05, an increase of 21.7 per cent. This was primarily due to a rise of 22.2 per cent in tax revenue on the back of increases in both federal and provincial tax revenues, which grew by 19.8 per cent and 50.1 per cent, respectively. Non-tax revenue increased by 19.3 per cent in 2005-06 but remained stagnant at 3.8 per cent of GDP.

In 2005-06, Pakistan is likely to face an overall fiscal deficit of Rs261.6 billion or 3.4 per cent of GDP excluding earthquake effect and if we include earthquake related spending worth Rs65.8 billion, the size of the deficit stood at Rs327.3 billion or 4.2 per cent of GDP. This revenue-expenditure gap was financed through external and domestic sources. Out of the gap of Rs327.3 billion, financing from external sources is expected at Rs118.4 billion. The remaining gap of Rs208.9 billion is likely to be financed from domestic sources. Within domestic sources, financing from non-bank sources amounted to Rs22.4 billion while Rs96.7 billion would be contributed by the Banking sources, and Rs90.0 billion is to be financed through privatisation proceeds. The revenue deficit (the difference between total revenue and total current expenditure), a measure of government dis-saving, was at a deficit of 0.7 per cent of GDP in 2004-05 compared to a deficit of 2.2 per cent in 2000-01. It has further progressed towards almost elimination at 0.03 per cent of GDP in 2005-06.

The public debt-to-GDP ratio, which stood at almost 85 per cent in end June 2000, declined substantially to 61.4 per cent by the end of June 2005, 23.6 percentage points decline in country’s debt burden in 5 years. By end March 2006, public debt further declined to 54.7 per cent of the projected GDP for the year. Following the debt reduction strategy in which raising revenue was one of the key elements, the public debt burden in relation to total revenue has declined substantially from 562.5 per cent in 1999-2000 to 448.9 per cent by end-June 2005 and further to 384.9 per cent by end-March 2006 to the projected revenue for the year. During the last six years, the debt servicing liabilities have declined sharply from 65.4 per cent of revenue in 1999-2000 to 27.8 per cent of revenue and from 53.5 per cent to 27.8 per cent of current expenditure in 2005-06. The ratios of domestic debt to GDP and to tax revenue both decreased during 2005-06. The stock of domestic debt as per cent of GDP declined from 35.7 per cent in 2003-04 to 32.8 per cent in 2004-05 and further to 29.4 per cent by end March 2006.

As a result of prudent fiscal management over the last 6 years, the burden of interest payments on the domestic budget has declined sharply, thereby, releasing resources for development and social sector programmes. Interest payments as a percentage of total revenue have been reduced to one-half (41 per cent to 20 per cent) over the last six years. Similarly, share in total expenditure declined from 30 per cent to 16 per cent during the same period. Most importantly, as percentage of GDP, interest payments declined from 6 per cent to 2.6 per cent in the last six years.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Money & credit[/COLOR][/B]

The easy and accommodative monetary policy stance that had been pursued during the last few years by the SBP underwent considerable changes during the FY05, switching from a broadly accommodative to aggressive tightening in the second half of the last fiscal year, since April 2005. The same tight monetary policy stance continued during the current fiscal year despite declines in both core and overall inflation. Notwithstanding the tight monetary policy stance the SBP continued to strike a balance between promoting growth and controlling inflation on the one hand and maintaining a stable exchange rate environment on the other. Tight monetary policy stance is likely to continue until inflationary pressures are significantly eased off.

The State Bank of Pakistan has taken a number of steps in various areas to further enhance the effectiveness of the banking industry in Pakistan. Going forward, the SBP would continue to take measures aimed at expanding credit to priority sectors such as agriculture, SMEs and export sector. To further revamp the financial sector in line with the global financial system, the State Bank of Pakistan has set out a road map for the implementation of Basel-II. It is the new regulatory capital adequacy regime, which offers a series of approaches ranging from simple to more complex methodologies for capital allocation against credit and operational risk.

The credit plan for 2005-06 set the target for monetary expansion at Rs380 billion or 12.8 per cent higher than last year (FY05) on the basis of a growth target of 7.0 per cent and inflation target of 8 per cent. The money supply during July-April 22, 2006 of the current fiscal year expanded by Rs294.9 billion or 9.94 per cent as against an expansion of Rs332.4 billion or 13.37 per cent in the same period last year. The pace of monetary expansion remained well within the Credit Plan target for the year (12.8 per cent). Within the NDA, both net budgetary borrowings and borrowings for commodity operations remained well within the credit plan targets. The net credit to the Government for budgetary purposes was Rs43.3 billion compared to the annual credit plan target of Rs98 billion and Rs15.0 billion borrowed in the corresponding period of last year. However, credit to the private sector has exceeded the credit plan target and stood at Rs345.1 billion as against Rs330 billion envisaged for the year in the credit plan. Expansion in NFA stood at Rs37.8 billion owing mainly to the receipts of privatisation proceeds and issuance of sovereign bond. The proceeds from privatisation and sovereign bond not only helped build NFA; it also helped in containing the growth in NDA through the retirement of government debt held by the SBP.

Despite the tight monetary policy stance of the SBP, credit to the private sector was broad-based which grew by 20.2 per cent (Rs345.1 billion) during July-April 22, 2006 compared with the growth of 28.0 per cent or Rs357.4 billion during the same period of last year. Credit to the private sector continued to exhibit strong demand, reflecting the confidence of the private sector on the continuously improving macroeconomic fundamentals of the country. The manufacturing sector continued to be the largest recipient of bank credit, amounting to Rs130.0 billion during July- March 2005-06, 17.1 per cent more than the comparable period of last year and accounting for almost 47.9 per cent of the credit to private sector businesses. The growth in consumer loans remained robust, and their scale expanded by 27 per cent to Rs67.2 billion. The consumer loans were acquired to finance a range of products including automobiles (Rs23.2 billion) followed by personal loans (Rs21.5 billion), credit cards (Rs10.4 billion) and house building (Rs10.1 billion).

Credit disbursement to the agriculture sector, also remained consistent with the previous year trend. Scheduled banks and DFIs advances to the SME sector witnessed a growth of Rs40.6 billion during July-February FY06 compared with an expansion of Rs59.9 billion in the same period of last year. The scheduled banks have opened 304 offices during the period from 01-04-2005 to 31-03-2006. During July-March 2005-06, there was an increase of Rs303.9 billion (17.3 per cent) in the net advances of the scheduled banks. Their deposits increased by Rs272.9 billion (11.5 per cent) and their total investments increased by Rs77.1 billion during the first nine months of the current fiscal year. In 2005, the banking sector produced impressive results. The year has been unprecedented in terms of profits.

Pakistan continues to be at the forefront of the Micro-Finance Sector Development Programme (MSDP). Within the overall MSDP framework, Khushhali Bank (KB) is the lead micro-finance institution in Pakistan. The Bank now serves nearly 250,000 clients, with a cumulative disbursement of over Rs6.0 billion in 75 districts of Pakistan with high poverty incidence. Around 60 per cent of KB’s clients are in the rural areas, roughly one-third being women.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Capital market[/COLOR][/B]

During the fiscal year 2005-06, the stock market continued to maintain its strong performance and achieved new heights by creating many new records. The KSE-100 Index crossed the barrier of 12,000-mark for the first time in the history of capital market and touched an all time high on April 13, 2006. The KSE-100 index made further inroad and reached 12,274 points on April 17, 2006, showing a growth of 64.7 per cent over June 2005. Between December 2005 and April 2006 alone, the KSE share index increased by 25 per cent. Similarly, the total market capitalisation also increased to Rs3,419.4 billion on April 17, 2006 ($57.0 billion) from Rs2,013.2 billion ($33.7 billion), showing a growth of 70 per cent over June 2005. At current levels, KSE’s market capitalisation is equivalent to about 44.3 per cent of estimated GDP of FY06.

The improved performance of the stock market can mainly be attributed to consistent and transparent economic policies resulting in strong economic growth; a successful privatisation process attracting foreign investors in prestigious organization like PTCL and National Refinery; sound monetary policy of the SBP, maintenance of fiscal discipline and the capital market reforms including development measures introduced by the stock exchanges with full support of the SECP. The government’s economic policies and cap imports, registering a growth of 38.1 per cent in the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year. Non-food non-oil imports also grew by 38.3 per cent, reflecting continued strong domestic demand. Major contributors to the rise in machinery imports include power generation machine (44.8 per cent), agriculture machinery (109.2 per cent), construction and mining machinery (29.0 per cent) and other machinery (51.7 per cent). A surge in imports of machinery reflects a growth in domestic investment driven imports, thus allowing the expansion of the country’s production base.

Imports of petroleum group have also played a key role in taking Pakistan’s import to a new height. Emerging as the single largest item in the country’s import bill, the Petroleum group import amounted to $ 4615.8 million, during the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year as against $2,806.6 million in the same period last year. Thus an increase of 64.5 per cent resulted in an increase in trade deficit to $82620.3 million, in comparison to $4263.4 million in the same period last year.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Current account balance[/COLOR][/B]

Pakistan’s current account balance that slipped into red in 2004-05 after posting surpluses for three consecutive years remained in deficit in 2005-06, with a widening gap due to a higher import bill. This was brought about by high global crude prices and a hefty rise in non-oil imports. Furthermore, higher freight charges by international shipping lines as a result of sharp increase in global trade and higher fuel cost, and growth in personal travel due to the rising level of income of middle and high income groups, have also contributed to the widening of current account gap. Deceleration in the growth of net transfers is also responsible for widening of the current account deficit.

The current account deficit, excluding official transfers, stood at $4,696 million in the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year as against $1181 million in the same period last year. As percentage of projected GDP for the year the current account deficit stood at 3.7 per cent as against 1.1 per cent in the same period last year. Although trade deficit (fob) almost doubled over the last year and services balance deteriorated by 27.5 per cent, the strong inflows under private transfers fuelled by rising workers’ remittances and resident foreign currency accounts offset some of the negatives with current account deficit standing at $4,696 million. The flow under long–term capital (net) improved markedly and risen to $3,905 million from $1,633 million last year.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]External debt and liabilities[/COLOR][/B]

Pakistan’s total stock of external debt and foreign exchange liabilities grew at an average rate of 7.4 per cent per annum during 1990-99 -– rising from $20.5 billion in 1990 to $38.9 billion by end June 1999 but declined slightly to $37.9 billion in 1999-2000. It exhibited a declining trend thereafter. Pakistan’s external debt and liabilities have declined by $3.1 billion -– down from $38.9 billion in 1998-99 to $35.834 billion by 2004-05. However, external debt and liabilities increased to $36.557 billion by end-March 2006, thus showing a rise of $0.723 billion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year. The rise is mainly on account of issuance of sovereign bonds worth $800 million in March 2006.

External debt and foreign exchange liabilities, instead of growing at the pace of the 1990s, were in fact reduced from $38.9 billion in 1998-99 to $36.5 billion by end-March 2006 -— a reduction of $2.4 billion in seven years. Most importantly, the burden of the debt has declined substantially during the same period. For example, the external debt and liabilities as a percentage of foreign exchange earnings which stood at 335.4 per cent in 1998-99, declined to 127.6 per cent by end-March 2006. The external debt and liabilities stood at 64.1 per cent of GDP in end-June 1999, declined to 28.3 per cent in end-March 2006. The annual debt servicing payments made during the period 1999-2000 to 2003-04 averaged just above $5 billion per annum. This amount has drastically come down to around $3 billion in 2004-05. An amount of $2.4 billion has been paid during July-March 2005-06 and the amount rolled over declined from $4.1 billion in 1999-2000 to $1.1 billion in July-March 2005-06.

On March 23, 2006, Pakistan successfully issued $500 million new 10-year Eurobond and $300 million new 30-year bonds in the international debt capital markets lead managed by JP Morgan, Citi group and Deutsche Bank. This transaction, which represented the first international 144A bond issued by Pakistan since 1999, raised significant interest amongst international institutional investors. The 10-year notes were priced with a coupon of 7.125 per cent, framing a spread of 240bps over the relevant 10-year US Treasury benchmark and 187bps over the US$ mid-swap rate. The 30-year bonds were priced with a coupon of 7.875 per cent to, framing a spread of 302bps over the relevant 30-year US Treasury benchmark and 256bps over the US$ mid-swap rate. Pakistan was able to achieve spreads on both the new 10 and 30-year bonds that were tighter than its previous 5-year issues. By issuing 10 and 30 year tranches, Pakistan completed its primary objective of establishing a full Pakistani International yield curve in record time. With over 170 accounts participating, books closed with total orders exceeding US$2bn. The issue was over 2.5 times oversubscribed.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Education[/COLOR][/B]

Right to education is the basic requirement of every individual. Nations all over the world reached high levels of prosperity and human development through investing and prioritizing provision of quality and equitable health and education faculties to their citizens. East Asian economies are a recent example that shows how nations can benefit from an educated and productive labour force. Pakistan is in fact, entering into that phase of demographic transition, where in few years massive influx in the working age population (60 million) is expected. Thus, investing in providing quality education to the upcoming working age population is the only way to cash the demographic dividend.

Currently, the literacy rate is 53 per cent which is much below the targets set to be achieved in 2005 (60 per cent ESR and 58 per cent in PRSP) and far away from reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target of 80 per cent literacy till 2015. Looking at the gender disaggregated data for overall literacy, 65 per cent of males and 40 per cent of females were literate in the year 2004-05. District disaggregated data for adult literacy show that, in Punjab Rawalpindi with 75 per cent is ranked at the top and Lohdran with 34 per cent at the bottom. Karachi with 78 per cent literacy is ranked at the top while Jacobabad with 43 per cent is ranked at the bottom in Sindh. In NWFP, Abbotabad (65 per cent) is at the top and Kohistan (25 per cent) at the bottom. Finally, in Balochistan Quetta (65 per cent) at the top and Jhal Magsi (20 per cent) and Qilla Saifullah (20 per cent) are at the bottom.

The key impediments to the progress in reaching a higher level of literacy in Pakistan are the low enrolment rates and poor quality of education provided by the public sector. In case of enrolments, net enrolment rate (NER) has seen a considerable increase of 10 percentage points from 42 per cent in 2001-02 to 52 per cent in 2004-05. The MDG targets to reach 100 per cent NER till 2015. This requires almost 50 per cent increase in enrolment in next 10 years, which is a huge challenge for the policy makers. Another factor that contributes to lower literacy rates is the high dropout rate at all levels. Major reasons behind dropout include poor quality of infrastructure, teacher’s absenteeism, quality of education and the value of returns attached to sending children to schools. There exist wide gender gaps especially in the rural areas in enrolments at all levels.

In the past year, 2,187 new primary schools were established, 1,221 in the public sector and 881 in the private sector. This increase has occurred in both rural and urban areas. Enrolment at the primary level increased from 19.92 million in 2001-02 to 21.33 million in 2004-05, 4.28 million to 4.55 million at the middle level and 1.79 million to 1.88 million at the secondary level during 2001-02 to 2004-05. During the past four years 249 additional technical and vocational institutions were established. There is a significant increase of 35 universities during the period 2001-02 to 2004-05 including 13 new public and 22 new private universities.

Government of Pakistan is currently spending 2.1 per cent of its GDP on education sector which is very low as compared to other countries in the region. The share of education sector has not seen much change in the past several years, in fact it has stagnated to about 2 per cent from 2003-2005. The government has launched several programmes to increase coverage by increasing enrolment and to improve the overall quality of education but these initiatives need proper implementation and constant monitoring for their timely completion.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Health[/COLOR][/B]

Importance of the health in the social lives of the people makes it such an important area that it cannot be considered in isolation and it is inextricably tied to other socio economic and political realities. The Constitution of Pakistan in its article 38 titled “promotion of social and economic wellbeing of the people” ensures the provision of basic necessities of life including health and medical relief for all citizens, irrespective of sex, caste, creed or race. The government of Pakistan recognizes and acknowledges the access to essential health care as a basic human right that is why the public health sector has always been a priority area of the government activities. The government of Pakistan is fully aware of its commitment to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) regarding health and initiatives have been taken to address health issues under PRSP and MTDF.

There is a considerable improvement in health care facilities over the past year as the existing vast network of health care facilities consist of 946 hospitals, 4,554 dispensaries, 5,290 basic health units/sub health centres (BHUs/SHCs), 552 rural health centres (RHCs), 907 maternal and child health centres (MCHs) and 289 TB centres (TBCs). Available human resources for the fiscal year 2005-06 turn out to be 118,160 doctors, 6,761 dentists and 33,427 nurses, which make the ratio of population per doctor as 1,310, population per dentist 25,297 and population per nurse as 4636. The new health facilities added to overall health services include construction of 56 new facilities (42 BHU and 14 RHCs), upgrading of 59 existing facilities (18 RHCs and 41 BHUs) and addition of 3,500 new doctors, 1,900 nurses, and 15,000 lady health workers. The total outlay on health sector is budgeted at Rs40 billion which shows an increase of 5.3 per cent over the last year and turns out to be 0.51 per cent of GDP. To reduce incidence of disease and to alleviate their suffering and pain so as to improve the health status of people, various health programmes like lady health worker programme, malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS control programmes, the expanded programme on immunization, National Maternal and Child Health Programme, Prime Minister Programme for Prevention and Control of Hepatitis in Pakistan, Drug Abuse, Cancer Treatment programme remained operative during fiscal year 2005-06.

During the fiscal year 2005-06 the caloric availability per day is likely to increase from 2271 to 2328 and protein availability from 65.5 to 66.9 grams PSLM 2004-05 reports district level data for major indicators in the health sector such as sickness/injuries, immunization, pre and post natal consultation etc. In the case of immunization, the top ranked districts are Jhelum (Punjab), Hyderabad (Sindh), Chitral (NWFP) and Gwadar (Balochistan). The districts reporting lowest immunization are Muzaffar Garh (Punjab), Jacobabad (Sindh), Shangla (NWFP) and Qilla Saifullah (Balochistan). The government of Pakistan needs to address the problem of the adversely affected districts and focus on policies to solve the problems and initiate immediate remedial measures.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Population, labour force and employment[/COLOR][/B]

Achieving a world population in balance with its environmental resources is crucial to the future of our planet and the welfare of its people. Population growth is a complex issue that directly or indirectly impacts all aspects of our lives and the conditions under which we live — from the environment and global stability to women’s health and empowerment. Pakistan being a developing country also faces the problem of over population. During the past 25 years, cultivable land has increased by 27 per cent compared to 98 per cent increase in population, resulting in reduced individual land holdings in Pakistan. Due to a high birth rate urban population will double in the next 20 years causing more and more forests to be cut to make way for humanity. Even now each year, deforestation occurs at the rate of 2.5 per cent. In addition, since only 60 per cent of our population has sewerage facility, the remaining 40 per cent churn out wastes damaging the environment and causing a lot of diseases. Rising levels of income on the one hand and easy availability of loan facility/ financing on the other has lead to an increase in motorization in the country and almost 70 per cent of our on-the-road vehicles have outlived their life span and emit un-burnt monoxide gases.

In Pakistan, labour force participation is estimated on the basis of the Crude Activity Rate (CAR) and the Refined Activity Rate (RAR). The CAR is the percentage of the labour force in the total population while RAR is the percentage of the labour force in the population of persons 10 years of age and above. The figures both for CAR (32.8 per cent) and RAR (46.9 per cent) for the first half of 2005-06 fare higher than LFS 2003-04 (30.4 per cent and 43.7 per cent). This phenomenon is more obvious for rural areas and women. Augmentation of the rates for the set of economic activities carried out within the house precincts also depicts the same scenario (42.8 Vs 38.5 per cent).

Agriculture still accounts for the largest source of employed work force. The share of agriculture in employment has increased from 43 per cent in 2003-04 to almost 45 per cent by mid of 2005-06. Sector wise break up of employed labour force shows that female labour force participation is on the rise for most sectors especially agriculture, fishery and telecom sectors. It is important to note that the employment of the rural females increased despite a considerable rise in female Labour Force Participation Rate. The increase in rural female employment was mainly in the category of unpaid family helpers, which may be due to enhanced growth rates in agriculture in recent years or due to the combined efforts of various NGO.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Transport and communication[/COLOR][/B]

A strong, efficient and affordable infrastructure is a critical element of a good investment climate and therefore, is a pre-condition to sustain the growth momentum. Transport and Communications both are important elements of infrastructure services and are essential in maintaining economic growth and competitiveness. In fact, the transport and communication sector in Pakistan account for about 11 per cent of GDP, 16 per cent of fixed investment, 6 per cent of employment and about 15 per cent of the Public Sector Development Programme. Road transport is a backbone of Pakistan’s transport system, accounting for 90 per cent of national passenger traffic and 96 per cent of freight movement. Over the past ten years, road traffic — both passenger and freight — has grown much faster than the country’s economic growth. The 9,518km long National Highway and Motorway network contributes about 3.7 per cent of the total road network and carries 90 per cent of Pakistan’s total traffic. The total length of roads in Pakistan was 258,340km, including 165,762km of high type (64 per cent) and 92,578km of low type roads (36 per cent) by the end of March, 2006. During the outgoing fiscal year, the length of high type roads has increased by 1.8 per cent over the last year but the length of low type roads has declined by 2.9 per cent. The construction work on Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway (M-1) however, is still in progress.

Furthermore, the Pakistan Railways have carried 61.3 million passengers and 4.3 million tons freight, with its gross earnings stood at Rs12.5 billion during July-March 2005-06. In comparison, PIA carried 3.972 million passengers during July-February 2005-06 as against 3.571 million in the same period last year, showing an increase of 11.2 per cent. Both passenger capacity and traffic volume also increased by 2.4 per cent and 8.7 per cent, respectively. In addition, its fleet consists of 41 aircrafts of various types. In addition, there are three private airlines, operating in the country and provide both domestic and international services.

Karachi Port has also handled 24,572,000 tons of cargo during July-March, 2005-06, compared to 21,845,000 tons during the same period last year, showing an increase of 12.5 per cent. Port Qasim has handled 16.8 million ton of cargo during July-March 2005-06 compared to 16 million cargo handled during the corresponding period last year, registering a growth of 5 per cent. Gwadar Port is also being built with Chinese assistance and its first phase has almost been completed.

In 1999-2000, there were only 0.3 million cellular mobile subscribers in Pakistan which jumped to 2.4 million by 2002-03 as a result of introduction of CPP regime and addition of another mobile operator (Ufone). Mobile subscribers continued to rise at an unprecedented pace, reaching 12.8 million by 2004-05. A major turnaround was witnessed when the mobile companies started giving free mobile connections and bearing the cost of government levies themselves. In a short period of 9 months in the outgoing fiscal year, more than 16 million new subscribers have been added to the list, reaching over 29.6 million by end April 2006. In other words, a more than 131 per cent increase in subscribers in just 9 months was unprecedented. Accordingly, the total teledensity (Fixed + Cellular + WLL) has jumped form 3.7 per cent in 2001-02 to 23.1 per cent by end March 2005-06.

For promotion of information technology, 2,339 cities/towns/ villages have been provided internet facility by March 2006. Total fixed telephone lines installed by March 2006 were 5.2 million as against 5.1 million up to June 2005 last year.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Energy[/COLOR][/B]

Global energy consumption is expected to increase steadily over the next twenty years. According to the International Energy Outlook 2001, the actual growth of world energy consumption increased from 207 quadrillion Btu in 1970, to 382 quadrillion Btu in 1999 which is anticipated to further increase to 607 quadrillion Btu in 2020. Over this fifty-year period, the consumption of energy will likely to increase by about 200 per cent, from 207 quadrillion Btu in 1970, to 607 quadrillion Btu in 2020. The largest increase in energy use will occur in the developing world. From 1999 to 2020, energy consumption in the developing countries is expected to climb 122 quadrillion Btu to 264 quadrillion Btu, depicting an increase of 116 per cent. In other words, the increase in energy use in the developing world is roughly double that of all countries in the global economy. Because, firstly many developing countries are striving towards economic development and industrialisation and will thus require additional energy. Secondly, virtually all of the increase in the world’s population over the next 20 years will take place in the developing world. Population growth will add over one billion people to the poorer regions, thus expanding the energy requirements for these regions.

Production of crude oil per day has decreased to 65,385 barrels during July-March 2005-06 from 66,199 barrels per day during the same period last year, showing a decline of 1.2 per cent. The overall production of crude oil decreased to 17.9 million barrels during July-March 2005-06 from 18.1 million barrels during the corresponding period last year, showing a decline of 1.1 per cent. On an average, the transport sector consumes 49.7 per cent of the petroleum products, followed by power sector (32.3 per cent), industry (11.8 per cent), household (2.5 per cent), other government (2.3 per cent), and agriculture (1.4 per cent) during last 10 years i.e. 1995-96 to 2004-05.

The average production of natural gas per day stood at 3,825 million cubic feet during July-March 2005-06 as compared to 3,663 million cubic feet over the same period last year, showing an increase of 4.4 per cent. The overall production of gas has increased to 1,048,190 million cubic feet during July-March 2005-06 as compared to 1,003,189 million cubic feet daily in the same period last year, showing an increase of 4.5 per cent. On average, the power sector consumes 36.6 per cent of gas, followed by fertiliser (22.5 per cent), industrial sector (18.8 per cent), household (18.4 per cent), commercial sector (2.8 per cent) and cement (1.3 per cent) during last 10 years i.e. 1995-96 to 2004-05.

Total installed capacity of electricity (Wapda, KESC, KANUPP and IPPs) stood at 19,439mw during July-March 2005-06, compared to 19,389mw during July-March 2004-05. Total installed capacity of Wapda stood at 11,363mw during July-March 2005-06 of which, hydel accounts for 56.9 per cent or 6,463mw, thermal accounts for 43.1 per cent or 4,900mw. During the first three quarters of current fiscal year, 63,978 GWh electricity has been generated as against 61,758 GWh were produced in the same period last year. The number of villages electrified increased to 99,595 by March 2006 from 90,467 up to 2004-05, showing an increase of 10 per cent.

Presently, some 930 CNG stations are operating in the country, while 200 are under construction. By March 2006 about one million vehicles were converted to CNG as compared to 700,000 vehicles during the same period last year, showing an increase of 43 per cent. With these developments Pakistan has become the leading country in Asia and the third largest user of CNG in the world after Argentina and Brazil.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Environment and housing[/COLOR][/B]

Environment: Sustainable development remains the cornerstone of government policies, and the concern for environment, its protection, renewal and enrichment is recognized as an obligation for the betterment of all citizens. The poverty-environment nexus has been of particular interest in the recent years, as poverty in Pakistan, like in many other middle-income countries, plays an important role in increasing the vulnerability of the poor to pollution and environmental degradation.

Several policies, plans, programmes and projects have been initiated for environmental protection and conservation in the sectoral areas of water and air pollution control, land use, forest management, energy efficiency, biodiversity conservation, and waste management, etc. One of the major achievements during 2005-06 was the formulation of the “National Environmental Policy 2005” which addresses the sectoral issues such as (a) water management and conservations, (b) energy efficiency and renewable, (c) agriculture and livestock, (d) forestry and plantation, (e) biodiversity and protected areas, (f) climate change, air quality and noise, and (g) pollution and waste management.

The key factors contributing to air pollution in Pakistan are: a) rapidly growing energy demand; b) increasing industrial and domestic demand and c) a fast growing transport sector. In the cities, widespread use of low-quality fuel, combined with a dramatic expansion in the number of vehicles on roads, has led to significant air pollution problems. Air pollution levels in Pakistan’s most populated cities are among the highest in the world, causing serious health issues in the process. The government is promoting the use of CNG in a big way to reduce the pollution level. Presently, some 935 CNG stations are operational through out the country, while another 200 are under construction. As of April 2006, the total number of CNG vehicles stood at 950,000, compared to 700,000 vehicles in April 2005, making Pakistan’s CNG fleet the largest in Asia and the third largest in the world after Argentina and Brazil.

Water availability in Pakistan continues to decrease, both in total amount of water as well as in the per capita water availability in Pakistan. In 1951, when population stood at 34 million, per capita availability of water was 5300 cubic meter, which has now decreased to 1105 cubic meter, just touching water scarcity level of 1000 cubic meter. With a present growth in population and the low rainfall, the threshold limit of water scarcity i.e. 1000 m3 of water per capita per year may be reached as early as the year 2010. Various mega initiatives have been planned especially under Wapda vision 2025. The estimates show that the current water shortage of 9 million acre feet would aggravate to 25 MAF if all planned dams under Vision 2025 are not constructed by 2016.

The government is committed to supply safe drinking water to its people and in this regard has started implementation of a “Clean Drinking Water Initiative” Project in 2005, which caters for the installation of 544 water purification plants of 2000 gallons/hour capacity, one in each Tehsil of Pakistan. A new project on “Clean Drinking Water for All” under Khushhal Pakistan Programme, has been recently approved and caters for installation of around 6035 water purification plants of different capacities (500/1000/2000 gallons/ hour), one in each union council of Pakistan.

Like many other developing countries, dry lands in Pakistan are severely affected by land degradation and desertification due to unsustainable land management practices and increasing demand of natural resources causing enormous environmental problems. The situation is further aggravated by scarcity of water, frequent droughts and miss-management of land resources, contributing to expansion of deserts, reduced productivity and consequently increases in rural poverty. In order to address the problems of land degradation and desertification, the ministry of environment, government of Pakistan, has taken an initiative and designed a full-scale project on “Sustainable Land Management to Combat Desertification in Pakistan”. The project aims at combating desertification and improving land management practices to eradicate poverty in arid and semi-arid regions of Pakistan.

The forestry sector plays an important role in soil conservation, water regulation for irrigation and power generation, reduction of sedimentation in water conveyances and reservoirs, employment and maintenance of ecological balance. Under the Millennium Development Goals of the Forestry Sector, Pakistan is committed to increase forest cover from existing 5 per cent to 5.7 per cent by the year 2011 and to 6 per cent by the year 2015. This implies bringing an additional 1.051 million hectares land area under forest.

The government of Pakistan is implementing a number of policies and programmes in the environment sector. National Environment Action Plan (NEAP) remains the flagship programme of the ministry of environment. The main objectives of NEAP are to safeguard public health, promote sustainable livelihood and enhance quality of life for the people of Pakistan. It focuses on clean air, clean water, solid waste management and eco-system management.

Housing Sector: Housing is one of the basic human requirements, as every family needs a roof. Providing shelter to every family has become a major issue as a result of rapid urbanization and higher population growth. According to the housing census 1998, the housing backlog, which stood at 4.30 million, has been currently projected at 6.19 million. It is estimated that to address the backlog and to meet the housing shortfall in the next 20 years the overall housing production has to be increased to 500,000 housing units annually. The present housing stock is also rapidly aging and estimates suggest that more than 50 per cent stock is over 50 years old. It is also estimated that 50 per cent of the urban population now live in slums and squatter settlements. Meeting the backlog in housing, besides replacement of out-lived housing units is beyond the financial resources of the Government. This necessitates putting in place a framework to facilitate financing in the formal private sector and mobilize non-government resources for a market based housing financed system. The government of Pakistan is, therefore, encouraging participation of local as well foreign investors/developers and private sector companies in housing sector to build more and more housing projects to meet the demands of a vast segment of society.

Having realized the importance of the housing sector in the overall economic development of the country, the government, as an immediate measure, declared Housing and Construction as a priority industry and simultaneously formulated a pragmatic and workable National Housing Policy. This is aimed at revitalizing the housing sector, providing therein various incentives for the construction industry and the private sector builders/developers. The salient features of this policy include: (i) Identify the state and other lands for housing development, (ii) To encourage the financial institution to give mortgage loans for housing at market rates. Commercial banks shall also be encouraged to advance loans for housing, by earmarking a substantial percentage of their loan portfolio, (iii) The annual disbursement of HBFC loans shall be enhanced from the present Rs1.2 billion to Rs7.00 billion over the next five years. (iv) Simplification of procedures for land transactions and standardisation of mortgage documents to facilitate sale and purchase of housing. (v) Stamp duties and registration fees, which are exceptionally high as compared to other countries, shall be adequately reduced to an aggregate total of 1 per cent to enhance registration, improve documentation and increase revenue receipts. (vi) Property tax on rented property shall be reduced from the current high rate of 25 per cent to 5 per cent. (vii) All new construction of houses on plots measuring up to 150 sq-yrds & flats/apartments having an area of 1,000 sq-ft shall be exempt from all types of taxes for a period of 5 years. (viii) Provincial governments shall develop packages in which prime state land within urban centres, occupied by the katchi abadis, shall be offered to the private developers for commercial use provided they arrange and finance upgradation or relocation of katchi abadis.

As a result of the coordinated efforts of federal and provincial governments and concerned private sector stakeholders, a large number of policy measures have so far been implemented resulting in the improvement of overall housing situation in the country besides availability of affordable housing finance to the extent of Rs34 billion in the market.

1980: Pakistan
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]1980: Pakistan

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

The occupation of Afghanistan by Soviet troops, beginning in December 1979, raised Pakistani fears for their own security. The government undertook three main approaches in dealing with the crisis. The first approach was to explore a possible revitalizing of the relationship with the United States. Early in the year, the United States offered $400 million in economic and military aid to Pakistan, in an attempt to provide a modicum of security, but Pakistan turned it down, considering it an inadequate response to the grave threat facing the country and believing that only a formal treaty approved by the U.S. Congress would send the necessary message to Moscow. The unwillingness of the Carter administration to proceed along these lines was reportedly taken to indicate a lack of American seriousness. A visit by the U.S. presidential national security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, to Pakistan failed to resolve many of the two nations' differences.

A second approach was based on the belief that concerted action by the Islamic bloc would make it more difficult for the Soviets to sustain the occupation or, at least, to move against other countries. Toward this end, an Islamic Foreign Ministers Conference was held in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad in late January and again in May, and a special group composed of representatives of three countries, including Pakistan, was set up to seek ways of resolving the Afghan situation and securing the withdrawal of Soviet troops.

Pakistan's friendship with China suggested a third approach to the Afghan situation. While it was acknowledged that Peking's options were somewhat limited, its support for Pakistan was expected to discourage Moscow from taking any major action against the Pakistanis—particularly if China's support was coordinated with American assistance.

The presence of over a million Afghan refugees in Pakistan has been an additional source of potential trouble between Pakistan and the Soviet Union. Two Pakistanis were killed in a border attack in late September, and the Soviets made numerous reconnaissance flights over the refugee camps. In addition, the refugees are an economic burden that Pakistan can ill afford. Pakistan's President Muhammad Zia ul-Haq met with U.S. President Jimmy Carter in early October to discuss economic assistance for the refugees, among other matters of concern.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Other foreign relations.[/COLOR][/B]

The fall of the shah of Iran, in 1979, led to initial concern in Islamabad, because of the traditionally close relations between Iran and Pakistan during the years of the monarchy. However, a rapport was established with the revolutionary regime in Tehran on matters of regional interest. In September, Zia undertook a "goodwill" mission to Tehran and Baghdad, aimed at exploring a possible end to the Iran-Iraq war; he was politely received but given no encouragement.

Relations with India became critically important due to the sensitive situation on the Pakistani-Afghan border. Relations had improved under the government of Morarji Desai; the return of Indira Gandhi to power was expected to lead to difficulties, with India playing a tougher role as regional leader.

U.S. opposition to the Pakistani nuclear program continued, although public condemnation was muted by the events in Afghanistan. When the United States agreed to send enriched uranium nuclear fuel to India, Pakistanis believed that they were being singled out for punishment and that there was a legitimate need to continue the program. On August 31, Pakistan announced that the country had become self-sufficient in nuclear fuel production for the Karachi nuclear power plant.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Government and politics.[/COLOR][/B]

The grave repercussions that had been predicted following the execution of former Premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1979 did not materialize in 1980. Domestic political demands were toned down somewhat, in light of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, although there was some pressure for a return to civilian government. Political activity remained banned, and the military government made vague promises for free elections, but no date was set. In the meantime, the population was polarized between leftist and rightist elements, with strong grass-roots support for an increased Islamization of the country.

This summer, the government announced the formation of "Zakat" committees for the collection of taxes to be distributed to the poor and needy, as prescribed under Islamic law. The Shiite community, comprising some 15 million people, objected to the mandatory program and also contended that their contributions should be distributed within their own community and not dispersed by the government. This led to a major demonstration by the Shiite Muslims in Islamabad, as a result of which the government exempted them from these laws.

[B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]Economy.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

Pakistan's economic performance improved during 1979-1980. The overall growth rate was 6.2 percent, with manufacturing improving by 8.1 percent (up from a 7.4 percent increase in 1978-1979) and agriculture by 6 percent (up from 4.2 percent in the previous year). The government reported that the average annual growth rate in Pakistan over the past three years was 6.4 percent, in sharp contrast with an annual growth of 3.7 percent during 1970-1977.

There were record harvests of wheat, at 10.87 million tons, and cotton, at 4.2 million tons, not only because of an increase in the area under cultivation but also because of a significant increase in the yield per acre. Specific efforts were taken to move the country toward food self-sufficiency, such as price supports, promotion of rust-resistant wheat varieties, provision of fertilizer and irrigation water, encouragement of the use of farm machines, and educational programs for farmers.

Despite these gains, the economic situation remained precarious. In the absence of national savings, the country remained heavily dependent on external borrowing, which totaled $822 million for the period from December 1979 to July 1980. Foreign aid commitments during 1979-1980 totaled $939 million, compared with $1,426 million for 1978-1979. Total pledges from the Aid Pakistan consortium (both bilateral and multilateral) amounted to $675 million, as compared with $845 million for 1978-1979. U.S. assistance remained limited to $40 million in agricultural commodities. Pakistan's current foreign debt stood at $5.5 billion, which constituted nearly 32 percent of the gross national product, and Pakistan was unable to get any debt rescheduling.
Pakistan's oil import bill (a factor in its debt problems) amounted to $1.2 billion for 1979-1980. Efforts to offset this high cost from indigenous sources have thus far yielded modest results, with only 10 percent of the 1980 oil consumption being met from domestic output.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Area and population.[/COLOR][/B]

Area, 310,724 sq. mi.
Pop. (est. 1980), 86.5 million.
Principal cities (est. 1975):
Islamabad (cap.), 250,000;
Karachi, 3,500,000;
Lahore, 2,100,000.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Government.[/COLOR][/B]

Islamic republic under martial law. Pres. and chief martial law administrator, Gen. Muhammad Zia ul-Haq.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Finance.[/COLOR][/B]

Monetary unit: Pakistani rupee; 1 rupee = US$0.1030.
Trade (est. 1979-1980).

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Exports[/COLOR][/B], $1.8 billion;

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Imports[/COLOR][/B], $3.2 billion.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Principal exports:[/COLOR][/B]

rice, raw cotton, cotton yarn, cotton cloth, wool carpets, leather, fish, sports goods.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Principal imports:[/COLOR][/B]

petroleum products, wheat, edible oils, fertilizers, tea, chemicals, tires, medicines, iron and steel.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Education (est. 1979-1980).[/COLOR][/B]

Enrollment:
primary schools, 5.9 million;
secondary schools, 1.3 million;
high schools, 500,000;
junior colleges, 195,000;
universities, 28,500.

Literacy rate, 19.8%.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Agriculture (est. 1979-1980).[/COLOR][/B]

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Production (in millions of tons):[/COLOR][/B]

wheat, 10.87;
cotton, 4.2;
rice, 3.2;
sugarcane, 27.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Armed forces (est. 1980).[/COLOR][/B]

Army, 408,000;
navy, 13,000;
air force, 17,600;
paramilitary forces, 109,000.

Civil War Erupts in Pakistan
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Civil War Erupts in Pakistan[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

The 1,000 miles that separate West and East Pakistan only begin to suggest the schism that has divided that nation since its birth. The roots of the conflict between West and East Pakistan lie in the history of Islam in the Indian subcontinent.

After the breakup of the Muslim Mogul empire early in the eighteenth century, the local Indian rulers and the European expansionists—the French, Dutch, and Portuguese and the British East India Company—sought the remnants of his disintegrating empire, which at its greatest extent included most of the Indian subcontinent. The East India Company discreetly proceeded to make the local rulers so-called allies rather than subordinates; in so doing, it isolated them from potential friends, disarmed their military forces, and thus effectively limited their power.

Replacing the ruling Muslim elite with its own soldiers and administrators, the company drove the Muslims, who scorned service under the new rulers, from positions of authority. The Hindus, formerly subordinate to the Muslims even though they outnumbered them, entered into the company's service. When the revolt of Indian soldiers against British rule in 1857-1859 was unsuccessful, the Muslims lost hope of reestablishing their authority. This uprising, known as the Sepoy Mutiny, ended the power of the East India Company, and the British government assumed direct responsibility for the government of India.

The decision by Lord Curzon (then viceroy of India) in 1905 to divide the unwieldy province of Bengal into Hindu and Muslim provinces (the Hindus were concentrated in the west, the Muslims in the east) marked a political turning point for the Muslims. The Muslim minority favored the partition; the Hindus, who felt the division would decrease their influence, opposed it. Although the partition was annulled a few years later, the hostility between the Hindus and the Muslims was sorely aggravated. The embittered Muslims, who had been content to rely on the government for the protection of their interests, felt the need for an effective political organization, and in 1906 they established the All-India Muslim League. The Hindus meanwhile sought constitutional reform through the Indian National Congress.

Although mutual disappointment with the British at times brought the league and the congress closer together, the gradual clarification of the British intention to grant self-government to India along the lines of parliamentary democracy led the Muslims to fear subjugation to the Hindu majority—politically, economically, and culturally. The Government of India Act of 1935, which granted more provincial autonomy and transferred considerable power to the Indian ministers, rapidly intensified existing Hindu-Muslim tensions.

In the 1937 elections, the Indian National Congress fared well, but the league was a relative failure, winning only 108 out of 482 seats reserved for Muslims at the provincial level. This failure acted as a spur to Muslim leaders and led to the revival of the idea of a separate Muslim state, an idea which had been articulated in 1930 by the philosopher and political leader Sir Muhammad Iqbal. This idea was given the name Pakistan, a Persian and Urdu word meaning "land of the pure" and an acronym for eight territories of British India and Central Asia which might have been incorporated into a single Muslim state—Punjab, Afghania (the Northwest Frontier province), Kashmir, Iran, Sind, Tukharistan, Afghanistan, and Baluchistan. Ironically, the Cambridge University student who coined the word did not include in the area the province of Bengal.

The idea of a nation built on shared faith in Islam produced a leader with a mandate, Mohammed [also spelled Muhammad] Ali Jinnah. A longtime advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity, Jinnah reluctantly came to accept the idea of Pakistan. Once convinced, however, he pursued his goal tenaciously. The "great leader" of millions of Muslims, he was to become their sole voice and the architect of Pakistan.

When the British announced in 1940 that they intended to grant dominion status to India after World War II, both the anxious league and the congress stiffened their demands as to what form self government should take. At its annual meeting in Lahore in March 1940, the league adopted a resolution calling for the creation of independent states in the northwestern and eastern zones of India. British officials almost unanimously regarded the Pakistan demand either as a deliberate overbid by the league to obtain full consideration for the Muslim point of view or as a plan to checkmate the demands of the Indian National Congress. (Indeed, the All-India Muslim League officially adopted Pakistan as its goal only in April 1946; moreover, the wording of the Lahore resolution was vague as to whether these independent states were to be autonomous within or outside some kind of all-India union.) However, nationalism was an established political phenomenon, and it was natural for the league to express its demands for freedom in terms of a Muslim nation.

The British presented various independence plans in 1942, 1945, and 1946, but none of them was acceptable to the deadlocked Muslims and Hindus. Meanwhile communal tensions grew, and widespread violence often erupted. Finally, on February 20, 1947, British prime minister Clement R. Attlee announced that the British would withdraw no later than June 1948, whether or not the congress and the league had reached an agreement; both parties seemed shocked into the desire to negotiate a settlement. The pace of events quickened.

That June, [British viceroy] Lord [Louis] Mountbatten, who was sent to India in March to settle the disputed issues, announced plans for independence and partition. The agreement, the Indian Independence Act, which came into effect on August 15, 1947, granted dominion status to India and Pakistan and left certain areas the right to choose which nation they wished to join.

Either by referendum or by vote of their provincial legislatures, five predominantly Muslim provinces—Bengal, Punjab, Sind, Baluchistan, and the Northwest Frontier—elected to join Pakistan; both Bengal and the Punjab were to be divided, for, as expected, eastern Bengal and western Punjab (predominantly Muslim areas) opted for Pakistan, while western Bengal and eastern Punjab (predominantly Hindu areas) opted for India. The details of boundaries in the divided provinces were decided by Sir Cyril Radcliffe, since the Hindu and Muslim representatives on the boundary commissions which he chaired totally failed to agree.

Ironically, instead of bringing peace, the partition exacerbated communal tension and brought violence, chaos, and one of the greatest migrations in history, involving some 13 million people. Muslims in India fled to Pakistan, and about an equal number of Hindus in Pakistan fled to India. Whole villages were wiped out, and fleeing refugees were massacred by the trainload. Fighting was especially fierce in the Punjab, where there had long been bitter hatred between the Muslims and the Sikhs, whose communities straddled the partition line.

After the death in 1948 of Jinnah, the country's first governor-general, and the assassination in 1951 of Liaquat Ali Khan, the prime minister, Pakistan entered an era during which corruption dominated the political scene and domestic conditions deteriorated. Religion alone was not to prove strong enough to unite the distant wings of Pakistan and to transcend the profound differences of language and culture that separated the 55 million West Pakistanis and the 75 million Bengalis of East Pakistan.

From the beginning, the slight, dark Bengalis found themselves discriminated against and exploited by the more prosperous and better-developed western region, dominated by the tall, light-skinned Punjabis and Pathans. Even Jinnah, the nation's founding father, declared that the East Pakistanis should give up their native Bengali, a language of Indo-Aryan origin, and adopt Urdu, a synthesis of Persian and Hindi spoken in the West. It was only after years of riots and demonstrations that they succeeded in getting Bengali adopted as a national language along with Urdu.

Economically, for many years East Pakistan earned most of the nation's foreign exchange and watched the proceeds being used to build up industries in the West. Most state development projects were allocated to the West, while Bengal remained poor and backward and the economic disparity between the nation's two wings increased. Few Bengalis were recruited for the military, which, like the government, was controlled by the West Pakistanis.

Such grievances led the Bengalis to demand a greater degree of autonomy and equal representation in their government. When East Pakistan's Awami League, the dominant political party led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a majority last year in Pakistan's first nationwide direct elections, these hopes seemed within their grasp. But the National Assembly never convened. President and dictator Yahya Khan, a Pathan, postponed its meeting and in March of this year sent troops into Bengal to crush the separatist movement.

[B][I][COLOR="DarkRed"]This 1972 Collier’s Year Book article describes the historical events leading to the partition of India, and the reasons East Pakistan became the independent nation of Bangladesh in 1971.[/COLOR][/I][/B]

East India Company
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]East India Company[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

[B][COLOR="darkred"]I -INTRODUCTION[/COLOR][/B]

East India Company, any of a number of commercial enterprises formed in western Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries to further trade with the East Indies. The companies, which had varying degrees of governmental support, grew out of the associations of merchant adventurers who voyaged to the East Indies following the discovery in 1497 of the Cape of Good Hope route by Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama. The most important of the companies were given charters by their respective governments, authorizing them to acquire territory wherever they could and to exercise in the acquired territory various functions of government, including legislation, the issuance of currency, the negotiation of treaties, the waging of war, and the administration of justice. The most notable companies were the following.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]II -DANISH EAST INDIA COMPANY[/COLOR][/B]

Chartered in 1729 by King Frederick IV of Denmark after unsuccessful attempts by Denmark to gain a share of the East India trade in 1616 and 1634, it enjoyed great prosperity in India until the advance of British power there in the late 18th century. As a consequence of the destruction of Danish naval power in the war between Britain and Denmark in 1801, the power of the Danish company was broken. Its principal Indian possessions, Tranquebar in Tamil Nādu and Serampore in Bengal, were purchased by Britain in 1845.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]III -DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY[/COLOR][/B]

Incorporated from a number of smaller companies by the States General of the Netherlands in 1602, its monopoly extended from the Cape of Good Hope eastward to the Strait of Magellan, with sovereign rights in whatever territory it might acquire. In 1619 Jan Pieterszoon Coen, regarded as the founder of the Dutch colonial empire in the East Indies, established the city of Batavia in Java (now Jakarta, Indonesia) as the headquarters of the company. From Batavia, Dutch influence and activity spread throughout the Malay Archipelago and to China, Japan, India, Iran, and the Cape of Good Hope. During the course of the 60-year war between Spain and the Netherlands (1605-1665), the Dutch company despoiled Portugal, which was united with Spain from 1580 to 1640, of all its East Indian possessions. It supplanted the Portuguese in most of present-day Indonesia and in the Malay Peninsula, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), the Malabar Coast of India, and Japan.

During this period it was also successful in driving English rivals from the Malay Archipelago and the Moluccas. In 1632 the Dutch killed the English factors, or agents, in Amboina, capital of the Dutch Moluccas; for this act the English government later exacted compensation. In 1652 the company established the first European settlement in South Africa on the Cape of Good Hope. At the peak of its power, in 1669, the Dutch company had 40 warships, 150 merchant ships, and 10,000 soldiers.

Between 1602 and 1696 the annual dividends that the company paid were never less than 12 percent and sometimes as high as 63 percent. The charter of the company was renewed every 20 years, in return for financial concessions to the Dutch government. In the 18th century, internal disorders, the growth of British and French power, and the consequences of a harsh policy toward the native inhabitants caused the decline of the Dutch company. It was unable to pay a dividend after 1724 and survived only by exacting levies from native populations. It was powerless to resist a British attack on its possessions in 1780, and in 1795 it was doomed by the ouster of the States General at home by the French-controlled Batavian Republic. In 1798 the republic took over the possessions and debts of the company.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]IV -ENGLISH EAST INDIA COMPANY[/COLOR][/B]

The most important of the various East India companies, this company was a major force in the history of India for more than 200 years. The original charter was granted by Queen Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600, under the title of “The Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies.” The company was granted a monopoly of trade in the East Indies, with the formal restriction that it might not contest the prior trading rights of “any Christian prince.” The company was managed by a governor and 24 directors chosen from its stockholders.

In early voyages the company penetrated as far as Japan, and in 1610 and 1611 its first factories, or trading posts, were established in India in the provinces of Madras and Bombay. Under a perpetual charter granted in 1609 by King James I, the company began to compete with the Dutch trading monopoly in the Malay Archipelago, but after the massacre of Amboina the company conceded to the Dutch the area that became known as the Netherlands East Indies. Its armed merchantmen, however, continued sea warfare with Dutch, French, and Portuguese competitors.

In 1650 and 1655 the company absorbed rival companies that had been incorporated under the Commonwealth and Protectorate by Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. In 1657 Cromwell ordered it reorganized as the sole joint-stock company with rights to the Indian trade. During the reign of Charles II the company acquired sovereign rights in addition to its trading privileges. In 1689, with the establishment of administrative districts called presidencies in the Indian provinces of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, the company began its long rule in India. It was continually harassed by traders who were not members of the company and were not licensed by the Crown to trade.

In 1698, under a parliamentary ruling in favor of free trade, these private newcomers were able to set up a new company, called the New Company or English Company. The East India Company, however, bought control of this new company, and in 1702 an act of Parliament amalgamated the two as “The United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies.” The charter was renewed several times in the 18th century, each time with financial concessions to the Crown.

The victories of Robert Clive, a company official, over the French at Arcot in 1751 and at Plassey in 1757 made the company the dominant power in India. All formidable European rivalry vanished with the defeat of the French at Pondicherry in 1761. In 1773 the British government established a governor-generalship in India, thereby greatly decreasing administrative control by the company; however, its governor of Bengal, Warren Hastings, became the first governor-general of India. In 1784 the India Act created a department of the British government to exercise political, military, and financial control over the Indian affairs of the company, and during the next half century British control was extended over most of the subcontinent.

In 1813 the company's monopoly of the Indian trade was abolished, and in 1833 it lost its China trade monopoly. Its annual dividends of 10.5 percent were made a fixed charge on Indian revenues. The company continued its administrative functions until the Sepoy Rebellion (1857-1859). In 1858, by the Act for the Better Government of India, the Crown assumed all governmental responsibilities held by the company, and its 24,000-man military force was incorporated into the British army. The company was dissolved on January 1, 1874, when the East India Stock Dividend Redemption Act came into effect.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]V - FRENCH EAST INDIA COMPANY[/COLOR][/B]

Established in 1664 by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, finance minister of King Louis XIV, the company founded its first trading post at Surat in Bombay in 1675. The following year it set up its principal Indian base at Pondicherry, on the Coromandel Coast. The company prospered and extended its operations to China and Iran. In 1719 the company was reorganized with the American and African French colonial companies as the Compagnie des Indes. This company, headed by Scottish financier John Law, suffered severely with the collapse of the Mississippi Scheme. In 1730 it lost its slave trade with Africa, in 1731 its general trade with Louisiana, and in 1736 its coffee trade with the Americas. The company prospered in India, however, under governors Benoît Dumas, from 1735 to 1741, and Joseph François Dupleix, from 1742 to 1754.

Dupleix directed the unsuccessful French struggles against the British control of India. The capture of Arcot in 1751 by the British under Robert Clive limited French control to southern India, where it remained supreme until 1761, when the British captured Pondicherry. The operations of the company were finally suspended by royal decree in 1769, and in the following year it turned over its capital of more than 500 million livres to the Crown. In 1785 a new company received commercial privileges, but this company was abolished in 1794 during the time of the French Revolution.

Sepoy Rebellion.
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Sepoy Rebellion[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

Sepoy Rebellion (1857-1859), also known as the Indian War of Independence, uprising against British rule in India begun by Indian troops (sipahi or sepoys) in the employ of the English East India Company. The rebellion was the first concerted attempt by the people of South Asia to overthrow the British Indian Empire.

By the 1850s the English East India Company had established control over present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), and Sri Lanka. By conquest or diplomacy, the company had overrun numerous autonomous Indian kingdoms during the previous two decades. It had also reduced the emperor of the moribund Mughal Empire, a vast empire that had ruled the subcontinent for more than 300 years, to a pensioner in his palace in Delhi. A small elite of British civilian officials and an army of 160,000 men, only 24,000 of them British, controlled the vast division of British India known as the Bengal Presidency. This area stretched from Burma in the east to Afghanistan in the west and included huge territories in central India.

The Indian troops employed by the English East India Company felt that British rule often failed to respect their traditions of religion and caste. The sepoys’ discontent came to a head in late 1856, when rumors began circulating that the cartridges for the newly-issued Lee-Enfield rifles were greased with the fat of cows, which are sacred to Hindus, and pigs, which Muslims believe are unclean. If this rumor were true, any Hindu or Muslim soldier would be ritually polluted when he bit off the end of a cartridge, as was necessary before loading the rifle. There were several isolated cases of soldiers in the Bengal army refusing to use these cartridges, but the issue exploded in Meerut, a military town northeast of Delhi in the Ganges River valley. There, 85 men of the 3rd light cavalry refused to use the cartridges on April 23, 1857. They were convicted of mutiny, sentenced to prison terms, publicly fettered, and stripped of their military insignia.

In response to this harsh treatment of their fellow soldiers, members of the 11th and 20th infantry regiments revolted on the evening of May 10. They freed their comrades along with hundreds of civilian prisoners, and the rampaging mob slaughtered 40 British officers and civilians in Meerut. The sepoys then marched to Delhi, where other Indian regiments joined the mutiny. They massacred dozens of British there, and reinstated the 82-year-old Mughal emperor, Muhammad Bahadur Shah. The news of these events triggered mutinies throughout the Bengal army, rapidly igniting a general anti-British revolution in north and central India. Among those joining the sepoys in the uprising were Indian princes and their followers, whose territories had been annexed by the English East India Company, and people whose ways of life and sources of income had been disrupted by British trade, missionary activities, or social reforms.

Unprepared for and paralyzed by the mutiny at first, the British eventually rallied. To control the uprising in the Ganges valley, British commanders disarmed the sepoys in the nearby province of Punjab and assembled a small army that marched on Delhi, occupying a position outside of the city. The British command in Calcutta (now Kolkata) was able to contain the rebellion in the east while retaining control of the Ganges River and communications lines as far upriver as Allahābād. In central India, a British army of several thousand engaged in dozens of battles with forces led by several local princes and Rani (Queen) Lakshmibai of Jhānsi. The rani was fighting against annexation of her kingdom by the company after the death of her husband, the last ruler of Jhānsi.

In the central part of the Ganges River valley, the recently-annexed state of Oudh became the focal point for rebellion. On May 30, rebel forces besieged Europeans along with loyal Indians at the British Residency, the official residence of British administrators in the capital, Lucknow. A few days later the British garrison at Cawnpore (now Kānpur) also came under attack, enduring a siege that lasted until June 27. On that day, the survivors were attacked while evacuating to boats on the Ganges River under an agreement of safe passage negotiated with the rebel leader, Nana Sahib. Most of the British soldiers were killed. The women, children, and wounded who lived through this disaster were later murdered in prison. These events provided a rallying cry for British forces and a rationale for widespread atrocities committed against Indian combatants and noncombatants alike.

After many inconclusive battles fought before the walls of Delhi, the reinforced British army attacked the city on September 15 and overran it after five days of ferocious fighting. A relief force reached the Lucknow residency on September 25 but became pinned there until late November, when a second relief force broke the siege and evacuated the survivors. The British returned to Oudh in February 1858 with an army of more than 30,000 men, including troops lent by the kingdom of Nepal. The city of Lucknow fell on March 23 and the rebel forces in north India scattered. The fort at Jhānsi fell in April, and the rani was later killed in battle.

For the next year British forces engaged in running fights with ever-smaller rebel forces, finally capturing their most skillful opponent, Nana Sahib's general Tantia Topi. With his execution in April 1859, the revolt ended. The war had far-reaching consequences for India. The British government officially abolished the Mughal Empire and exiled Muhammad Bahadur Shah to Burma. The British crown also ended the administration of the English East India Company, assuming direct rule of India in 1858. Military policies altered dramatically. New recruits were sought primarily in Punjab and Nepal, where troops had remained loyal during the rebellion, and emphasis was placed on a doctrine stressing the hierarchy, prestige, and authority of the British officer corps. Thereafter the British administration displayed a pronounced distrust of its Indian subjects and a reluctance to share power or strategic technologies, an attitude that damaged relations with an emerging nationalist movement later in the century.

A Brief Introduction to the Khaksar Tehrik
 

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]A Brief Introduction to the Khaksar Tehrik:[/COLOR][/B]

The Khaksar Tehrik, based in Lahore, Pakistan, was established by Allama Mashriqi in 1930, keeping in mind the plight and poor condition of the masses in India. The Tehrik was created to free India from foreign rule, to uplift the masses, and to revive the lost glory of the Muslims, who had previously ruled India for almost one thousand years. Although Mashriqi firmly believed that the right to rule India belonged to the Muslims, at the same time, he wanted to create an environment of fairness, justice, and equal rights for non-Muslims as well. For this reason, non-Muslims were allowed to join the Tehrik and the Tehrik was kept free of prejudice against any people, regardless of caste, color, creed, or religion.

The Khaksar Tehrik itself was a very well organized movement comprised of dedicated and selfless people. The movement worked under a charter that everyone was to follow, with no exceptions. The charter ensured fairness to all; even Allama Mashriqi, founder and leader of the Tehrik, was held accountable for his actions. The Tehrik was also kept free of any membership fee. All Khaksars were required to bear their own expenses and devote time to the cause. This helped to develop the spirit of self-reliance and encouraged the Khaksars to spend their own money and time for the national cause.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Khaki Attire and Spade:[/COLOR][/B]

The Khaksars all wore the same khaki attire with the word "Akhuwat" (brotherhood) written on the sleeve of their shirts. In their hands, they carried a belcha (spade). There was a very specific reason for their choice of attire. The Khaki color of their clothing was chosen because it is closest to the color of the Earth. Also, Khaksar means "a humble person." The spade represents humility, which is a part of every Khaksar. In the same way that a spade is used to level the ground, the Khaksars used it as a symbol of the "leveling" of society. Most importantly, the Khaki attire and spade helped to remove the barrier between the rich and the poor. This dress code was created to bring equality among all the people regardless of their economic or social background.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Some Functions of the Khaksar Tehrik:[/COLOR][/B]


1-Reform the nation by laying emphasis on character building.

2-Remove sectarianism and prejudices and bring brotherhood and unity to the people.

3-Impart the spirit of sacrifice for the national cause.

4-Make community service an integral part of every Khaksar. Every Khaksar was required to perform community service for Muslims as well as non-Muslims. The community service included helping the poor, elderly, sick, needy, etc. Khaksars were also required to help keep their respective neighborhoods clean. In the event of a national calamity or disaster, Khaksars were required to render all services to help the affected people. Social service created brotherhood and a spirit of nation building among the Khaksars and set an example for others to follow. The gathering of Khaksars every evening brought them together and gave them a sense of achievement and pride because they were performing a collective duty towards the national cause.

5-Remove distinction between the rich and the poor. Every Khaksar was required to wear Khaki clothes in order to bring equality and a sense of belonging to the Tehrik.

6-Impart discipline in every Khaksar.

7-Impart soldierly and disciplined training in order to ensure the physical and mental health

8-Produce leaders. To achieve this, a system of ranks was introduced to the Tehrik.

9-Achieve freedom.

10-Finally, bring peace and unite humanity by creating love among the people.

Mashriqi worked tirelessly to achieve the goals that he had set forth for the Khaksar Tehrik. The noble ideals of the Tehrik combined with Mashriqi’s passionate speeches and writings soon attracted large numbers of people, predominantly Muslims. These people came from all walks of life and from every part of the Indian sub-continent. By the late 1930s, the Movement was at its peak and had not only spread to every corner of India, but had established offices in other countries as well. Mashriqi’s followers, supporters, and sympathizers were now well into the millions.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Growth of the Khaksar Tehrik Under Mashriqi’s Leadership:[/COLOR][/B]

The Khaksar Tehrik grew by leaps and bounds in India under the leadership of Allama Mashriqi. He was not only a genius but an exceptional visionary and one of the most talented and selfless people the world had ever seen. Allama Mashriqi's sincerity, devotion, and outstanding organizational skills helped the Khaksar Tehrik spread to every corner of the Indian sub-continent.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]The Pakistan Resolution (Lahore Resolution) and the Massacre of the Khaksars on March 19, 1940: [/COLOR][/B]

By the late 1930s, the Khaksar Tehrik had become the most organized
movement in the history of India. The Khaksars’ tremendous popularity became a threat to the Government of India and other opponents. As such
the Government decided to eliminate the Khaksar Movement. The Punjab Premier, Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, supported the Central Government and started imposing restrictions on Khaksar activities.

In the early months of 1940, Mashriqi went to Delhi in order to ask the Viceroy of India to remove the restrictions on the Khaksar activities. During his stay in Delhi, Mashriqi also held meetings with Quaid-e-Azam (Muhammad Ali Jinnah) and other Muslim leaders. Mashriqi asked Quaid-e-Azam and the other Muslim leaders to use their influence on the Punjab Premier to remove the restrictions. However, the restrictions remained in place.

While Mashriqi was making these efforts in Delhi, a Khaksar took the initiative to form a jaish (contingent) of 313 Khaksars (on March 19, 1940). The jaish began marching towards the Shahi Masjid (Mosque) in Lahore to offer prayers. Although the Khaksars were marching peacefully, the police intercepted them and asked them to halt their parade. However, the Khaksars kept on marching, ignoring the police who were standing in their way. A senior police officer could not tolerate the defiance of his order and slapped the Salar of the Khaksars. The situation quickly deteriorated. The police, mounted on horses, tried to run over and through the Khaksars. The determined Khaksars remained steadfast and the police resorted to lathi charge and then open-fired ruthlessly on the Khaksars. Many of the Khaksars were brutally killed (Shaheed) or injured. The indiscriminate firing was no less than the notorious massacre at Amritsar by General Dyer on April 13, 1919.

The massacre of the Khaksars on March 19 was not only a tragedy for Lahore, but for the entire nation. An official report stated that 32 people died on that fateful day (Source: The Tribune, April 16, 1940). However, K.L. Gauba (Member Legislative Assembly) wrote in his book Friends and Foes that “According to eye witnesses the dead were more than 200” (Source: Friends and Foes by K.L. Gauba, page 204, Publisher: Indian Book Company [New Delhi, India]).

In order to control the situation in Lahore, the military was convened. After the bloody clash, the city of Lahore was essentially under emergency laws; the news media was censored and processions, public speeches, and gatherings were banned. The Khaksars who were killed were not to be addressed as martyrs or heroes in the public media. Any news about the Khaksar incident had to be approved by the Government before it was published. Only the Government’s version of the story was to appear in the news media. Allama Mashriqi was arrested along with thousands of prominent Khaksars. His phone was disconnected and the Khaksar Movement was banned. Mashriqi’s bank account was seized and his property was confiscated. The Khaksar Tehrik’s headquarters (in Lahore) were raided.

During the raid, many Khaksars were arrested, literature and other materials were confiscated, and Mashriqi’s son, Ehsan Ullah Khan Aslam, was hurt by the police when they hit him with a tear gas grenade. Ehsan Ullah Khan Aslam later died because of the head injury he received from the grenade. At the time of Ehsan Ullah Khan Aslam’s death, Mashriqi was in jail and was not allowed to attend his funeral (Mashriqi wrote a poem in memory of his son in his book Hareem-e-Ghaib).

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Quaid-e-Azam’s Statement after the Massacre on March 19, 1940:[/COLOR][/B]

[I][B][COLOR="Black"]Upon hearing of the news of the killing of the innocent Khaksars, Quaid-e-Azam issued the following statement (on March 20, 1940):[/COLOR][/B][/I]

"I am deeply grieved to hear the tragic account of the incident in Lahore last evening regarding the clash between the Police and the Khaksars resulting in terrible loss of life and injury on both the sides. I hope the Khaksars will carry out the instructions issued by their leader, Mr. Inayatullah Mashriqi, published in the newspapers of this morning. As one who has always been so kindly treated by the Khaksars, I appeal to them most earnestly to keep peace and not precipitate matters by defying law and order. It is difficult to say anything till I am in possession of full facts of the situation." Source: The Tribune, Lahore March 21, 1940

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]The Pakistan Resolution (Lahore Resolution) and the Khaksar resolution:[/COLOR][/B]

It is important to note that after the massacre of the Khaksars, the All India Muslim League did not postpone its 27th Annual Session at Minto Park, Lahore. The historic Session started on March 22, 1940 and ended on March 24, 1940.

On March 24,1940, the Pakistan Resolution was passed by the Muslim League. On the same day and at the same Session, Quaid-e-Azam presented a resolution on the Khaksar massacre. This Khaksar resolution, which was unanimously passed with loud cheers, reads as follows:

"This Session of the All India Muslim League places on record its deep sense of sorrow at the unfortunate and tragic occurrence on the 19th of March, 1940, owing to a clash between the Khaksars and the police, resulting in the loss of a large number of lives and injuries to many more, and sincerely sympathizes with those who suffered and with their families and dependents.

This Session calls upon the Government forthwith to appoint an independent and impartial committee of inquiry, the personnel of which would command the perfect confidence of the people, with instructions to them to make full and complete investigation and inquiry in the whole affair, and make their report as soon as possible.

This Session authorizes the Working Committee to take such actions in the matter as they may consider proper immediately after publication of the report of the Committee. This Session urges upon the various Governments that the order declaring the Khaksar Organization unlawful should be removed as soon as possible."

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Important Note on the Date of the Pakistan Resolution (Lahore Resolution):[/COLOR][/B]

It is important to note that the Pakistan Resolution was not passed on March 23, 1940, as is the common misconception. In fact, it was actually passed on March 24, 1940.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Tragedy Unites the Muslims:[/COLOR][/B]

Unfortunately the historic Khaksar resolution is mostly unknown to the public because it does not appear in the supplements published by the media each year on March 23. The history of Pakistan is incomplete without discussing the tragedy of March 19, 1940 and the Muslim League's Khaksar resolution, which was passed on the same day as the Pakistan Resolution (Lahore Resolution). History is witness to the fact that behind every freedom movement lies the blood and sacred lives of martyrs. The massacre of the Khaksars became a turning point in the struggle for the independence of Pakistan. Indeed, the foundation of independence was actually laid with the killing of the innocent Khaksars on March 19, 1940. The significance of the Session of the Muslim League in Lahore, which took place only three days after the massacre, was greatly enhanced as a result of the killings of the Khaksars. No Muslim could ignore the incident at that time and the tremendous sympathy and support for the Khaksars was seen at the Session. The crowd at the Session chanted slogans in favor of the Khaksars and denounced the Premier of the Punjab. Various newspapers, including The Hindustan Times (which was in fact an anti-Khaksar newspaper), wrote that during the Session, slogans of "Khaksars Zindabad" were raised and the meeting was "frequently punctuated with Khaksar slogans." Source: The Hindustan Times, March 25,1940

Thus, the massacre of the Khaksars helped unite the Muslims under the Muslim League while Mashriqi and thousands of the Khaksars were in jail and the Khaksar Tehrik was banned. Within seven years of the massacre of the Khaksars, the Muslims of the Indian sub-continent had an independent homeland. The British divided the sub-continent into Pakistan and India and so, two separate homelands, one for the Muslims and the other for the Hindus, came into existence.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]The Unforgettable Contributions of Mashriqi and the Khaksars to the Creation of Pakistan:[/COLOR][/B]

After the massacre, Allama Mashriqi, who had began the movement to remove the nation from the shackles of foreign rule, was kept in jail for almost two years without a trial. Thousands of Khaksars were sentenced to anywhere from six months to life imprisonment. While Mashriqi was in jail, he was told that if he didn’t disband the Khaksar Tehrik, he wouldn’t be released. But Allama replied that the Movement was not his personal property and refused to succumb to any pressure. Requests made by other political leaders and public outcries for his release were ignored by the government. Mashriqi wrote a letter from jail to Dr. Rafiq Ahmed Khan of Aligarh Muslim University. In his letter he stated, "My last days are nearing. It will be alright if I receive a reply and I am released. Otherwise I am going to die…I am not going to change my decision nor do I repent for it. I am happy because I am going to lay down my life..." At the conclusion of his letter, Mashriqi stated, "Again gird up your loins. Do not let my face be blackened. Save the honour of Islam…"

Ultimately, Mashriqi had to fast to the point of death in order to obtain his release. The Government of India at the time kept Mashriqi’s fasting a secret. However, the news was leaked out and Mashriqi’s release became inevitable. Finally, on February 18, 1942, he was released, but his movements were still kept restricted to Madras. When Mashriqi emerged from jail, he was a skeleton and would have surely died if his release had been delayed any further.

After his release from jail, Mashriqi resumed his activities for the freedom of India, despite the fact that his movements were restricted to Madras. The restriction on his movements and the ban on the Khaksar Tehrik was ultimately removed in December, 1942 and Mashriqi finally arrived in Lahore as a free man in January, 1943. He was given a rousing welcome upon his arrival. He continued his services for freedom and remained dedicated to the cause of uplifting the nation until his death. Everything he said and did was what he thought was right for the nation.

The Khaksar Tehrik and Allama Mashriqi’s services to the cause of freedom are unforgettable. Their sacrifices, struggle, and efforts for independence served an integral part in the appearance of Pakistan on the world map on August 14, 1947. It is unfortunate that the Muslim League that came to power after independence completely denied the Khaksars’ contribution and their struggle towards freedom and took full credit for the creation of Pakistan. The nation must not be kept ignorant of the atrocities that Allama Mashriqi and the Khaksars faced during their struggle and their efforts in mobilizing the nation to rise for freedom. A great injustice to the Khaksars has been done in the history books of Pakistan. It is the duty of the Government of Pakistan to let the nation know about the suffering and contributions of Mashriqi and the Khaksars. Mashriqi was the only prominent Muslim political leader to suffer so greatly at the hands of the rulers. All Mashriqi ever wanted was to rebuild the nation and lead the people to freedom.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]The Public Media:[/COLOR][/B]

Pakistan’s media, particularly radio and television, has never made a serious effort to convey to the public the contributions of Mashriqi and the Khaksar Tehrik towards the creation of Pakistan. The media has even covered those that looted the country and emptied its exchequer, yet they have failed to let the nation know of the services of noble patriots and heroes such as Allama Mashriqi and the Khaksars. Radio and Television have not conducted any significant programs on the life and times of Mashriqi and his Movement.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Historians and Research Institutes:[/COLOR][/B]

It is sad and disheartening that historians are not adequately covering the role that Mashriqi and the Khaksars played. Non-Khaksar historians have done a great injustice to the nation by not highlighting the positive role played by Mashriqi and the Khaksars in Pakistan’s history. While some historians have ignored the crux of the Khaksar Tehrik, many others have even distorted their role and have only given credit to the Muslim League in the creation of Pakistan. Thus, they have wiped out the role of Mashriqi and the Khaksars in Pakistan’s freedom movement.

Government-owned historical research institutes have not collected enough material (from various sources within and outside the country) on the Khaksar Tehrik. It is the duty of such institutions to collect these materials and make them accessible to the public. Furthermore, no research academy or institute has been formed to conduct independent research on Mashriqi and the Khaksar Tehrik. It is suggested to those who are in control in the Government of Pakistan that they make public Mashriqi’s services to the nation. This is not only their moral obligation, but also their national duty. The following steps need to be taken forthwith:


1-A research academy should be formed to conduct complete research on
Mashriqi and his Khaksar Movement.

2-Mashriqi’s books and speeches need to be translated into English and other languages.

3-A library exclusively for Khaksar literature should be formed.

4-All Khaksar materials should be collected from the public, government departments, the India Office (U.K.), and historical resources in India.

5-Mashriqi and the Khaksars’ role should be made a part of the educational curriculum at all levels.

6-An official and unbiased biography on Mashriqi should be published depicting his purpose of establishing the Khaksar Tehrik (Movement)

7-Ichhra, where Mashriqi started his movement in 1930, should be renamed after him and a monument should be built at his grave.

8-University should be named after Allama Mashriqi.

9-A monument should be erected in Lahore at the site of the massacre of March 19, 1940.

10-March 19 should be declared “Martyrs Day” and special seminars should be held in major cities in remembrance of those Khaksars that laid their lives on that day.

11-Roads should be named after Mashriqi and the Khaksars that were killed.

12-Official seminars on the Life and Times of Allama Mashriqi should be held on annual basis.

13-National media should be directed to broadcast/publish special programs on Mashriqi.

14-A film and television program should be made on Allama Mashriqi and The Khaksar Movement.

15-A national holiday should be observed on Mashriqi’s birth or death anniversary.

It is very unfortunate that there are those with vested interests who want the nation to forget the contributions of Mashriqi and the Khaksars. We must remember that a nation that forgets its history is one that loses its foundation and direction.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]A Brief Introduction of Pakistan’s Archaeology Derived from Pakistan heritage foundation document [/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

Pakistan is one of the countries in the world with diversified ecological and cultural treasure. Archaeological development in the past and present highlights major discoveries, expeditions and research in Pre-History, Proto-History, early-History, Late History and Muslim periods.

Research of the early phases at Mehar Garh and Kili Gul Muhammad (Balochistan) established the findings that switching over to food production from hunting and gathering in Pakistan took place around the same period (Early Holocene 9th Millennium B.C) as that of the Syria, Turkey, Iraq and North Western Iran.

Mahenjodaro / Harappa Civilization’s rise and fall of the great Civilization remained an unsolved mystery. It was due to research, discoveries and investigation of many sites in the province of Balochistan, Sind, Punjab and North Western Frontier Province that the origin and Evolutionary stages of the Indus Civilization were comprehensively established.

The Great Gap between the fall of Harappan / Indus Civilization ( 18th 19th century B.C) and the beginnings of Achaemenum period (6th Century B.C) still needs to be solved the discoveries of Buddhist sites also shed light on Art and Architecture of Gandahara periods. The discoveries at Bhambore and Udigram District Swat confirmed the 1st and earliest and late Muslim invasions, which influence the dynamics of different Islam styles, art and Architecture.



[B][COLOR="darkred"]Pakistan’s Pre-Historic Culture (A brief Introduction)[/COLOR][/B]

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Pakistan’s cultural activity classified into three 3 important zones:[/COLOR][/B]

1. Pre-Historic Zone

2. Proto-Historic Zone

3. Historic Zone



[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]1. Pre-Historic Zone of Pakistan is further divided in to 3 three phases.[/COLOR][/B]

A. Paleolithic

B. Mesolithic

C. Neolithic

[B][COLOR="darkred"]There phases are further grouped into[/COLOR][/B]

I. Lower and Early Stone Age

II. Middle Stone Age

III. Upper or late Stone Age.



A. Paleolithic phase: Paleolithic phase and cultural activities started about two 2 million years ago and continued till 10,000 BC.

Pakistan “Hand Axe Culture” was reported by Dr Terra and Paterson (Yale and Cambridge Expedition 1936) Visited Hamalyan region, Kashmir and Foothills of Punjab. They claimed four Glacial phases in Kashmir. Their later discovery of Stone Age was SOAN valley culture, which was related to these glacises.

The interglacial and inter pluvial climatic conditions give birth to the development of human cultural activities in the region.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Pleistocene geology of Pakistan (Potohar area)[/COLOR][/B]

The potohar region is an elevated plain which includes Rawalpindi and other parts of Punjab. The Siwalike are comparatively recent formation, comprising of wind blown material and fresh water deposits. These important deposits are dated as early as late Miocene till early middle Pleistocene age.

The Siwaliks series in Pakistan cam be observed particularly in the north West Pakistan such as at Bannu and Nowshera.

a) Lower Siwaliks.

b) Middle Siwaliks.

c) Upper Siwaliks.

All the three groups except the top most have yielded fossils of mammals, including these of anthropoids (Ape).

[B][COLOR="darkred"]A. Early Stone Age of Pakistan:[/COLOR][/B]

Beside the classification of river SOAN terrace formation the expedition (Yale and Cambridge) divided the entire SOAN valley culture into five 5 phases.

This grouping is on the bases of cultural assemblages in the SOAN valley.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Classification of SOAN valley culture is:[/COLOR][/B]

1) Pre Soan

2) Early Soan

3) Late Soan

4) Chauntra Culture

5) Evolved Soan.

In early Stone Age of Soan valley important tools like pebble, choppes chopping & Abbevillion – Acheullean type tools were reported.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]B.Middle Paleolithic of Pakistan:[/COLOR][/B]

The Middle Paleolithic culture is the developed stage of lowers Stone Age. Fire was regularly used; economy was based on hunting gathering & collection of fruit & vegetables. Men for the 1st time sheltered himself inside the rock shelters. The world famous middle Stone Age site located in the Mardan district known as Sanghao cave. Its 1st period is assigned to middle stone age sanghao cave industry to be placed of Mousterian phase of Afghanistan & central Asia, belongs to upper Pleistocene of 60000 B.P to 20000 BP. Middle stone age discoveries of Soan valley are important due to denticulate & Notched tools.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]c. Upper Stone Culture of Pakistan:[/COLOR][/B]

This (upper Stone/late stone age) is generally regarded as Blade industry. Microhthic tools, Barbed Harpoon, Sharp point & some bones tools were also introduction. The phase dated from 35000BP to 10000 BP. In Pakistan (Balochistan) cave Art started & 9 caves have been so far discovered the Zoomorphic figures are also depicted in two-dimensional methods. These painting have close comparison with the cave art of Alta Mira Spain, which is dated from 22000 BP to 12000 BP.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]B.MESOLITHIC CULTURE OF PAKISTAN:[/COLOR][/B]

The Mesolithic phase is the beginning of microlithic culture. This period is dated to 10000 BP. The quartz tools, char tools, blades (Geometrical shape tools like lunette, trapezes & Triangular are reported. These tools from Cryptocrystalinesilike.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]C. NEOLITHIC CULTURE OF PAKISTAN:[/COLOR][/B]

This place was replaced by the Proto-Historic event, such as world Famous Indus valley civilization / Harappan Civilization, the man of this era contributed a lot in agriculture, & demonstration of animals.

This stone age of Pakistan is the beginning of the settled life. It converted into villages & towns. The houses were for the 1st time constructed with burnt bricks. Ceramic traditions made its introduction. Three different techniques for pottery formation adopted.



1st-- Basket mark pottery

2nd-- Hand made ceramics

3rd-- Wheel made pottery

Kiln were made & used to make bricks & ceramics were baked. Clay figurines were replaced by terracotta figurine.

Terra cota heads, semiprecious stone were used which shows the long distance trade between Neolithic sites of Pakistan, Afghanistan & Iran.

Burial tradition & burial pottery in Pakistan started in this area. Cottonseed discovery in excavation indicating the weaving / Clothing industry. Different basic methods were used for these artifacts. i-e

I. Flanking

II. Grounding / Polishing

III. Pecking Technique

Sickle blades for Agriculture is also the significant achievement of this era.

The earliest settlement of this era is Meher Garh dated to 8215 B.C & its last phase is 2500 BC. This was the evolution birth of the great Indus civilization, which started from 2350 BC. The important sites are:

* Mehen Garh.

* Killi Gul Mohammad

* Quetta Valley locality 17, 24, 25 & 34

* Gumla, D.I. Khan

* Kot Dijji Sind

* Sherren Khan Tarakai Bannu.

* Takot Bridge Alai Hazara

* 103 caves in Las Baila

* lakehenjodara Sukker

* Jalipur 65 Km f Grappa.

* Saria Khola Taxila.

* Rehman Dheri D.I. Khan.



[B][COLOR="darkred"]PROTO HISTORY OF PAKISTAN[/COLOR][/B]

The sheltering, domestication of animals early agriculture & exploitation of plants & animals is specialty of early Holocene period.


[B][COLOR="darkred"]Period I. Neolithic[/COLOR][/B]

a: Aceramic Neolithic, 8200 B.C

b: Ceramic Neolithic 6th millennium BC.



[B][COLOR="darkred"]Period II. 6th millennium BC[/COLOR][/B]

a: Developed unorganized building.

b: early Chalocolithic.



[B][COLOR="darkred"]Period III. Second half of the 6th millennium BC (Chalcolithic Period)[/COLOR][/B]

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Period IV. Late chalocolithic (early Bronze age) 3500-3200 BC

Period V. Bronze age 3200-2500 BC[/COLOR][/B]


Pakistan’s Proto-History extended back into 2nd half of the 4th millennium BC. Photographic details / symbols, carved seals trademark, symbols, engraved pottery are significant specialist of this great phase.

The discovery & study of Amri has brought light on Pre-Harappan in Southern Sind. In early 60’s J.M casal made the 1st scientific & comprehensive investigation. He established the sequence of Pre & Early Harappan below the mature Harappan phase. In Early Harappan sites, bowls, Goblets, Vases, painted pottery, copper & bronze chert Blades, polychrome painted & geometric designs & figurines of birds & animals are striking element of this phase.

The planned, fortified architecture of the towns & villages is the main contribution of this era discoveries Terracotta figurine & artifacts of bronze & copper found at Rehman-Dhei, Mohenjo-Daro, Shahr-I-Soktha East Iran, and Mundigak Southern Afghanistan & Nimazgah Tepe Central Asia. Closely linked & resemble with each other.

The evidence of indigenous development of Indus Valley is available from early Harappan sites e.g. (Amri , Mehargarh , Kot Dijj, Gumls & Reham Dheri).

The Indus valley gave birth to one of the main & most accomplished urban system in the 3rd millennium BC. The urban system of Indus valley later developed under the sophisticated township, house, drainage, sewerage & drinking water supply planning & system.

The long distance trade, roads, baked bricks architecture, standardized weight, measures, seals with writing & Craft specialization, civic discipline & administration is the hall mark of this society, which is rarely witnessed in the then contemporary world. This civilization spread from the foothills of Himalayas to the Indian Gujarat, Rajisthan & Pak-Iran border land.

The ancient Pakistan developed an urban civilization contemporary to the Egyptian & Mesopotamian, but in many aspects for supervision to its western counter part in over all urban achievements. The cities of Harappa & Mohijo-Daro become the hallmark & birth of oriental Civilization South & Southwest Asia.



[B][COLOR="darkred"]POST-URBAN PHASE OF PAKISTAN [/COLOR][/B]

Around 2000 BC Pakistan Indus urban system declined & collapsed, the fragmentation of Indus civilization into Regional, & Rural culture developed the bases for post urban phase of Pakistan, for 1500 years the great planned cities of Indus civilization no longer existed. The scattered evidences of post urban culture are available in all over Pakistan’s different localities. This “Dark ages” dated form 18th – 19th century BC the arrival of Achaemenian in the 6th century BC.

Some sites of Balochistan, Sind & Punjab indicate the new arrival form Iran & Central Asia. The violent destruction of Rana-Ghundai & Dahar Kot in Northern Balochistan shows the fall of Indus civilization & rise of the new Aliens.

In the geometrical discoveries of Shah-i-Tump the copper stamp seals, copper shat-hole axe & painted gray pottery seals, copper pins with spiral loops or mushroom heads, painted pottery with naturalistic & abstract designs in monogichrome & polychrome have clear influence form Iran, Caucasus central Asia, Afghanistan & west. The post-urban phase of Pakistan divided 1st phase 18- 17th century BC. The characteristic of this phase is mud-bricks structures associated with large platform, yielded pottery, hand made coarse painted designs & figurines of Horses & Camels. The 2nd & 3rd phase (1370-1340 BC) &1000-80 BC respectively carry almost the same tradition as sub phase (18-17th century BC) but the last phase is with same introduction of Iranian influence.

Some of the Harappan (black on red) pottery also continued in these phases.


[B][COLOR="darkred"]Gandahara grave Culture[/COLOR][/B]

Northern valleys of Swat Dir & Chitral hundreds cemeteries founded & covering a span of over are 1000 year. To these sites the Italian Archaeologist called the Pre-Buddhist period. But later on they realized that these cemeteries belonged to Asakenios of lower & upper Swat. Despite the cemeteries site spreading in vast area of NWFP of the general categories of these graves are

a: Double pit/bi- Chamber graves

b: single pit/uni- Chamber graves.



[B][COLOR="darkred"]Disposal of the Deads:[/COLOR][/B]

1. Inhumation

2. Cremation

3. Fractional

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Funerary Goods:[/COLOR][/B]

* Vessels & pottery made on wheel

* Small, Medium & Large size jars

* Cooking pots

* Rectangular & square boxes.

* Bowls

* Drinking cups (gray & black ware)

* Beads (particular in female burial)

* Toilets objective.

* Copper & bronze pins.

* Short draggers

* Knives

* Swords

* Arrow Heads

* Spear

* Iron Artifices.

* Female figurines (Limited in No)



[B][COLOR="darkred"]Buddhist / Gandahara Art in Pakistan.[/COLOR][/B]

Hundreds of Buddhist sites yielded thousands of sculptural pieces during the last two hundreds years. The chronology of these Buddhist sculpture were started from 3rd Century B.C to 10th Century AD.

The Indus-Oxus regions cover the valleys of the Indus & Oxus & the territory between them. This land-mass comprised a number of ancient states, more or less independent among which (Uddiyana) (Malakand division) & Gandahara (Peshawar Valley) were situated in present Pakistan & Kapisa (Punjshir – Ghorband Valley) & Bactria Afghanistan. The sculpture of their states slightly different for each other.

Buddhist monuments such as Dharmarajika stupa at Taxila, the great stupa at Butkara, Asokan rock-edicts in Shahbaz-Garhi & Mansehra in the North-West-Frontier-Province of Pakistan & inscription near Jalalabad in Afghanistan suggest that Buddhism was introduced into this region by missionaries at the Asoka Maurya is the early half of the 3rd century BC or even earlier. It has been a dominant region here for about a millennium for the Artistic Buddhist activities.

The Buddhist at was religious & its purpose was the propagation of Buddhist but later on changed to the provision of cult objects.

In the upper Indus Valley two neighboring ancient states Uddiyana & Gandahara played a dominant role in the promotion & evolution of Buddhist art in Indus region. It was in the historical profile that these states developed a hybrid culture drawing influence form Persia, India, central Asia, Greece & Rome & which resulted in diversified artistic traits in Buddhist art.

The long march of academic pursuit can be summarized into three phases.

i. Antiquarian interest.

ii. Beginning of Systematic Archaeological Research.

iii. Reconstruction of Archaeo-Environment.

The latest research, based on the excavated material from various site in the Swat Valley bring us to the conclusion that the Swat Valley might have been the place where the origin of the Indus-oxus school took place.

Swat is beautiful but it might have been paradise in the past when its natural beauty was fully intact.

It is fall of Buddhist monuments but more 75% still remain to be explored that need serious attention of scholars, Govts & Privates sectors.


[B][COLOR="darkred"]Hindu Shahis of Pakistan:[/COLOR][/B]

Evidence for various archaeological sequence & historical monuments Pakistan has been the home of multiple culture devises in nature because of invasions & mass migrations from the North-West & East.

The indigenous Indus valley culture was fallowed by that of the Vedic people / Aryans, who came down from the steeps in (2000 BC).

Brahmanism culture was also enriched by the influx of traits from other alien nations-

* The Achaemenian of Persia

* Greeks

* Indians

* Bactrian Greeks

* Scythe – Parthian

* Kusanas

* Kusanao-Sassanians

* Huns


Form 6th century BC to 6th Century AD. The history of the Hindu Shahis can be traced back to the Turk Shahis of Kabal. The former was founded by Kallar, an usurper of the throne of Lankaturman, the last ruler of the Turks Shahi dynasty of Afghanistan, in AD 843.

He shifted his capital to Hund on (North West Frontier Province) the right Bank of the Indus, in the Peshawar Valley in due course of time the Hindu-Shahi rulers realized them suzerainty in other part of the Indus region. However the (world Famous) salt range in believed to the their stronghold as the frequency of the Hindu temples.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Epigraphy in Pakistan:[/COLOR][/B]

In the reconstruction of a history, or in studying the political, administration, legislative & dynastic records of extent civilizations. Epigraphy plays a very important role, as it provide a sure hosts for even line of research connected with its past.

Pakistan depends largely for its political & cultural history an art & architecture, numismatics, inscriptions & external records. The earliest literary references to the region were found for the 1st time in the oldest document of the indo-Aryans, the eigveda but a clear-cut & detailed definitions is found for the 1st time in the accounts of the visited Buddhist sites in Gandahara in the early 7th century AD. Portion of the ancient history of Pakistan is reconstructed mainly form the Literacy & archaeological evidences in the shape of inscriptions, coins & monuments is more important then Literacy record.

Local & foreign epigraphy mentions the region as early as the time of Darius 528-19 C-BC. The name Gandahara also appeared in Kambojas rock edict of Ashoka. During the conquest of Cyrus & the arrival of Islam, Pakistan was under the native sway for a few hundred years. Otherwise the country suffered a succession of foreign invaders.

* Achaemenian 558-327 BC

* Greek 327-05 BC

* Bactrian 190-90 BC

* Sakan 90- BC- 64 AD

* Kushan 64 AD – 460 AD

Who founded kingdoms in the region, thus left important material in shape of inscription & coins, which can be found through out the country.

The Indus Harappan Civilization seals & inscription is still on unsolved mystery. Many efforts have been already done & still continued, but unfortunately, it has not been solved. The art of writing in Pakistan Starts with the discovery of the Mauryan inscription. To day we know that in Pakistan the most popular earliest script was KHAROSHTHI, which was written for right to left. The script was in use for 3rd century BC to 3rd/ 4th century AD. Then this script was replaced by BRAHMI script which was more convenient for the local language with conquest from Arab Muslims, another type of script introduced called Arabic (8th A.D) was introduced. This script also passes through stages. The earliest was Kufic found at Mansura (Sind) the Tochi valley inscription shows that the Indian scripts were in use side by side with that of the Arabic & Persian script. 5000 different inscriptions have been recorded by Pak-German study group in 1979. Different script has been used in these inscriptions. i-e

* Kharoshthi

* Brahmi

* Sharda

* Sogdian

* Middle-Pessian

* Parthian

* Bactrian

* Chinese

* Hebrew

* Syrian

* Tibetan

* Arabic

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Rock Art in Pakistan:[/COLOR][/B]

The 1st great discovery of the 19th century in the history of archeological finds of Pakistan an inscribed seal picked up by Alexandra Cunningham from Harappa in 1873. But the recent Landmark discovery is neck-Griddle by a shepherdess. Thousands of rock carving documented in the upper Indus valley.

No wonder rock carving can be found in even other parts of Pakistan geographically speaking the upper Indus of high mountains. This area of Pakistan is a region of impressive mountains consisting Karakoram, Himalaya & Hind-Kush. The river Indus digging a number of deep gorges. Runs first between Haramosh & Karakoram & near Haramosh Indus River, changes its directions to the South. It is crossed by a number of routes, which since at least the 3rd century BC have served as trading link between China, central Asia & the Indo-Pak subcontinent. This mysterious world never have attracted the attention of the orient lists un till the discovery of 30000 carving engraved on the surface of cliffs, rocks & huge boulders found in various localities. This important region which played a backbone role in the commercial & cultural exchange between central Asia & the Indian world was badly ignored.

Apart form the religious or symbolic figures, some of these carving depict eroticism, fighting, dancing & hunting scenes.

Besides them, more then 5000 inscriptions have been recorded so far. In addition to the historic group of carving numerous prehistoric engraving we also found. Among them the foremost are the representation of

* Animals

* Giants

* Mask

* Mastoids

* Prints of hands & feet

* Anthropomorphic representation

What exactly are there carving? We may never be able to understand fully the origin & the specific role of all of them; it seem however that they played an important role in the religious, social & cultural in the religious, social & Cultural life of the than engravers.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Coinage in Pakistan:[/COLOR][/B]

The earliest indigenous coinage found in Pakistan & India were struck in Silver & Copper/ Commonly known as “Punch–Marked Coins” the manufacturing technique of their coin was “Punching with separate pressed dies”.

Some scholar are of the view that these coins were introduced in the 6th / 7th century BC. Some 10th century BC & some traces its origin in the beginning of 2nd Millennium BC.

The Puncher marked coins are reordered from Kabul valley, Pakistan and up to the Ganges valley in India, Which shows that these coins were widely circulated until the post Mauryan period.

The coins of Indu Greek Kings, very well known in Pakistan, and Afghanistan are among the 1st in the group of alien’s rulers.

There Greeks are called with different names such as

Ø Indus Greek

Ø Indo- Greeks 256 BC

Ø Indo Bactrian Greek (1st Century BC)

Ø Graeco- Bactrian.

The coins show Hellenistic influence having Greek deities, legends & fabrics. The issued coins in Silver, Copper and in Gold & Nickle in attic weight standards. 0

[COLOR="darkred"]The Indo – Greeks were succeeded by two dynasties i-e.[/COLOR]

- Scythians

- Parthian

In their coins along with Greek influence some Indians deities were added. Mouse, Azes I&II & Gondophares are important rules of their dynasties was ended on the arrival of another great dynasty “Kushans” who came from the North West border of China. The Khushan Period in regarded as the golden age in the history of Pakistan and Afghanistan & Sub Continent.

[COLOR="darkred"][B]The important kings of this dynasty are[/B][/COLOR]

* Kujula kadphises

* Wima I Takto

* Wima II Kadphises

* Kanishka I

* Huvishka

* Later Kushan Kings.

Their coins received great inspirations from Roman & Persian civilizations. Persian titles & deities with their names in Greek introduced. In lasted period the Indian deities and the image of Buddha was also depicted on the reverse side of the coin.

The Sassanians annexed the Kushans territory in Gandahara & Afghanistan region where as the Eastern part beyond the Indus River was still in the hands of Kushan Kings & were known as later Kushans.

The struck coins in gold, Silver & copper in their own style with famous Fire-altar symbol on the reverse and than gold coins known as Scyphates (Cup Shaped) are the imitations of Vasudeva I issues.

The age of Later Kushans & Kushans – Sassiness was ended up when Kidrites came to Power in the 4th Century AD. Later on they were also overrun by White Huns 5th century AD.

The coins of Huns rulers (Hindu Shahi) are very crude and rough & did not receive great fascinations by scholars. In Pakistan the other series of Coins are known from the time of Hindu- Shahi rules. The most coumarone typer was bull and horseman, Loin and elephant also in noteworthy. They established their kingdom in 9th century AD and continued up to 11th century AD. Their famous kings are:

* Vakkadeva

* Samantadeva

* Jaipal


[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]Muslim Dynasties: [/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Ghazanuids:[/COLOR][/B]

Islamic coins started from the time of Ghazanvids (of Afghanistan) who detoured the Hind Shahi dynasty. Thin coins are recorded in large number in Pakistan & recently from Gor Khutree site (Peshawar).

Ghaznavids coins are found in two different styles, one is typical central Asai Fabric with Arabic inscription and the other in the Indian style including the horseman with Nagri script.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Ghorids Dynasty:[/COLOR][/B]

The Ghorids Muslim dynasty came into power and established their rule in India and Pakistan with capital at Dehli.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Slave Dynasty:[/COLOR][/B]

The Ghorids were fallowed by Slave (Muslim) dynasty, struck his silver

“ Tankah” based on Tola weight (96 ratios) and billon of the slave dynasty the Kings 1290-1320 AD (Muslim) dynasty came to power. He introduced the square coins also beside “Tankah”.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Khiljis Dynasty:[/COLOR][/B]

The Khiljis dynasty fallowed by Muslim Tughlaq, who also followed Ghorids & Slave dynasty 1320-1413 dynasty & he received the total of the “ Prince of moneys” in the history of coins. He made several changes in great variety. His coins falls into deferent group.

Coin I: This category of coins are assigned to his father Known as
“Commemorative issues” stroking gold and silver.

a. Coin II: In this Class coins are known as “ Normal Issues” showing Great variety.

b. Coin III. Quranic inscriptions were appeared again on this issue.

c. Coin IV. Gold “Tankah” was increased with weight and called “Dinar” and also its denomination of half Dinar.

d. Coin V. Token Currency issued called “Dirham”.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Syyids:[/COLOR][/B]

The Tughlaq were succeeded by Muslim, Syyids (1414-1445) dynasty. They also issued special coins called “Bahluli” which become the principal coin of the period.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Suri Dynasty:[/COLOR][/B]

Sher Shah Suri expelled the Mughal King in (1538) and laid the foundation of the Suri dynasty. He issued large number of coins and called as Rupaya (Rupee) he also introduced a new copper coin called (Paisa) which retained by Mughal king Akbar under different name the “Dam” the later Mughal (Muslim) kings after Humayun 1555 AD introduced different coins with different inscription in very great verities. They also issued struck round and square coins in gold and silvers while thin copper coins are rare.

During Jehangir time even particular Mint and some were issued in the name of his beloved Queen Nur-Jehan born in Taj Mahal. After the disintegration of great Mughal dynasty. The Durrani Muslims family came to power they also included Persian couplets mint name, reginal dates, and with legal notices. This dynasty lost up to 1881 AD.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]Earliest Islamic Monuments in Pakistan
The construction of their phase of
Translation, An Analytical Study[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]


Since remote antiquity, the architect-masons of Iran, Central Asia and Indo-Pak sub-continent faced the problem of transforming a square chamber into a circular base for the reception of a hemispherical superstructure. Visualizing the scope of the problem, they devised and used various techniques and, gradually through years of experience gained through diverse building activities, achieved the solution of the problem—the arched squinch system.

Fischer has documented and explained numerous examples of these architectural contrivances used in the Buddhist, Sassanians, Hindu and Muslim monuments in his survey report on Afghanistan, and in his book on the religious and domestic .. secular architecture of the Indo-Pak sub-continent. He has described thirty different architectural devices for the construction of the zone of transition between the chamber and the dome. Among these, his types, #. 26-27 and 29-30 greatly help us in understanding the process of technical development from a simple corner stone-plate to the fully developed arched squinches.

Following is a description of some of the earliest domed mausoleums in Pakistan and the construction of their zone of transition. It is important to mention here that they are not dealt with in a chronological sequences, for all of them except the tomb of Khalid Walid are dated to the 12th – 13th centuries on the basis of their architectural style and decoration.

The tomb of Muhammad Harun, an Arab governor of Makran in the early years of the 8th century A.D, is regarded to be the earliest Muslim tomb in Pakistan. This brick structure is square in plan and the square chamber is directly covered by a low dome. Externally, each side of the square chamber is divided into two parts. The upper portion is profusely decorated with various friezes in cut-brick work up to the parapet level, and the lower portion is parceled out vertically into three rectangular panels, each having mud plaster of a later period. Internally the tomb chamber is converted into an octagon by means of simple pendentives beginning from the ground level, which support the dome.

The second specimen in the series is the so-called tomb of Khalid Walid at the village of Khattichaur near Kabirwala. According to the local information, Khalid Walid accompanied the armies of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni to Multan and settled here. The tomb building is flanked by an oblong vaulted chamber on the north and south sides and occupies the center of a large rectangular fortified complex. The square-domed mausoleum has four entrance, three of which are now closed and presently only the eastern entrance gives access to the tomb chamber. The square tomb chamber is converted into an octagon by means of corner-arched squinches. The arched squinches are executed by lying bricks in chevron pattern and their spandrels are filled with triangular stepped recess niches, an architectural device frequently used in the Muslims movements of Central Asia. The squinches and their spandrels at the tomb of Muhammad Abi Zahid Al Hanafi, Abu Hurira, Baba Rushnai and the mosque of Talkhatan Baba are provided with similar stepped recessed niches. These niches are not merely an architectural device of fill an otherwise obtrusive gap in the zone of transition, their primary function is to transform the octagonal zone of transition into a circular base for the reception of the dome.

The oblong chambers flanking the tomb of Khalid Walid were once valuated by means of Sassanians squinches. As far as this architectural device is concerned, it is the only monument in Pakistan where we come across Sassanians squinches. We have architectural evidence from Central Asia, and Afghanistan, where Sassanians squinches are used, both in Buddhist and Islamic monuments.

The historical inscription on the Mehrab informs us that Khalid Walid tomb complex was built on the order of Ali Bin Karmakh, a governor of Multan under the Ghourid dynasty.

A group of four tombs at Lal Mahra Sharif graveyard in Dera Ismail Khan district is in a class by itself. All of these tombs are square in shape with an arch opening on each side except the qibla, where a mehrab is accommodated in each case. In three tombs the dome is directly placed on square chamber with the help of arched squinches (p1. I a). The arched squinches, as well as their spandrels, are filled in with overlapping courses of corbelled bricks. The corbelled brick course in the spandrels of the squinches converts the zone of transition into a sixteen-sided area, which facilitates a round base for the dome. Only one tomb is build in three stages and seems to be the latest in the group. In this tomb, the squire chamber supports a high prominent octagonal zone of transition, surmounted by a dome. The construction of the zone of transition of the tomb deviates from the traditional style used in the other three tombs. Internally, the squire tomb chamber is converted into an octagon by arched squinches like the preceding tomb. Above the squinches runs a row of sixteen niches (p1 II b) replacing the corbelled bricks courses as seen in the spandrels of the squinches of the first three structures.

The two tombs in Aror and Sukkur district are also worth mentioning. One of them attributed to Sheikh Shakarganj and other to Khatalud Din Shah, along with this attribution has been recently challenged. Both these structures are squire in outline and have a rich cut-bricks decoration. In surface ornamentation they shows close similarity with the toms at Lal Mahra Sharif and certain tombs towers in Iran. In one tomb the enclosed squire chamber is converted into an octagon by means of corner squinches, and their splendors are filled in with a few courses of corbelled bricks transforming the octagonal zone of transition in to a sixteen-sided structure.

The second tomb resembles the preceding one in every respect. Internally the corner squinches have miniature niches created with in the brick masonry and similar niches have been documented in many other buildings.

The last example of the series is the tomb of Sheikh Sadan Shaheed, near village Jalaran, on the Muzaffar Garh – Jhang road. This brick tomb is square in plan and is erected on a high platform about two meters above the surrounding ground levels. The fine cut-brick decoration gives this tomb a unique place among the early funerary buildings in Pakistan and shows the impact and continuation of the Hindu-Buddhist architectural decoration, which is not found on early Muslim buildings in Pakistan. Internally the square chamber is converted into an octagon by means of corner squinches, which have a few courses of corbelled bricks.

The preceding analysis shows that arch squinches and corbelled brick courses have been used in the construction of the zone of transition. However, in the tombs of Lal Mahra Sharif both arched squinches and overlapping courses of corbelled brocks have been used in converting the square chamber into octagon. The co-existence of these two architectural devices, the arched squinches and the brick courses, in the formation of the zone of transition, suggests the antiquity of one of the methods and there can be little doubt that this is the corbelling system.

It is generally assumed that, prior to the advent of Islam in the sub-continent, buildings were usually constructed on the traditional terabit or corbelling method. The Muslims brought with them the idea of true arch construction. The local mason, trained for generations in the construction of pre-Muslim religious and secular buildings on traditional designs, was called upon to erect religious and domestic edifices for their Muslim patrons. Having no experience in arcuate system, the native architect mason was left with no choice but to use both the architectural contrivance of the arch introduced by the Muslims, and the indigenous technique of corbelling, in the early phase of Muslim architecture. After gaining experience in various building projects, they covered large and spacious square rooms with domes by means of corner-arched squinches. However, the older technique was not altogether discarded and we come across many later buildings where it co-existed with arched squinches.

In the construction of the squinches and the zone of transition, the fore mentioned mausolea in Pakistan closely resemble many monuments in Central Asia, dated to the 11th – 13th centuries. Stepped corbelled brick courses, employed in the squinches and the zones of transition of these monuments, have been described using various terms, such as “Stalactite” , “Corbelled” or “Projecting pedentives” , “Stufen pendentifs” or “ pendentif encorbellant”. Art-Historians describing Central-Asian buildings have usually called such devices “Parus” which means a honeycomb pattern.

In the mosque of Hakim –al-Termezi, the Daya Khatun Caravanserai, a tomb at Kassan and the tomb of Muhammad Basharo, the domes rests directly on corbelled brick courses executed in the shape of an inverted triangle. Similarly the dome of the mosque at Khara-Khoto was also erected on corbelled brick courses. This mosque lies in the south west portion of the outer city. It is reasonable to assume the Buddhist kingdom of Khara Khoto allowed Muslims to build a mosque, but not in the fortified city. Judging from the epigraphical evidence found in the excavation of the mosque, we can also conclude that Persians were living in Khara-Khoto city. Another variation of the construction of the zone of transition comes from the tomb of Alambardar and Astana Baba, where the dome is supported on arched squinches filled in by corbelled brick courses, and similar contrivances are also used in the phase of transition.

In the tomb of Ismail at Bokhara and Nasir bin Ali at Uzgand, the arched squinches are partitioned with a vertical rib while in the west mausoleum at Sayat, a vertical rib of herring bone patterns rests on a stepped niche framed by a rectangle. Another variation of squinch construction has been used in the tombs of Arab-Ata Tim, Duazdeh Imam at Yazd, Yarti Gumbad ar Sarakhs and Baba Hatim in Afghanistan. These squinches are trilobe in outline and have been designated muqarna squinches. Further examples of similar trilobe squinches, or their complicated derivatives can be found in Iran or Afghanistan.

The spanning of the corner of two walls meeting at right angles began in early centuries of the Christian era in Gandhara and Central Asia. The Buddhist architecture of these regions played a vital role in the construction of the zone of transition and the dome. In the Buddhist architecture of Gandhara, different techniques are documented to have been in vogue in converting a square cell into a circular base for the dome. In the Buddhist monasteries at Takht Bhai, Thareli and Kshmir Smast, pre formed schist slabs have been used to span the corner of two walls and subsequently facilitated a round base for the construction of the dome. In the Buddhist vihara at Sanghao, another technique has been used. In this case, instead of a single schist slab, overlapping projected stone blocks have been used to bridge the corners for the reception of the dome.

The Buddhist establishments of Central Asia speak of their own building techniques, but the main problem remains the same, the conversion of square rooms into a circular base for a dome. In the Buddhist ruins as Khotscho and Qunduz, Sassanians squinches have been used to transform a square room into a circular ring for the hemispherical superstructure. In the Ilikoel temple, a simple inverted triangular structure, the so-called “Turkish Triangle” have been employed to transform the square chamber into an octagon.

After the decline of Buddhism in Gandhara and the adjoining regions, Hinduism revived once again under the Hindu Shahi dynasty which held sway over Gandhara and the Punjab. (This dynasty was finally ousted from the political scene by Sultan Mahmud Ghazni in 1026 A.D). During the reign of the Hindu Shahis, numerous temples were erected in N.W.F.P and the salt range in Punjab. Scholars have different opinions on the style of architecture of these temples and their chronology. Lohuizen-de-Leeuw has grouped all these temples except the one at Malot, which exhibits strong Kashmirian affinities, under the name “The medieval Architecture of North West India”, while others see the development of separate school of architecture under the Shahi dynasty in Gandahara and the Punjab, and have termed it “The Shahi School of Architecture”.

The corbelling method of construction employed in the Buddhist monasteries of Gandahara was followed and used by the Hindus in their temple construction. In the Hundu temples at Kafir Kot (north) and (South) in Dira Ismail Khan District of NWFP and the temples at Kalar , Malto, Katas and Nandana in the salt Range in the Punjab and elsewhere, the domicile ceiling of the square cell is raised on several overlapping courses of corbelled bricks.

Dynastic changes have hardly influenced the art and crafts of the region. After the advent of Islam, the local workmen were employed to erect new buildings for worship and funerary rituals. They not only designed and erected new buildings for their Muslims patrons, they also modified and assimilated elements from Hindu Artistic traditions. Meister has fully explained this interaction between Muslims and Hindu traditions in his article on the “Two and Half Day Mosque” at Ajmer.

The above analysis fully explains the process of gradual development involved in the construction of the zone of transition between the polygonal chamber and the dome. A number of basic architectural devices were developed from indigenous building traditions, and other was borrowed from the neighboring cultural. These instructions between agricultural style and the decorative schemes of various ethnic and religious communities continued fro centuries and reached its culmination in the Muslim architectures of Central Asia, Iran and the Indo-Pak subcontinent.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"][SIZE="3"]Iranian Symbols in the Rock-Carvings of the Upper Indus Valley[/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]

Geographically speaking, the Upper Indus Valley and its affluent is a land of high mountains. This area, today known as the Northern Areas of Pakistan, is a region of impressive mountains like Karakorum, Himalaya and Hindu-Kush. Here is situated a big concentration of high peaks, extended glaciers and deep valleys. The Indus river, digging a number of deep gorges, running first between Himalaya and Karakorum and then, near Haramosh, changes its direction to the South keeping Himalaya on its left and Huindu-kush on its right. It is crossed by a number of routes, which, since at least the first century B.C., have served as trading links between China, Central Asia and the Indo-Pak sub-continent.

This mysterious world would have never been attracted the attention of the Orientalists until the discovery of thousands of rock carvings, engraved on the surface of rocks and huge boulders, found in various localities.

Although Sir A. Stein, the British surveyor, was the first to explore traces of ancient civilization in the upper reaches of the Indus valley in 1942, the real story of the discoveries only starts in 1979. K. Jettmar, German ethnologist, carrying out investigation since 1979 which resulted in recording of thousands of rock carvings and inscriptions in these valleys sandwiched by the Hindukush, Karakorum and Himalayan mountains.

The rock carvings are not only confined to the Upper Indus region, but are also attested long before elsewhere in other parts of the world. However the number of carvings registered and photographed by our German colleagues, so far, has never been found any where else. In fact, the importance of the upper Indus carvings is not their number but their multiplicity and different origins.

What exactly are these carvings? We may never be able to understand fully the origin and the specific role of all of them, it seems that however they played an important role in the religious, social and cultural life of their engravers. Some of the symbolic figures and other motifs carved on boulders may indicate decorative function rather than a cult.

The density and diversity of these carvings suggest the importance of this region on the one hand and a rich source of primary information for reconstructing history of the skill route from South Asia to China and Central Asia on the other. The building up of history o mankind would depend, however, largely on new research in these intermediary regions.

The commercial contact between Indian sub continent, Central Asia and China is confirmed by a number of evidences collected by our German, Pakistani and French colleagues in this respect. These materials are of various kinds and present different cultures such as Indian, Iranian, Chinese, etc. Among these carvings the most astonishing are Iranian symbols, altar, tamga or nisan and some Iranian motifs and characteristics in the animals and other carvings, etc. Besides them, we have a large number of inscriptions of Iranian origin. Almost all of them are already published by Sims-Williams and Humabch. The majority of the inscriptions are proper Iranian or sometimes Indian names. Really, they mention the locality name and the patronymic.

This record is augmented by the German and Pakistani explorers through their annual documentation. The materials we have recovered from Thor North, Shatial, Thalpan and other sites of this region and the exterior world….. attested by Indian, Iranian and Chinese inscriptions. Furthermore, the frequency of contact and commercial exchange between India and Iranian is reveled by the discovery of Iranian symbols.

K. Jettmar had discussed a small number of symbols such as a single altar, some tamgas or nisans and a few Iranian motifs. Following him, his German colleagues not only increased the quantity of these symbols through their explorations, but they also found variety of new symbols, I hope, shall provide more information about the contact of this region with the Iranian world.

Although Iranian symbols and motifs may seem relatively insignificant as compared to other such as those of animals, Stupas, etc. a detailed study of them has revealed an important aspect of trade in this valley. The Iranian influence is found in different objects, particularly in the animal carvings, but the most striking feature is the Sogdian inscriptions, altars and the tamgas or nisans. They are to be classified in four different groups: Sogdian inscriptions, rock art, altars and tamgas or nisans. I do not consider it necessary in this study to recall the first two groups, which are discussed at large by K. Jetmar, H. Humbach and N. Sims-Williams. Furthermore, there is nothing new to be presented in this regard. The aim of the present paper is, however, to focus on some of the Iranian symbols, tamgas or nisans and the identification of altars (by comparing them with those found on coins, ceramics and other objects) on typological basis. These symbols were found, so far, in five different sites of Chilas region (Shatial, Thor North, Helor Das West, Oshibat, and Thalpan) in Hunza and in Baltistan.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]ALTARS:[/COLOR][/B]

The altars so far recorded in the Upper Indus region are those found at Thor North, Shatial, Thalpan iii, Oshibat and in Baltistan. The shapes of these altars are not similar but there is a remarkable uniformity in their upper part, called “horns”. These altars should be classified into two principal groups: (1) altars without ribbons and (2) altars with ribbons.



[B][COLOR="darkred"]1. Altars without Ribbons:[/COLOR][/B]

This group presents more altars as compared to the second one. Except for two altars of Thor North, the rest were represented with an object in the center of the horns. The slight difference in shapes of these altars allows us to classify further them into two different types: (1) altars with object and

[B][COLOR="darkred"](ii) altars without object.[/COLOR][/B]

I: As compared to the altars of the second type we have more representations of this type. The object in the middle is generally marked with different forms…. Either wedge shaped. (Fig 1.1), square-shaped (Fig 1.2), cone shaped (Fig 1.3) or a bulbous thing (Fig 1.4).

Two of the Thalpan iii altars are represented with cone-shaped objects in the middle of the horns. These were already published by A.H. Dani. According to him the upper part may be a trident or building lotus. He says, “It shows two tridents on altars and comes from Thalpan iii. The lower one has banners to the right and left. But the tridents do not have just prongs. They appear more like the budding petals of a lotus. In that case they may also be taken to be budding lotus, which is another symbol of Vishnu.

We do not know exactly that dos these objects mean? Dos they represent a fire? The similarity between the altars of the Upper Indus region and those found on coins, particularly on those of Kushan, Kushano-Sassanid and Hephthalite, or altars carved on the pedestal of sculptures, may suggest to suppose that the object in the middle might be the representation of a fire. On coins, the flames are generally marked by wavy lines, a cone shaped object or a circle.



ii: The second type is represented only by two examples, found at Thor North (Fig 1.5,6). But the representation of this type is very common on coins, particularly on those of Kushan. The similar examples are also found on the seals of Bhita, India. One of these seals (n 99) should be dated, according to the triangular head of the Brahmi letters, to the 5th century A.D. The shape of our type ii is also similar to the pedestal of Tulsi tree, consecrated to Vishnu.

The second group is represented only by a single example from Thalpan iii, showing the upper part similar the other one engraved on the same boulder (see supra, i.i). A sigle piece of the ribbon is attached to its either side, right and left (Fig 1.3). The altars with ribbons or banners are also found on coins of the Kushano-Sassanids and Hepthalites. But the triangular shape of the ribbons that we have in this region have never come across so far.

Whether these are Iranian altars or Indian symbols? In the absence of full-scale data, the prelude conclusion will be uncertain. But by comparing with altars found on pedestals and coins, I suppose with great reserve that, these symbols may represent the Iranian fire altars. In this respect we can take the most beautiful example sculpted on the pedestal of the statue Surya (dated to 1st / 2nd A.D). Except for the object in the middle, the Surya image altar is very close to those of Shatial (un-published).

It is very interesting to note that Brahmi inscriptions accompany most of these altars. I am not sure that, in all these examples, both the carvings and inscriptions were the work of the same hand. But, as far as the two examples of Thro North are concerned (Fig 15, 6), they may be engraved by the same person. This conclusion is drawn from the degree of patination and similarity of technique of their carving. One of the two inscriptions mention purely an Indian proper name in nominative case (Isvaraguta) and the other one may be either an Indian onomatopoeic name Kala Crow, or the Indian word, meaning, “paternal uncle” It should be also noted that one of these examples is situated in hindou context – altar with a devotee, trisula and Brahmi inscription. The presence of these inscriptions also suggests that the above-mentioned symbols may present some things other than Iranian altars. This question remains open.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]NISANS:[/COLOR][/B]

One of the most striking and original feature of the Upper Indus Valley carvings are the Iranian symbols, called tamgas or nisans. These two terms, particularly tamga, were frequently used for designating some Iranian and other symbols, normally found on the coins. Literally, these two terms give almost the same meanings, but as to be used as a technical term, it requires a clear definition. Actually, tamga is a Turkish term which means “a medal” while, the nisan is an Iranian word meaning “a mark” “ a signal” “a trace” or “a sign” etc. If we try to understand the circumstances under which these symbols have been drawn on the boulders by travelers, merchants etc. from different regions and thus leaving their signs or marks. It is due to these symbols and marks that they can be identified. It is for this reason, I think, that the tem nisan better explains the solution, and is why I prefer to use it in this paper.

Many symbols “nisans” were recovered from the rock-carvings in the Upper Indus Valley and the adjoining affluents. All of them are not of the same kind and may not be contemporary as well. They are classified in four main groups.

I. The first group, found at Thor North is marked with a single nisan. The symbol is engraved on a boulder which among other carvings, also contain a Sogdian inscription. This type of sign is generally attested on the Hephthalite coins but its origin may go to the Sassanid coins of Shahpur ii. The presence of the Sogdian inscription and similarity of the symbol to those found on the Sassanid and Hephthalite coins leave no doubt that it belongs to 4th or 5th century A.D. On the same boulder and on the left side of the above symbol, there is another one similar to the English letter “S”. As the patina and the technique show, both of them were engraved, probably, by the same hand. I cannot say whether this motif also presents a nisan or a trade mark, because I have not yet found similar symbols on coins. However, it is found on Chinese pottery. This is one of the most widely used element in the decoration of Pan shah (China) urns and is used either as a single motif or in a wide variety of composition. This sign also reminds me the ideogram, engraved on a rock at Ngri, Tibet.

II.The symbols of the second group were found in the Hunza carvings, at Helor Das West, Thor North and Shatial. The first one is already published but incorrectly identified by A.H. Dani. He says, “Nearby is a pedestalled pipal leaf with two upright horns. It is difficult to determine the purpose of these two symbols. The Hunza symbol is also called Gondopharean because it is mostly attested on the Parthian coins, particularly on those of Gondophares, Otane and Sanabares ii. But the earliest record of the use of this symbol may be that found on coins of Orodes ii struck in Parthia which can be dated to around 50 B.C. This symbol is generally considered to be a “sun and moon” similar symbol is also on Sogdian coins of 8th century A.D. Other types of symbols of the same group are presented in more evolved forms. But there is difference between the Thor North nisans and those of Shatial. Actually the difference is in the middle part of the symbols. At Thor North they are semi square or semi circle, while at Shatial all of them have a round middle part. The shatial symbols are probably carved by the same person.

III. The most remarkable symbol is that of a whirl of three hooks, turning in the same direction, almost identical to the Celtic triscele. There are six examples discovered so far: five from the site of Thor North and only one, an unfinished, from Helor Das West. But the three examples which should be quoted here were carved with full attention and interest. It is interesting to note that these three symbols, although quite similar, are presented in three different ways. The first one is a whirl hook with four dots in different parts and a small narrow hook, attached to the upper principal hook. The second one is like the first one, but it without a small extra hook and has single dot in the centre. The third symbol is identical to the second one but without a dot. This means that these symbols were either carved by three different hands or by a single person conveying different meanings.

The above symbol is already recorded on Sogdian coins (670 century A.D.) and according to K. Jettmar, it was also used as a heraldic sign in Sogdiana.

We do not know exactly where did the above symbol come from? But on the basis of comparison with other symbols or motif of the same type or nearly the same type, discovered from different areas might provide a clue for its basis significance and origin.

The first reference may be made, in this context, to a women skeleton ornamented with gold leaves. The principle of forming the leaf, particularly the middle one, is almost the same as the nisan of this region. The skeleton was found in Altai.

J. Reads published a catalogue of silver currency from Achaemenid Babylon. Almost the same symbol, as found on the Sogdian coins, is marked on one of the coins of the catalogue. A small circle with three hooks on outer circle and three dots in each angle of the hooks represent it. Similar symbols, without the circle, are also found on punch-marked coins.

Mention should also be made to another similar example found on a golden plate, recovered from a tomb at Kossika in the North of Caspian. The central part is formed by a triangle and the whirls by the representation of three griffins. The points or holes are here almond-shaped, decorated with the incision of gems or coloured pieces of glass. The central part is without dot. This plate could be dated to 7th / 6th century B.C.

Recently, in the article of B.B. Lal, my attention was attracted by one of the most interesting motif painted in black on pottery, commonly known as the painted grey ware. The motif is made with two concentric circles with a dot in the middle and three semi-concentric circles, equally added with dots, attached symmetrically to the outer surfaces of the concentric circles. The painted grey ware settlement, found at Hastinapura (India), was dated to 1100-800 B.C. The motif is almost similar to the symbol of this region. The only difference that could be made are the double parallel lines in the painted grey ware motif while the symbol under discussion is represented with more simplified form.

In central western Iran, some sherds of painted pottery (2400-2200 B.C.) were recovered, having motifs designed like that of Hastinapura pottery – multiple concentric circles with the addition of three other parts, attached to the outer surface of the concentric circles. The outer parts, unlikely, were not represented by a whirl hooks but some wavy lines.

Another particular type of decoration on the interiors of the bowls of Proto-Machia-Yao style (3900-3600 B.C.) (china) is based on the same principle. It has concentric circles that have a turned-back hook. There is a dot in the middle of circle and in each curve of the hook.

It may be emphasized that after studying physical features of the series of symbols and motifs, one can reach this conclusion that all these symbols were formed under two basic principles. The first type is made with two parts: the central ( a circle of triangle) and the outer (whirl hooks or wavy lines). In this type we can classify the Achaemenid and Sigdian coin symbols, the ceramic and and Kosikka plate motif. While the second type is marked by a three-whirled hooks rotating around an un précised point. The nisans of this region and the Altai motif closely fit in the second type.

The identification of symbol as a nisan is based on the similarity of the Achaemenid and Sogdian coin symbols but the relation between all these symbols and motifs is difficult to understand. In fact, the real difficulty is the long gap between the time when the motif was in use and that when the symbol was first attested on the Achaemenide coin and later on Sogdian coins. Unfortunately, there is no evidence so far to fill this gap.

The exact origin of our nisan cannot be determined with surety. But,it is possible to argue that the formal similarity between all these symbols and motifs was conscious rather than accidental. It can be supposed that, in the beginning, this symbol was used as a motif but later the Achaemenid and Sogdian adopted it as an identification mark for their coins. The Sogdian as a heraldic sign used it also.

There is enough evidence to show that the Parthaians, Sogadians, Sassanians, and Hephthalieties, who successively came to this region not only carved their names & religious symbols but they also engraved their clan or tribalsigns & monarchic symbols.these overwhelming Iranian evidence gives us a surprising insight not only in political and cultural contacts between Central Asia and Indian subcontinent but the appearance of nisans and altars contact is not only confirmed by the Iranian symbols and motifs but also by the Sogdian and other inscription.



[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Introduction of Swat:[/COLOR][/B]

The charming Swat, a peaceful and fascinating tract in the lap of vegetative sky-high mountains, with eternal snow on their lofty crests, is an everlasting source of attraction for the visitors. Its beauty attracts tourists from all over the world to enjoy the soothing and serene sceneries, and the friendly behavior of its inhabitants. A visitor entered in

Pakistan would never be contented without roaming about Swat.
The area of Swat is 4000 sq. miles with a population of about 1250000. Its height is not similar but varies from 2500 ft. to 7500 ft. above sea level.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]Colonization:[/COLOR][/B]

Due to its fertile soil and favorable climatic conditions, Swat has been the abode of various nations and subjected to historical events from time to time. Though this valley has an ancient history, but in the light of historical documents, its recorded history begins with Alexander The Great, who conquered Swat in 326 BC.

Alexander defeated Persia, thenceforth, he entered Swat via Kunar in 326 BC. Buddhism was in full bloom here. The Buddhist ruler fought the Greek invader, but was defeated. Having conquered Swat Alexander proceeded on along the Right Bank of Swat River. Reached Bandai in Nekpikheil, he crossed the river and camped near Manglor. He continued journey through the mountainous passes of Onra, and crossed Indus.

The well-known general of Alexander, Salukis, gave Swat to Chandragupta back in 304 BC. Another Buddhist king, Kanishka, shifted his capital from Peshawar to Swat so that he may be peaceful enough to worship his deities with full satisfaction. Then Raja Ram Batti and many other great personalities ruled Swat, and worshipped their gods with full peace and meditation in cloisters. Raja Gira was the last Buddhist ruler of Swat, who was defeated by Mahmood of Ghazni.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]The Arrival of Afghans:[/COLOR][/B]

In eleventh century, Khwaja Ayyaz went on the Right Bank of Swat River and conquered the areas of Adenzee, Shamozee, Nekpikheil and so on. Mahmood went on the Left Bank of the river, when he reached Hudigram, there was the fort of Raja Gira, strongly built on a high peak. Mahmood commanded the conquest of this fort to an adroit general, Peer Khushal. The conquest of the fort was much more risky, but the order of the supreme commanderwas complied with.

Taking charge, the creative minded general besieged the fort for three days and cut off the underground connection of water link. On the forth day, he attacked the fort. The attack was a serious one and many soldiers were martyred, including Peer Khushal himself, but the fort was captured and since then Mahmood proceeded on and captured the whole Swat.

After conquering Swat, Mahmood settled two tribes of Afghan here, i.e. Swati and Dalazak, and went back. Both these tribes were living a happy life till they were driven away by the Yousafzai tribe of Pathans.

[B][COLOR="darkred"]The Entrance of Yousafzai Tribe:[/COLOR][/B]

King of Kabul, Raja Alagh Baig, who was dethroned by his own tribe, called the help of Yousafzai to gain the imperial power of Afghanistan once again. All the chiefs, and Sardars of the Yousafzai came and supported him strongly.

They fought a battle against Tajack, and Alagh Baig became the King of Kabul again. Since then, Yousafzai got an authoritative position in Kabul court and army. The Yousafzai tribe was settled there permanently. But as the king was a Tajack, his wife was Tajack, his friends, and his relatives, shortly all of the concerned people were Tajacks, so the men of his tribe confided him. They told the king that he would be afflicted by Yousafzai one day, because Yousafzai were not from his own race and all the key-posts were in their hands, therefore, they should be removed.

Since then Alagh Baig schemed that the Yousafzai should be attacked at night while they are in sound sleep. His army did so, but the force of the king was defeated badly. When the elders of Yousafzai protested, the king cunningly expressed deep sorrows and assured them that some robbers might have taken the action. Alagh Baig now made another plan. He invited all the chiefs of Yousafzai and attacked them while they set to eat. All of the heads were killed, but only two of them, Sardar Malak Ahmed and Sheikh Malee, escaped. Both of the leaders migrated to Peshawar valley along with their tribe-men.

Having been there for a period of time, they visited their Afghan Brothers, Swati and Dalazak, in Swat, to win their sympathy. But they, the Yousafzai, were soon attracted by the natural properties of this area. It should be mentioned here that the Yousafzai learned the art of betrayal from Tajack. So they compelled the originally settled Swati and Dalazak to quit Swat, who crossed Indus and took refuge in western Hazara district (Even now, some of the remnants of Swati and Dalazak tribes are found in the remote corners of Swat).

Sheikh Mali distributed all the land among the male members of families of his tribe. According to this scheme, these families would change their villages after each decade, and the land of the new village would be distributed among the male family members. (Finally, the land was allotted permanently under the auspices of Bacha Sahib within a period of five years i.e. from 1924 to 1929, and the nomadic life of the residence of this area came to an end.).

Sheikh Malee introduced the units of land also. The smallest unit of land was Damray, while the largest unit was Rupee. Having no ruling authority, Swat was subjected to lawlessness and disorder. Internecine feuds were the common feature of this tract. When they were tired of mutual bloodshed, they wanted to choose an impartial man to solve their problems and disputes. For this purpose they called Syed Akbar Shah, but after ruling for five years he died. The next personality convened was Syed Abdul Jabbar Shah. He was a good scholar, and statesman with majestic port. But a well reputed learned man, Sandakay Mullah soon blamed him as Qadyani (a person having belief in the prophet-hood of Mirza Ghulam Amad Qadyani), and so Abdul Jabbar left Swat.

In this connection, the other man was Miangul Abdul Wadood, the grandson of Mian Abdul Ghafoor (Sahib-e-Swat). The people entrusted Miangul Abdul Wadood with power in 1915 (But he was formally crowned in 1916 by the council (JARGA) of the chiefs of Swat in the grassy ground of Kabal). (He was the man of vigor and high determination. Formerly, he was the ruler of Swat valley only, but slowly and gradually, he expanded the border of Swat up to Gilgit. Later on he retired and his elder son, Miangul Abdul Haq Jehanzeb was crowned as the “Wali of Swat”. Ruling time of Jehanzeb is considered as the golden period in the history of Swat. All of his reforms i.e. schools, colleges, hospitals, roads, and other communication system were matchless. There was a complete peace and order in Swat. But having the foresight of the future politics and the reaction of the nation, he gave up the ruling power in 1969.

It is painful to recount the events of the recent past. The fascinating valley of swat, during the Ex-Wali regime, presented a picture of the worldly paradise. The Wali of Swat, with unique sense of possession left no stone unturned in beautifying and developing each and every sector of Swat. He did his best, and had very lofty plans for the future. It had no match, and the visitors from all over the world had emotional attachment with the state.

Iqbal And Pakistan Movement
 

[CENTER][SIZE="3"][B][COLOR="DarkRed"]IQBAL AND PAKISTAN MOVEMENT[/COLOR][/B][/SIZE][/CENTER]

Although his main interests were scholarly, Iqbal was not unconcerned with the political situation of the, country and the political fortunes of the Muslim community of India. Already in 1908, while in England, he had been chosen as a member of the executive council of the newly-established British branch of the Indian Muslim League. In 1931 and 1932 he represented the Muslims of India in the Round Table Conferences held in England to discuss the issue of the political future of India. And in a 1930 lecture Iqbal suggested the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of India. Iqbal died (1938) before the creation of Pakistan (1947), but it was his teaching that "spiritually ... has been the chief force behind the creation of Pakistan."

Iqbal joined the London branch of the All India Muslim League while he was studying Law and Philosophy in England. It was in London when he had a mystical experience. The ghazal containing those divinations is the only one whose year and month of composition is expressly mentioned. It is March 1907. No other ghazal, before or after it has been given such importance. Some verses of that ghazal are:

Your civilization will commit suicide with its own daggers.
A nest built on a frail bough cannot be durable.
The caravan of feeble ants will take the rose petal for a boat
And inspite of all blasts of waves, it shall cross the river.

I will take out may worn-out caravan in the pitch darkness of night.
My sighs will emit sparks and my breath will produce flames.

For Iqbal it was a divinely inspired insight. He disclosed this to his listeners in December 1931, when he was invited to Cambridge to address the students. Iqbal was in London, participating in the Second Round Table Conference in 1931. At Cambridge, he referred to what he had proclaimed in 1906:

I would like to offer a few pieces of advice to the youngmen who are at present studying at Cambridge ...... I advise you to guard against atheism and materialism. The biggest blunder made by Europe was the separation of Church and State. This deprived their culture of moral soul and diverted it to the atheistic materialism. I had twenty-five years ago seen through the drawbacks of this civilization and therefore had made some prophecies. They had been delivered by my tongue although I did not quite understand them. This happened in 1907..... After six or seven years, my prophecies came true, word by word. The European war of 1914 was an outcome of the aforesaid mistakes made by the European nations in the separation of the Church and the State.

Building upon Sir Sayyid Ahmed's two-nation theory, absorbing the teaching of Shibli, Ameer Ali, Hasrat Mohani and other great Indian Muslim thinkers and politicians, listening to Hindu and British voices, and watching the fermenting Indian scene closely for approximately 60 years, he knew and ultimately convinced his people and their leaders, particularly Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah that:

"We both are exiles in this land. Both longing for our dear home's sight!"

"That dear home is Pakistan, on which he harpened like a flute-player, but whose birth he did not witness."

[CENTER][B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Iqbal and Politics[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B] [/CENTER]

These thoughts crystallised at Allahabad Session (December, 1930) of the All India Muslim League, when Iqbal in the Presidential Address, forwarded the idea of a Muslim State in India:

I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Provinces, Sind and Baluchistan into a single State. Self-Government within the British Empire or without the British Empire. The formation of the consolidated North-West Indian Muslim State appears to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of the North-West India.

The seed sown, the idea began to evolve and take root. It soon assumed the shape of Muslim state or states in the western and eastern Muslim majority zones as is obvious from the following lines of Iqbal's letter, of June 21, 1937, to the Quaid-i Azam, only ten months before the former's death:

A separate federation of Muslim Provinces, reformed on the lines I have suggested above, is the only course by which we can secure a peaceful India and save Muslims from the domination of Non-Muslims. Why should not the Muslims of North-West India and Bengal be considered as nations entitled to self-determination just as other nations in India and outside India are.

There are some critics of Allama Iqbal who assume that after delivering the Allahbad Address he had slept over the idea of a Muslim State. Nothing is farther from the truth. The idea remained always alive in his mind. It had naturally to mature and hence, had to take time. He was sure that the Muslims of sub-continent were going to achieve an independent homeland for themselves. On 21st March, 1932, Allama Iqbal delivered the Presidential address at Lahore at the annual session of the All-India Muslim Conference.

In that address too he stressed his view regarding nationalism in India and commented on the plight of the Muslims under the circumstances prevailing in the sub-continent. Having attended the Second Round Table Conference in September, 1931 in London, he was keenly aware of the deep-seated Hindu and Sikh prejudice and unaccommodating attitude. He had observed the mind of the British Government. Hence he reiterated his apprehensions and
suggested safeguards in respect of the Indian Muslims:

In so far then as the fundamentals of our policy are concerned, I have got nothing fresh to offer. Regarding these I have already expressed my views in my address to the All India Muslim League. In the present address I propose, among other things, to help you, in the first place, in arriving at a correct view of the situation as it emerged from a rather hesitating behavior of our delegation the final stages of the Round-Table Conference. In the second place, I shall try, according to my lights to show how far it is desirable to construct a fresh policy now that the Premier's announcement at the last London Conference has again necessitated a careful survey of the whole situation.

It must be kept in mind that since Maulana Muhammad Ali had died in Jan. 1931 and Quaid-i Azam had stayed behind in London, the responsibility of providing a proper lead to the Indian Muslims had fallen on him alone. He had to assume the role of a jealous guardian of his nation till Quaid-i Azam returned to the sub-continent in 1935.

The League and the Muslim Conference had become the play-thing of petty leaders, who would not resign office, even after a vote of non-confidence! And, of course, they had no organization in the provinces and no influence with the masses.

During the Third Round-Table Conference, Iqbal was invited by the London National League where he addressed an audience which included among others, foreign diplomats, members of the House of Commons, Members of the House of Lords and Muslim members of the R.T.C. delegation. In that gathering he dilated upon the situation of the Indian Muslims. He explained why he wanted the communal settlement first and then the constitutional reforms. He stressed the need for provincial autonomy because autonomy gave the Muslim majority provinces some power to safeguard their rights, cultural traditions and religion. Under the central Government the Muslims were bound to lose their cultural and religious entity at the hands of the overwhelming Hindu majority. He referred to what he had said at Allahabad in 1930 and reiterated his belief that before long people were bound to come round to his viewpoint based on cogent reason.

In his dialogue with Dr. Ambedkar Allama Iqbal expressed his desire to see Indian provinces as autonomous units under the direct control of the British Government and with no central Indian Government. He envisaged autonomous Muslim Provinces in India. Under one Indian union he feared for Muslims, who would suffer in many respects especially with regard to their existentially separate entity as Muslims.

Allama Iqbal's statement explaining the attitude of Muslim delegates to the Round-Table Conference issued in December, 1933 was a rejoinder to Jawahar Lal Nehru's statement. Nehru had said that the attitude of the Muslim delegation was based on "reactionarism." Iqbal concluded his rejoinder with:

In conclusion I must put a straight question to punadi Jawhar Lal, how is India's problem to be solved if the majority community will neither concede the minimum safeguards necessary for the protection of a minority of 80 million people, nor accept the award of a third party; but continue to talk of a kind of nationalism which works out only to its own benefit? This position can admit of only two alternatives. Either the Indian majority community will have to accept for itself the permanent position of an agent of British imperialism in the East, or the country will have to be redistributed on a basis of religious, historical and cultural affinities so as to do away with the question of electorates and the communal problem in its present form.

Allama Iqbal's apprehensions were borne out by the Hindu Congress ministries established in Hindu majority province under the Act of 1935. Muslims in those provinces were given dastardly treatment. This deplorable phenomenon added to Allama Iqbal's misgivings regarding the future of Indian Muslims in case India remained united. In his letters to the Quaid-i Azam written in 1936 and in 1937 he referred to an independent Muslim State comprising North-Western and Eastern Muslim majority zones. Now it was not only the North-Western zones alluded to in the Allahabad Address.

There are some within Pakistan and without, who insist that Allama Iqbal never meant a sovereign Muslim country outside India. Rather he desired a Muslim State within the Indian Union. A State within a State. This is absolutely wrong. What he meant was understood very vividly by his Muslim compatriots as well as the non-Muslims. Why Nehru and others had then tried to show that the idea of Muslim nationalism had no basis at all. Nehru stated:

This idea of a Muslim nation is the figment of a few imaginations only, and, but for the publicity given to it by the Press few people would have heard of it. And even if many people believed in it, it would still vanish at the touch of reality.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]Iqbal and the Quaid-i Azam[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

Who could understand Allama Iqbal better than the Quaid-i Azam himself, who was his awaited "Guide of the Era"? The Quaid-i Azam in the Introduction to Allama Iqbal's letters addressed to him, admitted that he had agreed with Allama Iqbal regarding a State for Indian Muslims before the latters death in April, 1938. The Quaid stated:

His views were substantially in consonance with my own and had finally led me to the same conclusions as a result of careful examination and study of the constitutional problems facing India and found expression in due course in the united will of Muslim India as adumbrated in the Lahore Resolution of the All-India Muslim League popularly known as the "Pakistan Resolution" passed on 23rd March, 1940.

Furthermore, it was Allama Iqbal who called upon Quaid-i Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to lead the Muslims of India to their cherished goal. He preferred the Quaid to other more experienced Muslim leaders such as Sir Aga Khan, Maulana Hasrat Mohani, Nawab Muhammad Isma il Khan, Maulana Shaukat Ali, Nawab Hamid Ullah Khan of Bhopal, Sir Ali Imam, Maulvi Tameez ud-Din Khan, Maulana Abul Kalam, Allama al-Mashriqi and others. But Allama Iqbal had his own reasons. He had found his "Khizr-i Rah", the veiled guide in Quaid-i Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah who was destined to lead the Indian branch of the Muslim Ummah to their goal of freedom. Allama Iqbal stated:

I know you are a busy man but I do hope you won't mind my writing to you often, as you are the only Muslim in India today to whom the community has right to look up for safe guidance through the storm which is coming to North-West India, and perhaps to the whole of India.

Similar sentiments were expressed by him about three months before his death. Sayyid Nazir Niazi in his book Iqbal Ke Huzur, has stated that the future of the Indian Muslims was being discussed and a tenor of pessimism was visible from what his friends said. At this Allama Iqbal observed:

There is only one way out. Muslim should strengthen Jinnah's hands. They should join the Muslim League. Indian question, as is now being solved, can be countered by our united front against both the Hindus and the English. Without it our demands are not going to be accepted. People say our demands smack of communalism. This is sheer propaganda. These demands relate to the defence of our national existence.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]He continued:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]


The united front can be formed under the leadership of the Muslim League. And the Muslim League can succeed only on account of Jinnah. Now none but Jinnah is capable of leading the Muslims.

Matlub ul-Hasan Sayyid stated that after the Lahore Resolution was passed on March 23, 1940, the Quaid-i Azam said to him:

Iqbal is no more amongst us, but had he been alive he would have been happy to know that we did exactly what he wanted us to do.

But the matter does not end here. Allama Iqbal in his letter of March 29, 1937to the Quaid-i Azam had said:

While we are ready to cooperate with other progressive parties in the country, we must not ignore the fact that the whole future of Islam as a moral and political force in Asia rests very largely on a complete organization of Indian Muslims.

According to Allama Iqbal the future of Islam as a moral and political force not only in India but in the whole of Asia rested on the organization of the Muslims of India led by the Quaid-i Azam.

The "Guide of the Era" Iqbal had envisaged in 1926, was found in the person of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The "Guide" organized the Muslims of India under the banner of the Muslim League and offered determined resistance to both the Hindu and the English designs for a united Hindu-dominated India. Through their united efforts under the able guidance of Quaid-I Azam Muslims succeeded in dividing India into Pakistan and Bharat and achieving their independent homeland. As observed above, in Allama Iqbal's view, the organization of Indian Muslims which achieved Pakistan would also have to defend other Muslim societies in Asia. The carvan of the resurgence of Islam has to start and come out of this Valley, far off from the centre of the ummah. Let us see how and when, Pakistan prepares itself to shoulder this august responsibility. It is Allama Iqbal's prevision.

Pakistan Movement and the Challenge Today
 

[CENTER][SIZE="3"][B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Pakistan Movement and the Challenge Today[/COLOR][/B][/SIZE][/CENTER]

While there are many reasons for Pakistanis to complain and express their despair, maybe one thing we could all celebrate about on this year's Pakistan Day is the rise in Pakistan's literacy rate. Yes, despite the tightening of educational resources in Pakistan, the extraordinary voluntary efforts of concerned Pakistanis, as well as the human development programs have resulted in the highest growth in Pakistan's literacy rate in a decade!

Nations celebrate national days to rejoice and celebrate the fruits of freedom and progress. On March 23rd, also known as the Pakistan Day, every year, Pakistanis commemorate the Pakistan Resolution, which was passed in 1940 in Lahore. However, at this critical juncture of our checkered history, we must pause to assess our achievements and reflect on the missed opportunities dispassionately.

Pakistan Day is certainly a time for every Pakistani to review the rich and dynamic history of Pakistan.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Muslims in South Asia[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

Muslims in India were not an occupying force as the current Hindu fundamentalist government of India is trying to depict in its revision of history which is being protested by all historians in India. Waves of people came to India along with the Aryans who brought features of Hinduism with them. Among these waves were some Central Asians, who, like the Aryans before them, settled down, married, declared the place their country, contributed and died in India. The name India itself is an English version of the Arabic word Hind for India. With hundreds of years worth of heritage when Muslims failed to defend India from Europeans, it was the beginning of problems for South Asia's Muslim population.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]British Treatment of Indian Muslims[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

For 500 years, India witnessed a tolerant Muslim rule, under which economic prosperity, educational reforms and relative racial equality were a norm. However, as the British East India Company took over India by the mid-nineteenth century, masses of Muslim-owned agricultural and commercial lands were annexed and multitudes of Muslim professionals, elites, and officers were dismissed from government positions. While the Hindus were promoted, the Muslims of India were ignored and reduced to second-class citizens. A comprehensive analysis of the state of Muslims under British rule is documented by a British author, William Hunter, in his monumental work, Indian Musalman, published in 1871, in which he explains, "Now all sorts of employment, high or low, great or small are being gradually snatched away from the Mohammedans [Muslims], and given to other races particularly Hindus. They are reduced to Bahistee, wood cutters, peons or pen menders in offices."

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]Origins of Pakistan Movement[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

This biased treatment of the British against Muslims, along with Hindu chauvinism, gave rise to Muslims' demand for proportionate representation in government jobs and electoral seats. The constant opposition of Hindus for minority rights and the worsening prejudiced treatment of Muslims germinated the Pakistan Movement and the Two-Nations Theory. One response surfaced in the form of the All-India Muslim League, founded in 1906, in Dhaka, which served to protect and advance the political rights of the Muslims of India. Hindu nationalists, however, heavily promoted the name of Pakistan, before even Muslims adopted it as their goal.

By the 1930s and 1940s, the Muslims of India and the leaders of Muslim League realized that while politically their very existence and survival in Hindu-led independent India would be perilous from a cultural and social standpoint, it foreshadowed their gradual extinction. This was a real fear which, running through their rank, fuelled and intensified the Pakistan Movement.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]The Need and Legitimacy for a Muslim State[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

As the poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal states in his presidential address of the Muslim League at Allahabad in 1930: "The formation of a consolidated North-West Indian Muslim State appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of North West India…The life of Islam as a cultural force in this country very largely depends on its centralization in a specified territory."

The approach of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal towards Indian Muslim freedom was deeply rooted in pragmatism - it was embedded, on the one hand, in universally accepted democratic and constitutional norms and, on the other, it represented the inalienable right of Muslims to statehood in areas where they excelled in numerical strength. The claim of Muslims to nationhood was an expression of both truth and reality of the situation.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]Pakistan Resolution: Peak of Muslims' Freedom Struggle[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

The Pakistan Resolution of March 23rd, 1940, signified the peak of a long trailing freedom struggle of 100 million Muslims of South Asia, as well as a focal point of their destiny - Pakistan. This resolution, which was presented by Maulvi Abul Kasim Fazlul Haq, Premier of Bengal, demanded that the Muslim-majority areas in the Northwestern and Eastern zones of India should be grouped to constitute independent states, using a confederatory model, in which the constituent units should be autonomous and sovereign.

In a moment of enthusiasm, the resolution was later amended to ask for one country instead of a federation. However, Bangladesh movement succeeded in achieving what the Muslim leadership in South Asia originally wanted. One only wishes that was all accomplished through peaceful dialog instead of warfare.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]The Original Idea Lives[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

Despite its meager resources, Pakistan and the idea of Pakistan have survived more than half a century despite the prediction by the Indian leadership at the time of independence that in a few years, Pakistan would be begging to join India. Hundreds and thousands of Muslims throughout India, Bangladesh, Burma and Afghanistan voted with their feet by migrating to Pakistan. On the ideological front, it symbolized Muslims' aspiration to develop a sanctuary where they could shape their lives in conformity with the principles postulated by Islam. As Quaid-e-Azam once emphasized, "Islam is not only a set of rituals, traditions and spiritual doctrine, it is a code for every Muslim, which regulated his life and his conduct - all aspects; social, political, economic etc. It is based on the highest principles of honor, integrity, fair play and justice for all."

Although the constitution of Pakistan has undergone a number of amendments, the ideology of Pakistan has survived in the preamble to the country's constitution. Pakistan was a milestone in the Pakistan movement, but the struggle continues until its ideals are achieved for all Pakistanis.

Pre-Independence British Rule in India (1776-1947 A.D)
 

[CENTER][SIZE="3"][B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Pre-Independence British Rule in India (1776-1947 A.D)[/COLOR][/B][/SIZE][/CENTER]

In the beginnning of 17th century, Europeans, particularly British, started trading in the subcontinent. Merchants of the East India Company never imagined that British presence in the subcontinent could mean anything more than peaceful trading. French arrived in the middle of the 17th century, signalling the beginning of militarization. Within 100 years the French were a spent force and the British possessed the most efficient military machine in the subcontinent.

[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="darkred"]British Influence:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

As Mughal power declined, British influence increased. Indian rulers proved very undisciplined when it came to facing British army and therefore, there was no problem in defeating Indian cavalry.

In 1775, the Company was found to be corrupt and a regulatory act gave the government control over Company officials. In 1784 the Indian Act left the Company solely incharge of commerce. Motivated by Imperialism, the British began to annex states, offering troop protection against aggressive neighbors in return of loyalty and sizeable subsidies. By 1818, Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, and a tract of land north of the Ganges running up to Delhi were firmly in British hands.

[B][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="2"]Sikh vs. British:[/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]

British could not take over Punjab because Sikhs held a dominant force under the ruler Ranjit Singh. Punjab had been the home of the Sikhs since the late 15th century. In 1799, Lahore was taken over by Sikh emperor Ranjit Singh and under his rule, Punjab was virtually harmless from British invasion. After Rangit Singh's death in 1839, British finally moved in and Sikh empire began to collapse.

[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="darkred"]Kashmir Conspiracy:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

The consequences of the first Sikh war (1846) had major repercussions for another state, Kashmir. Before being taken by Ranjit Singh, it had been ruled alternatively by Mughals and Afghans. Kashmir was then 90% Muslim, but after the siege of Multan in 1819 Ranjit Singh wanted to reward one of his leaders, Gulab Singh, a Hindu. He was duly granted the estate of Jammu.

In 1841 Gulab Singh allowed British troops to march through his territory on their way to do battle in Afghanistan. During the Sikh wars, he had refused to help the Sikhs, and was once again rewarded, this time by the British. The prize was worth his treachery: in 1846, he received Kashmir by the treaty of Amritsar. The granting of the control of Kashmir to a Hindu began a struggle which has not finished to this day.

[COLOR="darkred"][B][SIZE="2"]Sindh and the Indus:[/SIZE][/B][/COLOR]

British first stepped on Sindhi soil in 1809 when a diplomatic mission visited the Talpur Mirs. The British saw the importance of the Indus River, believing it could be an important commercial highway. In 1839, they seized Karachi, Sukkur and Bukkur. By 1843, Sir Charles Napier had secured the province of Sindh for the British.

[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="darkred"]North West Frontier Province:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

At the far northwest of the Punjab, this was the tribal highland area belonging to the Pathans. Since the Punjab annexation, there had been a bitter and bloody struggle between The Pathans and the British. Beyond settled areas, the British initially tolerated a degree of tribal independance, but used hostage taking, blockades, subsidies and punitive expeditions to ensure the area's security. With North West Frontier under control, British went on to capture northern Pakistan such as Gilgit, Hunza and Chitral. From the fear of Russian intrusion, the British fenced a border between Afghanistan and NWFP, the famous Durand Line, in 1893.

[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="darkred"]Baluchistan:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

To the west, Baluchistan with its borders to Persia and Afghanistan, was of great strategic importance. The routes through Bolan Pass to Quetta and beyond were vital. Again the British faced the tribal problem, solved by the same kinds of measures used to subdue the Pathans. By the 1890s Baluchistan was largely pacified and stabilised.

[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="darkred"]The British Raj:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

The Indian Mutiny erupted in isolated areas in 1857. There were bloody uprisings in Meerut, Delhi, Kanpur and Lucknow. British reprisals were exceptionally brutal. The soldiers petitioned the last Mughal Bahadur Shah Zafar, who was officially up to this time the sovereign ruler of the Mughal Empire, to be their figurehead. The British exiled him to Burma where he died in 1862.

Control now passed from the East India Company to the Crown and the company was dissolved. The Crown's representative in India was now the Viceroy, who had almost absolute authority.

India prospered during the British rule. Agricultural output was increased manifold. The railway network was setup, which provided a major contribution to the boom. Trade was expanded and industrial development was on the rise.

On the political front, after the mutiny, most factions of Indian society expressed absolute loyalty to the Raj. And despite the fact that the British tried to blame the Muslims for the mutiny, support from the Muslim westernized elite did not diminish. Some Muslims saw that they had difficult times ahead, wondering how they should assimilate to developments under the British while still holding on to their traditions.

[B][SIZE="2"][SIZE="2"][COLOR="darkred"]Sir Syed Ahmad Khan:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/SIZE][/B]

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1818-1898) emerged as the main advocate of reforming Muslim society towards progress, representing a feeling that a rejection of the British would only result in the Muslims of India disappearing into oblivion. He wanted advantages for Muslims and was keen for the reform of Muslim education. He stressed that science was not anti-Islamic. In 1875, the British gave him a grant to found the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental college which later became Aligarh University. From here, a stream of educated Muslims went into government services.

[B][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="2"]Indian National Congress:[/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]

In 1885, the Indian National Congress was formed. The party began to fight for a devolution of power into Indian hands. Although some leading Muslims were members, it was viewed with suspicion by most, including Sir Syed, as being a Hindu body which would only ever represent Hindu interests.

[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="darkred"]All India Muslim League:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

In 1906, All India Muslim League was formed to promote feelings of loyalty to the British and advance Muslim political interests. They petitioned the Viceroy that in any political move, Muslim interests be taken into account. The 1909 India Councils Act rewarded Muslim loyalty. The act gave Muslims separate electorates, where they could elect their own representatives to the Legislative Council. Some people claim that this move foreshadowed the birth of Pakistan.

[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="darkred"]Turnaround:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

Muslims began to feel isolated and their fears were boosted by European attacks on Muslim countries such as the fight against Turkey in the First World War. They saw Britian leading a Christian crusade against Islam. More and more Muslims decided to transfer to the Congress party. In 1916, the Muslim League and the Congress signed the Lukhnow Pact: Congress accepted separate Muslim electorates in return for League support in its cause to drive out the British.

[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="darkred"]Mohammad Ali Jinnah:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

Mohammad Ali Jinnah (1875-1948) was initially a Congress member and endeavored to bring about the political union of Muslims and Hindus. He left Congress in 1920. but the turning point came when Congress leaders ignored Muslim demands for one third of the seats in any future parliaments. Jinnah never trusted Congress after several exclusions of Muslim interest in Congress decisions. He worked furiously to amass Muslim support for teh League to show the world that the League and the League only was the true representation of India's Muslims.

[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="darkred"]Pakistan Resolution:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

In March 1940, Jinnah submitted the Lahore Resolution, also known as Pakistan Resolution. In it was the essence of Pakistan:

"The Muslims and the Hindus belong to two different religious philosophies: they neither intermarry nor interdine.... Muslims are a nation and according to any definition of a nation they must have their homelands, their territory, their state."

The idea of separate Muslim state was gaining favor, despite opposition from the Congress. It led to terrible violence as Muslims and Hindus turned on each other in an atmosphere of unease about the future.

[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Independence:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

Viceroy Lord Louis Mountbatten announced that Pakistan would receive its independence on 14th August 1947. Indians had to vote: were they to stay in India or Pakistan? Baluchistan, NWFP and Sindh voted to join Pakistan directly. Various kingdoms in the north, including Gilgit and Hunza, also acceeded to Pakistan, though they were originally designated as part of Hindu ruled Kashmir. When the deadline passed, Kashmir still hadn't decided. New boundaries were drawn up dividing Bengal and the Punjab. The announcement of the new border resulted in the greatest migration in the human history, as some seven to eight million Muslims left India and the same number of Hindus made the journey in opposite direction. In Karachi on 14th August 1947, the flag of Pakistan flew for the first time. Governor General of the new Islamic state was Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Jinnah's Vision of Pakistan
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Jinnah's Vision of Pakistan[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

For some years now, Quaid-e-Azam Jinnah's vision of Pakistan has been a source of controversy and conflict. Much of this has however tried to cut Jinnah to fit a predetermined image. A close look at Jinnah's long and chequered public life, encompassing some forty-four years (1904-48), helps determine the core values he was committed to throughout his political career.

This paper examines how Jinnah’s politics evolved through main phases, which, though distinct, yet merged into the next, without sudden shifts. It analyses how his liberalism underwent an apparent paradigmatic shift from 1937 onwards, and led to him advocating the charismatic goal of Pakistan, and to elucidate it primarily in Islamic terms. Finally, the Islamic strain in his post independence pronouncements and his 11 August 1947 address is discussed, and an attempt made to reconcile it with his other pronouncements.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]Jinnah as Liberal[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

In the first phase of his public life (1904-20) three main influences shaped Jinnah's personality and politics:

nineteenth century British liberalism, first absorbed during his four-years' (1892-96) stay in England as a student of law,the cosmopolitan atmosphere and mercantile background of metropolitan Bombay where he had established himself as an extremely successful barrister since the turn of the century, and his close professional and personal contact with the Parsis, who, though only a tiny community provided an example of how initiative, enterprise and hard work could overcome numerical inferiority, racial prejudice and communal barriers.

These formative influences seem to have prompted Jinnah to join the Indian National Congress. Fashioned after liberal principles and cast in their mould, the Congress was at that time pledged to take India on the road to self-government through constitutional means. Soon enough, he rose high in its echelons, high enough to be its 'spokesman' for its representation to the Secretary of State on the reform of the India Council in May 1914. Jinnah believed in moderation, gradualism, ordered progress, evolutionary politics, democratic norms, and above all, in constitutionalism. When the Congress sought to abandon these liberal principles in 1920 and opted for revolution and extra constitutional methods, he walked out of the Congress for good.

The constitutionalist in Jinnah led to him having a similar experience with the Home Rule League (HRL). He had collaborated with it since it was founded by Annie Besant, and joined it in a show of solidarity when Besant was interned in 1917. In October 1920 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, upon being elected HRL President on Jinnah's proposals, went about changing its constitution and its aims and objects and renaming it Swarajya Sabha rather unilaterally.

Gandhi ruled out Jinnah's objections that the constitution could not be changed unless supported by a three-fourths majority, and without proper notice. Jinnah, along with nineteen other members resigned, charging that the "changes in the constitution were made by adopting a procedure contrary to the rules and regulations of the (HR) League."



Throughout this period, in fact since 1897, Jinnah was active in Anjuman-I-Islam, Muslim Bombay's foremost religio-political body. In 1906 Jinnah opposed the demand for separate electorates, but before long his opposition thawed when he realized that the demand had "the mandate of the community". In 1910 he was elected to the Imperial Council on a reserved Muslim seat. From then on, he came in close contact with Nadwah, Aligarh and the All India Muslim League (AIML), and he was chosen by the AIML to sponsor a bill on Waqf alal Aulad, a problem of deep concern to Muslims since the time of Syed Ahmad Khan. Though not yet a formal member of the League, Jinnah was yet able to get the League committed to the twin ideals of self-government and Hindu-Muslim unity during the next three years, thus bringing the AIML on par with the Congress in terms of its objectives.



He joined the AIML formally in October 1913 and became its President in 1916. He utilized his pivotal position to get the Congress and the League act in concert, and work out common solutions to problems confronting the country. One result of his efforts was the Congress-League, Lucknow Pact of 1916, which settled the controversial electorate issue, at least for the time being, and paved the way towards a entente cordiale between Hindus and Muslims. Another result was the holding of Congress and League annual sessions at the same time and at the same place for seven years (1915-21).

It can be seen that there were three dominant strands in the first phase (1904-1920) of Jinnah's political career. These were a firm belief in a united Indian nationhood, with Hindus and Muslim sharing in the future Indian dispensation; a sense that Indian freedom could come through Hindu-Muslim unity, and a need for unity in Muslim ranks through strengthening the Muslim League. These strands continued in the second phase (1920-37) as well; but with the years their position came to be reversed in his scale of priorities, as the Congress's ultimate objectives underwent a radical change under the influence of Hindu extremists. Jinnah's efforts for Muslim unity became increasingly pronounced with the years, becoming a passion with him towards the closing of the second phase.

For Jinnah, while national freedom for both Hindus and Muslims continued to be the supreme goal, the means adopted to achieve it underwent a dramatic change. If it could not be achieved through Hindu Muslim unity, it must be done through Hindu-Muslim separation; if it could not be secured through a composite Hindu-Muslim nationalism, it must be done through separate Hindu and Muslim nationalisms; if not through a united India, it must be through partition. In either case, the ultimate objective was to ensure political power for Muslims.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]Jinnah’s Transformation[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

The period after 1937 marked a paradigmatic shift. Jinnah became identified in the Muslim mind with the concept of the charismatic community, the concept which answered their psychic need for endowing and sanctifying their sense of community with a sense of power. Increasingly he became the embodiment of a Muslim national consensus, which explains why and how he had become their Quaid-i-Azam, even before the launching of the Pakistan demand in March 1940.

This shift was squarely reflected in his thinking, his posture, his platform, and in his political discourse. And of course his appearance -- for his public rallies Jinnah replaced his finely creased English Saville Row suits with achkan, tight pyjamas and, to boot, a karakuli cap. He still believed in democracy, but now felt parliamentary democracy of the Westminster type was unsuitable for India because of the existence of a permanent majority and a permanent minority, which he defined in specific terms:

Minorities means a combination of things. It may be that a minority has a different religion from the other citizens of a country. Their language may be different, their race may be different, their culture may be different, and the combination of all these various elements - religion, culture, race, language, arts, music and so forth makes the minority a separate entity in the State, and that separate entity as an entity wants safeguards.

Extending this elucidation, he occasionally called Muslims 'a nation', stressing their distinct religion, culture, language and civilization, and calling on them to "live or die as a nation". He even called the League flag 'the flag of Islam', arguing that "you cannot separate the Muslim League from Islam.

Jinnah also traveled across the other end of the political and ideological spectrum in other ways. Previously he had disdained mass politics, now he opted for mass politics. Previously he had objected to Gandhi's injection of religion into politics, now he was not averse to couch his appeals in Islamic terms and galvanising the Muslim masses by appealing to them in a cultural matrix they were familiar with. Previously he had called himself an Indian first and last, now he opted for an Islamic identity. Previously he had strived long and hard for a national consensus; now all his efforts were directed towards a Muslim consensus. Jinnah, the erstwhile "ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity" became the fiercest advocate of Hindu-Muslim separation.

Jinnah had a political basis for this paradigmatic shift, through which Muslims and Islam came to occupy the centre of his discourse. For one thing, how else could Muslims, scattered as they were unevenly throughout the subcontinent, sharing with their non-Muslim neighbours local customs, ethos, languages, and problems and subjected to local conditions (whether political, social or economic) become a 'nation' except through their affiliation with Islam? For another, since Pakistan was to be established in the Muslim majority provinces, why else should the Muslims in the minority provinces struggle for Pakistan, except for their deep concern for the fate and future of Islam in India? Above all, what linked them irretrievably with their fellow Muslims in the majority areas except this concern?

[I][COLOR="darkred"][B]In an address to Gaya Muslim League Conference in January 1938, Jinnah begun mapping out his new world view. He said:[/B][/COLOR][/I]

When we say ‘This flag is the flag of Islam’ they think we are introducing religion into politics - a fact of which we are proud. Islam gives us a complete code. It is not only religion but it contains laws, philosophy and politics, In fact, it contains everything that matters to a man from morning to night. When we talk of Islam we take it as an all embracing word. We do not mean any ill. The foundation of our Islamic code is that we stand for liberty, equality and fraternity.

Jinnah then used this to argue the case for Pakistan at two levels. First, he invoked the universally recognized principle of self-determination. But it was invoked not on the familiar territorial basis, but for the Muslim nation alone. As he stipulated in his marathon talks with Gandhi in September 1944, the constituency for the plebiscite to decide upon the Pakistan demand would comprise only the Muslims, and not the entire population of the areas concerned. Second, he spelled out his reasons for reaching out towards the 'Pakistan' goal in his Lahore (1940) address in more or less ideological terms, arguing that "Islam and Hinduism... are not religions in the strict sense of the word, but are... different and distinct social orders", that "the Hindus and Muslims belong to two different religious philosophies, social customs, literature", "to two different civilizations", that they "derive their inspiration from different sources of history"... (with) different epics, different heroes and different episodes." "We wish our people", he declared, "to develop to the fullest our spiritual, cultural, economic, social and political life in a way that we think best and in consonance with our own ideals and according to the genius of our people."

Jinnah developed this into a definition of Muslim nationhood that was most cogent, the most closely argued, and the most firmly based in international law since the time of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. "We are a nation," he wrote to Gandhi on 17 September 1944, "with our distinctive culture and civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of values and proportion, legal laws and moral code, customs and calendar, history and traditions, aptitude and ambitions; in short, we have our own distinctive outlook on life and of life."

[B][I][COLOR="Black"]He returned to this more extensively in his Id message in September 1945, saying:[/COLOR][/I][/B]

"Everyone, except those who are ignorant, knows that the Quran is the general code of the Muslims. A religious, social, civil, commercial, military, judicial, criminal, penal code, it regulates everything from the ceremonies of religion to those of daily life; from the salvation of the soul to the health of the body; from the rights of all to those of each individual; from morality to crime, from punishment here to that in the life to come, and our Prophet has enjoined on us that every Musalman should possess a copy of the Quran and be his own priest. Therefore Islam is not merely confined to the spiritual tenets and doctrines or rituals and ceremonies. It is a complete code regulating the whole Muslim society, every department of life, collective[ly] and individually."

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Jinnah’s Realisation[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

After independence, as head of the state he had founded, Jinnah talked in the same strain. He talked of securing "liberty, fraternity and equality as enjoined upon us by Islam" (25 August 1947); of "Islamic democracy, Islamic social justice and the equality of manhood" (21 February 1948); of raising Pakistan on "sure foundations of social justice and Islamic socialism which emphasized equality and brotherhood of man" (26 March 1948); of laying "the foundations of our democracy on the basis of true Islamic ideals and principles" (14 August 1948); and "the onward march of renaissance of Islamic culture and ideals" (18 August 1947). He called upon the mammoth Lahore audience to build up "Pakistan as a bulwark of Islam", to "live up to your traditions and add to it another chapter of glory", adding, "If we take our inspiration and guidance from the Holy Quran, the final victory, I once again say, will be ours" (30 October 1947).

As for the specific institutions of the new state, he exhorted the armed forces to uphold "the high traditions of Islam and our National Banner" (8 November 1947); and commended the State Bank research organization to evolve "banking practices compatible with Islamic ideals of social and economic life" and to "work our destiny in our own way and present to the world an economic system based on true Islamic concept of equality of manhood and social justice" (1 July 1948).

For Jinnah, "the creation of a State of our own was a means to an end and not the end in itself. The idea was that we should have a State in which we could live and breathe as free men and which we could develop according to our own lights and culture and where principles of Islamic social justice could find free play" (11 October 1947). He told Edwards College students that "this mighty land has now been brought under a rule, which is Islamic, Muslim rule, as a sovereign independent State" (18 April 1948). He even described Pakistan as "the premier Islamic State" (February 1948).

[B][I][COLOR="Black"]Jinnah's broadcast to the people of the United States (February 1948) is in a similar vein:[/COLOR][/I][/B]

I do not know what the ultimate shape of this constitution is going to be, but I am sure that it will be of a democratic type, embodying the essential principles of Islam. Today, they are as applicable in actual life as they were 1300 years ago. Islam and its idealism have taught us democracy. It has taught equality of men, justice and fairly play to everybody. We are the inheritors of these glorious traditions and are fully alive to our responsibilities and obligations as framers of the future constitution of Pakistan. In any case Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic State -- to be ruled by priests with a divine mission. We have many non- Muslims -- Hindus, Christians, and Parsis -- but they are all Pakistanis. They will enjoy the same rights and privileges as any other citizens and will play their rightful part in the affairs of Pakistan.

In this broadcast, Jinnah, the constitutionalist that he was, refused to forestall the shape of the constitution, in order not to fetter the Pakistan Constituent Assembly from taking decisions it deemed fit. While he laid a good deal of stress on Islamic ideals and principles, he ruled out theocracy, saying "Pakistan is not a theocracy or anything like it. Islam demands from us the tolerance of other creeds."

Technically speaking, theocracy means a government "by ordained priests, who wield authority as being specially appointed by those who claim to derive their rights from their sacerdotal position." Unlike Catholicism, there is no established church in Islam; (in fact, it decries such a church). Moreover, since Islam admits of no priestcraft, since it discountenances a sacerdotal class as the bearer of an infallible authority, and since it concedes the right of ijtihad to "men of common sense", the concept of theocracy is absolutely foreign to Islam. Hence, during the debate on the Objectives Resolution (March 1947), Mian Iftikharuddin refuted the Congress members fears about the sovereignty clause, saying that "the wording of the Preamble does not in any way make the Objectives Resolution any the more theocratic, any the more religious than the Resolution or statement of fundamental principles of some of the modern countries of the world" (10 March 1949). Thus neither Iqbal, nor Jinnah, nor any of the independence leaders (including Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani) stood for a theocratic state.

Of all Jinnah's pronouncements it is his 11 August address that has received the greatest attention since the birth of Pakistan, and spawned a good deal of controversy. Although made somewhat off-the-cuff -- he said that "I cannot make any well-considered pronouncement, but I shall say a few things as they occur to me" -- it is considered a policy statement. He said:

... If you change your past and work together in a spirit that everyone of you, no matter to what community he belongs, ... is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges and obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make. ...we must learn a lesson from this [our past experience]. You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed - that has nothing to do with the business of the state ... we are starting in the days when there is no discrimination between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste, or creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State.... I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state.

Not surprisingly, it has elicited varied comments from scholars and contemporary journalists. One scholar has put it down to "loose thinking and imprecise wording" and a departure from Jinnah's erstwhile position. Another calls it "a remarkable reversal" and asks "was he [Jinnah] pleading for a united India - on the eve of Pakistan?"

In dissecting this statement, there is, however, little that could lend itself to disputation. There is no problems with the dictum that every one, no matter what community he belongs to, would be entitled to full fledged citizenship, with equal rights, privileges and obligations, that there would no discrimination between one community and another, and that all of them would be citizens and equal citizens of one state. These principles Jinnah had reiterated time and again during the struggle period, though not in the same words.

It is, however, not usually recognized that political equality in general terms (because absolutism was the rule at the time of the advent of Islam) and equality before law in more specific terms are attributes Islam had recognized long before the world discovered them as secular values. They were exemplified in the Misaq-i-Madinah, the pact between the Prophet (PBUH) and Aus and Khazraj, and in his letter to Abul Hairs, Christian priest and the accredited representative of the Christians of Najran, and in the conduct of the Khulfa-i-Rashidun. This covenant, comprising 47 clauses, lays down, inter alia, that the Quraishite Muslim, the Medinites and the Jews of Banu Auf from one community apart from other people, that the Jews shall have their religion and the Muslims their own, that they shall help each other against one who fights with the people of the covenant. Now, how could these disparate tribes characterised by differing religious affiliations from one political community unless their entitlement to equal rights, privileges and obligations are conceded in the first place. A community postulates such entitlement, and it may be conjectured that Jinnah believed that Islam concedes equal citizenship to one and all, without reference to creed, colour or race.

Finally one crucial question. If it is still contended that Jinnah had envisaged a 'secular' state, does one pronouncement prevail over a plethora of pronouncements made before and after the establishment of Pakistan. Does one morsel make a dinner? Does one swallow make a summer? A close study all of Jinnah's pronouncements during 1934-48, and most of his pronouncement during the pre-1934 period, shows that the word, 'secular' (signifying an ideology) does not find a mention in any of them. Even when confronted with the question, he evaded it -- as the following extracts from his 17 July 1947 press conference indicates:

[B][I][SIZE="2"][COLOR="Blue"]Question: "Will Pakistan be a secular or theocratic state?" [/COLOR][/SIZE][/I][/B]


Mr. M.A. Jinnah: "You are asking me a question that is absurd. I do not know what a theocratic state means."

A correspondent suggested that a theocratic State meant a State where only people of a particular religion, for example, Muslims, could be full citizens and Non-Muslims would not be full citizens.

Mr. M.A. Jinnah: "Then it seems to me that what I have already said is like throwing water on duck's back (laughter). When you talk of democracy, I am afraid you have not studied Islam. We learned democracy thirteen centuries ago."

It is well to recall the ideological environment of the period in which the pronouncements we are trying to dissect, analyse and interpret today were made. It was already a bipolar world, smitten by the gathering cold war. The great ideological divide had warped simple and long familiar words such as freedom, liberty, equality, democracy, state, sovereignty, justice, and tyranny with ideological overtones. Hence these concepts had to be qualified to mean what they actually stand for. Hence when Jinnah talks of the concept of a democratic type embodying the essential principles of Islam, he was giving notice that he did not mean the standard Western type or the Soviet brand of people's democracy, but a sort of 'Islamic democracy' which, while retaining the institutional appurtenances of a democratic structure, is congruent with Muslims' ethos, aspirations and code of morality. And, as Mian Iftikharuddin argued, "no one need object to the word 'Islamic.' If we can use the words, 'Roman Law' or the 'British Parliamentary system' and so many other terms without shame or stint, then why not 'Islamic'?"

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Conclusion[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

Jinnah was the most Westernised political leader in all the annals of Indian Islam; no other Muslim political leader could match him in terms of modernity and a modern outlook. He was completely at home with the milieu in cosmopolitan Bombay and metropolitan London. He also married a Parsi girl, so unconventional for a Muslim leader at that time, though after getting her converted to Islam. During his chequered career, Jinnah came in contact with an exceedingly large number of non-Muslim leading personalities and a host of British officials, more than any other Muslim leader and had interacted with them for some four decades -- before he underwent a paradigmatic shift.

Jinnah was also a man who minced no words, stood no humbug, and called a spade a spade. He held political rhetoric in high disdain; he preferred political wilderness to playing to the gallery. Such a man could not possibly have gone in for an Islamic orientated discourse unless he felt that the Islamic values he was commending were at home with the values underlying modernity, that Islam was in consonance with progress and modernity. During the debate on Islam and secularism, this is a point that has lain ignored.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Women's Role in Pakistan Movement[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

WOMEN played a major role in the Pakistan Movement. This was of great historical significance, for the Muslim women of the subcontinent had never participated in such great numbers in a political movement. It was a befitting culmination of the reformist movements of the late nineteenth century for the emancipation and education of Muslim women. The Quaid can be seen as source of inspiration for their emergence as players on the political scene.

The Khilafat Movement of the 1920s had been the first instance when Muslim women had made their presence felt. With Maulanas Shaukat Ali and Mohammed Ali in jail, their mother, Bi Amman, had taken up the cudgels against British imperialism. Her daughter-in-law assisted her. It took an old lady to strike the first blow at seclusion. She addressed meetings from behind the purdah of a sheet, and travelled to various parts of India to whip up support. Women came to hear her, and they were motivated to meet in various mohallas to raise funds. It was an old custom in the subcontinent that women sold their jewellery when the family was faced with a financial crisis.

When the Khilafat Movement demanded contributions from its supporters, the women came forward and gave up their jewellery, that being their only worldly possession. This would have been the first time that they made such a gesture for a political cause. However all this was short-lived and so with the demise of the Khilafat Movement women reverted to the strict seclusion of their homes and their domestic world.

The Quaid had seen the increasing participation of women in the Congress, his parent party. He realized the need to have Muslim women's participation in the Muslim League, which he had begun to re-organize and bring to life. It was at Lucknow in 1937 that he called for the creation of a Women's Wing of the Muslim League, but it remained dormant till the Patna Session of the Muslim League in 1938. His instructions were that there should be a recruitment drive through each and every district of India, and women should be made two-anna members of the Muslim League. Within two years of the Patna session political consciousness had begun to spread to all groups and classes of Muslim women, and on March 23, 1940, the women's section of All-India Muslim League held its annual session at the Islamia College for Girls, Lahore.

By now this college had begun to be at the centre of the women's movement for Pakistan. Its Principal, Fatima Begum, played an instrumental role in bringing this about. Begum Hafeezuddin gave the keynote address in which she called upon the Muslims of the subcontinent to unite under the flag of the Muslim League. Two resolutions were passed at this session. The first pertaining to the Muslim League called for the women to work amongst their friends and acquaintances and rally them to the Muslim League, and help the Party organize sub-committees in towns and rural areas. The second resolution called on Muslim men to help Muslim women get the legal rights which were rightfully theirs under the Shariat, but which they had been denied. Baji Rashida Latif, who was also a member of the Legislative Assembly, declared in her speech that "capitalists" had deprived Muslim women of their rights. She must have been referring to the inheritance of property which continued to be denied to Muslim women in Punjab, for the big landlords did not want their property divided and consequently had opposed inheritance by Muslim women.

The mobilization of girls and women was continued with full force. In November, 1942, the Quaid was invited by the Punjab Girl Students Federation to come to the Jinnah Islamia Girls College and address the girls. In his speech he said: "I am glad to see that not only Muslim men but Muslim women and children also have understood the Pakistan scheme. No nation can make any progress without the co-operation of its women. If Muslim women support their men, as they did in the day of the Prophet of Islam, we should soon realize our goal... no nation is capable of remaining a strong nation, unless and until its men and women struggle together for the achievement of its goals".

The Quaid exhorted the young students to join the Muslim League and recounted how at Patna he had formed a women's section of the Party, in order to increase the involvement of the Muslim women.

The women's section of the Muslim League organized mushairas and get-togethers. The movement for Pakistan had spread to girls' schools and colleges and got increasingly tied up with Muslim women's demands for the implementation of Shariat, as that would increase their rights under the law. By 1945 the Muslim League movement had become so widespread amongst women that they were touring the major towns and cities and trying to organize primary branches of the Muslim League.

The main purpose of these tours was to get them to attend the coming session of the All-India Muslims League in Lahore on March 23, 1945. As the Muslim League geared up for the elections of 1946, women's' divisional and district committees were organized and conveners appointed. A contingent of women arrived in Lahore from Aligarh to assist in touring the districts. In the last week before polling, women became so active that they held meetings in Simla, Amritsar, Gujranwala and Lahore. Meetings were held in Lahore to assign women to various polling stations. The first women's branch of the Muslim League in the Frontier was opened in 1939. In October 1945 Lady Abdullah Haroon, the President of the All-India Women's Muslim League, led a delegation of Muslim women to the Frontier province.

When a meeting was organized under the auspices of the Zenana Muslim League, as many as thousand women attended it. The audience contributed Rs 80,000 to the Muslim League fund. In the elections of 1945-46 it was very active and women Leaguers from other parts of the region, and especially from Lahore, toured the province to mobilize support amongst the women of the Frontier province.

During the Civil Disobedience Movement, women's demonstrations in Peshawar became frequent. Other towns affected in a similar manner were Mardan, Kohat and Abbotabad. Women Leaguers' militancy in the Frontier increased after the fall of the Unionist ministry in the Punjab. They agitated outside the government offices, hoisted the flag on the Secretariat and took out processions. The presence of a large number of women workers from Punjab and other areas of the country helped.

The Muslim League won all the Muslim seats to the Central Assembly. They celebrated Victory Day on January 11, 1946. Students from Aligarh to Lahore had shown great zeal, and the girls had played a major role. On January 18 the Quaid addressed the Muslim Students Federation in Lahore, and when he went to address the women's wing of the Muslim League he was escorted by two girls on either side of him with swords drawn. When, despite the Muslim League victory, the British Governor of Punjab asked the Congress and the Unionist Party to form a coalition government, it caused a furore amongst the members and supporters of the Muslim League. Meetings were held, and there was a demonstration of five hundred men and women on Queen's Road.

The Quaid was in the tradition of a whole host of Muslim intellectuals and thinkers before him who had been calling for the education and emancipation of Muslim women. However, he was the first to actively promote their participation in politics and the Muslim League. It is no accident of history that he took his sister everywhere with him. He set the trend and his followers emulated. It is not surprising that Liaquat Ali Khan had Rana Liaquat by his side. The message was loud and clear: women should come out of their seclusion and be equal partners in the social and political life of the country. He is quoted as having declared that the Muslim nation could not progress or free itself unless women were its equal partners.

The Pakistan Movement is an important watershed in the social history of Muslim women. While there is a long line of writers who in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century were advocating that Muslim women be educated, there was none who had the audacity to suggest that they emerge from the physical seclusion of their homes. When the Pakistan fever caught the hearts and minds of the Muslims, it seemed but natural that the women should be drawn into it too.

While the Quaid encouraged this through every policy decision of his, the conservative and the orthodox sections of society do not seem to have provided any major opposition to this new phenomenon. Hence there was no suffragette movement as such. Women acquired voting rights in the process of waging a political struggle for Pakistan. There is no evidence of a war between the genders because both were caught in a common struggle, and were supportive of each other. There is a whole galaxy of confident, intelligent, articulate and committed women who emerged from this Movement. They were poised at this advantageous situation when Pakistan was born.

Alexander's Invasion
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]ALEXANDER'S INVASION[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

Western historians have tried to extol the cultural aspects of Alexander's invasion and to exaggerate the extent of its impact on the East. The truth of the matter is that he was a destroyer of civilizations and in this respect was no better than Changez or Hulagu. He annihilated the greatest civilization of the time flourishing in Persia under the Achaemenians, effaced the finest cultural monuments erected by the great monarchs of that dynasty and by setting fire to the capital city of Persepolis and several other towns and cities, left Iran desolate and deserted.

It took Iran more than six centuries to revive and resuscitate itself from the devastation wrought by Alexander's armies. Iran rose again and regained its lost power and prestige under the Sassanians in the 3rd century A.D. In Pakistan also Alexander and his forces carried out large-scale massacres. In lower Sind alone 80,000 people are said to have been put to the sword and innumerable men and women sold as slaves. (Early History of India, By V.A. Smith)

Since Alexander was determined to reach the eastern-most limits of the Persian Empire he could not resist the temptation to conquer Pakistan, which at this time was parcelled out into small chieftain- ships, who were feudatories of the Persian Empire. Alexander entered Pakistan from the northern route at Swat but was given a tough fight by the local forces in which he himself is said to have been injured. Next, he reached Indus which was crossed at a place called Ohind, fifteen miles above Attock. The first local ruler he encountered was that of Taxila, Raja Ambhi, with his territories lying between Indus and Jhelum.

This raja, because of the geographical position ofhis kingdom, kept himself well informed of developments across Indus and beyond, and was shrewd and pragmatic in his approach. Having received the information that the Achaemenian Emperor Darius III was ignominously defeated by Alexander and that entire Iran had been over-run and devastated by his armies, Ambhi considered it prudent to conclude peace with the Greek dictator. Alexander was extended a glorious welcome at Taxila where he stayed for some time and held discussions with the learned people of the city. He was so pleased with the raja that he confirmed the latter as ruler of the area and gave him costly presents.

Further east, however, Alexander's advance was halted by the famous Raja Porus who inflicted considerable losses on the Greek forces. Porus was the ruler of territories east of Jhelum. The local armies fought valiantly and but for some tactical mistakes might have won the war. In spite of the defeat, Porus was confirmed as ruler in his principality in recognition of his prowess and patriotism. Moreover, Alexander did not want to antagonise the local people and rulers in view of their potentialities and also in view of his own limited resources. "It is clear from classical accounts of Alexander's campaign that the Greeks were not unimpressed by what they saw in India (i.e. Sindhu or Indus Valley or Pakistan -- ancient India was in Pakistan region, not present day India). They much admired the courage of the Indian (Pakistani) troops, the austerity of the ascetics whom they met at Taxila and the purity and simplicity of the tribes of the Punjab and Sind The Greeks were impressed by the ferocity with which the women of some of the Punjab tribes aided their menfolk in resisting Alexander." (The Wonder that was India, By A.L. Bhasham)

"The Greeks who were much impressed by the high stature of the men in the Punjab acknowledged that in the art of war they were far superior to the other nations by which Asia was at that time inhabited. The resolute opposition of Porus consequently was not to be despise." (The Oxford History of India, By V.A. Smith)

Alexander went up to the bank of the Beas somewhere near Gurdaspur where his army, according to historians, refused to move further. What- ever the immediate cause, by reaching Beas Alexander had almost touched the eastern-most frontier of the traditional boundaries of Pakistan and accomplished his mission. It was but logical that he should return. He came down through the entire length of Pakistan, crossed the Hub River near Karachi and departed for home dying on the way. It should not be overlooked that during his 10-month stay in Pakistan and during his movements from one end to the other he did not have smooth sailing. He had to fight small rulers almost everywhere in the N.W.F.P., Punjab and Sind. The Mallois of Mullistan (Multan) inflicted considerable losses on his forces.

Alexander's invasion of this area and the extent of his journey again boldly highlight the fact that Pakistan's present boundaries were almost the same in those days. From Hindu Kush, Dir and Swat to the banks of the Beas and down to Karachi - this entire area was one single geographical, political and cultural bloc under the suzerainty of the Persians. It will also be recalled that this was the same area as covered by the Indus Valley Civilization which continued to remain separate from India through the ages.

Alexander's halt and return from the bank of the Beas is not without significance in this context. "The sphere of Persian influence in these early times can hardly have reached beyond the realm of the Indus and its affluents. We may assume, accordingly, that when Alexander reached the river Hyphasis, the ancient vipac, and modern Beas, and was then forced by his generals and soldiers to start upon his retreat, he had touched the extreme limits of the Persian dominion over which he had triumphed throughout." (The Cambridge History of India, Vol.1, Edited by E.J. Rapson)

The redeeming feature of this period that stands out distinctly is that Pakistan, again, was NOT a part of India and was affiliated to a western power. We have seen that whether during (a) the Indus Valley Civilization 3000 B.C. - 1500 B.C. or (b) during the period of Aryan settlement 1500 B.C. -1000 B.C. or (c) during the half a millennium period after further Aryan migrations eastward 1000 B.C. - 500 B.C. or (d) during its affiliation with the Achaemenian Empire 500 - 325 B.C., Pakistan was all along a separate entity having nothing to do with India. The period covered by these four chapters of its history is from 3000 B.C. to 325 B.C., i.e., about two thousand seven hundred years.

The immediate impact of Alexander's invasion on Pakistan was faint and inconsequential. The long-term and indirect effects, however, were of considerable importance which shall be discussed at a later stage. Here we shall pick up the thread of political history and follow the destiny of this area immediately after Alexander's departure.

Arab Rule Of Sindh/pakistan
 

[SIZE="3"][CENTER][B][COLOR="DarkRed"]ARAB RULE OF SINDH/PAKISTAN[/COLOR][/B][/CENTER][/SIZE]

In A.D. 711, a youthful Arab general Muhammed Bin Qasim rode eastwards along the desolate Makran coast (Baluchistan) with six thousand Syrian Arab cavaliers to become the conqueror of Sind. It was an event of great historic significance about which the Italian scholar F. Gabrieli comments: "Present day Pakistan, holding the values of Islam in such high esteem, should look upon the young Arab conqueror, Muhammed bin Qasim, almost as a distant Kistes (founding father), a hero of South Asian Islam".

Muhammed Bin Qasim's conquest were part of the proselytization and expansion of the Damascus based Ommayid Empire. He was the military commander of Caliph Walid bin Abdul malik whose domains extended from Central Asia to Spain. In A.D. 712, Muhammed Bin Qasim conquered Sind's major sea port Daibul. Its ruins are situated 40 miles east of Karachi at the mouth of a dried up channel of the Indus Delta. The city had a great Buddhist stupa, a dewal, the root of its Arab name Daibul.

At that time Sind was ruled by Brahmin King Dahir son of Chach, related the 13th century Persian chronicle Chachnama, translated from a lost near-contemporary account in Arabic referred to by later Arab historians.

Dahir's kingdom extended from the Indus Delta on the Arabian Sea to Rur, contemporary Rohri, on the eastern banks of the Indus opposite the modern city of Sukkur. The kingdom had brought about a reassertion of Brahmanism over Buddhism, but because majority of people were then followers of the Buddhist faith, it had an extremely fragile base. The Arabs came accross so many Buddhist idols in Sind that they adopted the word budd (Buddha) for the idol in the temple, a word still used in Pakistan.

After taking control of Daibul, Muhammed Bin Qasim continued his advance northwards and conquered Niran near Hyderabad. There the Arabs were reiforced by a contingent of four thousand native Jat soldiers. They crossed the Indus by a bridge of boats and challenged dahir's army near Rawar. The battle of destiny ensued. Dahir's forces were scattered and he died fighting.

The Arabs continued pressing northwards along the Indus. They captured Dahir's capital city Brahmanabad (Brahmin city), where they built their own city Mansura. Next they occupied Rur and continued their advance until they conquered Multan, the most ancient living city of South Asia. Multan, with its renowned ancient golden temple dedicated to the sun god Aditya, contained so much gold that the conquerors evidently felt that they need go no further. For three centuries it remained the northernmost outpost of the Sind province of the Arab Empire.

The amazing Arab Islamic expansion was not only the result of cavalry forays. They had combined military operations with political means as well. Their offer to proselytize the natives to their own faith and become part of the new Islamic community had a far reaching impact. It was an offer which was open to everybody, and one which was perhaps most readily accepted by the lower orders of Hindus who now had a marvellous opportunity for collective manumission from caste slavery. As a result many Sind tribes accepted Islam, among them the Somra Rajputs. An additional attraction was that religious levies were abolished for those who converted.

But the new ruling power in Sind did not impose Islam on anybody. The Chachnama has reproduced extracts from the historic Brahmanabad Charter which for the eighth century represents a paricularly high level of humanistic social order and values.

Those who did not choose to convert to Islam were treated magnanimously. The charter allowed complete religious freedom to those living in the countryside around Brahmanabad, putting them on par with the status of Jews, Magians and fire worshippers in Syria and Iraq. They were allowed to continue making idols of their gods; Brahmins and Buddhists alike could continue celebrating religious festivals according to the customs of their forefathers. They were encouraged to do business freely with the Muslims.

Muhammed Bin Qasim incorporated the traditional administrative and revenue structures into the new order, appointing officials to positions according to their rank and experience, leaving the internal affairs to look after themselves. He showeredhis new appointees with gifts and gave them seats of honour in the court. On a local level he appointed elders to collect revenue from villages and towns, allowing them complete administrative authority.

The members of the highest caste, Sind's ruling class Brahmins, who obviously saw less reason than anybody to convert, were also incorporated into Brahmanabad Charter. They were restored to their top posts and much of the administration of the country was left in their hands.

Ommayids were succeeded by the Abbasids who became the new rulers of Sind. From A.D. 750 the Abbasid Caliphs with their capital in Baghdad sent their governors to rule. Ibn Haukal, who had travelled extensively through the Arab domains around the middle of the 8th century, particularly mentioned the affluence of the people and cheapness of food in Sind. Being a prosperous land, Sind paid substantial revenue to Baghdad. In A.D. 820, Caliph Al- Mamoon had received one million dirams as revenue from Sind.

Culturally, deep interactions had started between the Middle East and the South Asian subcontinent. The Arabic language had made deep inroads into Sind which has the longest tradition of Arabic scholarship in the whole region. Modern Sindi vocabulary abounds in Arabic words. There is mention of Sindi scholars and poets in the annals of Abbasid Arabic literature. There was also a synthesis of Islamic and Sindi living pattern. Local dress was adopted by the common folk from among the new settlers, though the merchants continued to wear flowing Arab cloaks.

Academically there was not only one way cultural traffic. During the rule of Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansur, scholars from the Indus valley were welcomed at the court of Baghdad. Their works on medicine, mathematics, astronomy and philosophy were translated into the Arabic language.

In the north Islam was also making inroads from Afghanistan into the north western regions of Pakistan. Islamic missionaries were actively spreading their faith among the tribes. Peshawar Museum has a stone tablet inscribed with both Arabic and Sanskrit characters from Tochi valley of Waziristan, whic establishes the presence of Islam in the area as early as A.D. 857. With the gradual decline of the Abbasid Arab Empire the Turks now entered the imperial arena.

The Sufi Movement And Pakistan
 

[SIZE="3"][CENTER][B][COLOR="DarkRed"]THE SUFI MOVEMENT AND PAKISTAN[/COLOR][/B][/CENTER][/SIZE]

Progress in human life whether political, social or economic has depended upon and deeply indebted to the activities of a group of dedicated persons guided by leaders of exceptional qualities. The ushering in of the greatest monotheistic movement in history under the nomenclature of 'Islam' was possible and its success assured because of the sterling character, the imperishable faith and unfailing resolve of its leader, Prophet Mohammed, and his companions.

Muslim society has the distinction of initiating another unique movement in history which remains unparalleled by its wide-spread character covering the two continents of Asia and Africa; by the remarkable success it achieved in having its objectives fulfilled; by the enormous number of selfless workers it produced for the propagation of its ideals; by the depth of influence it exercised; by the revolutionary fervour it aroused, and by the indelible marks it left not only on Muslim society but on the Christian, Hindu and Buddhist societies as well. It provided succour and nourishment to such an extent that Muslims were able to withstand the Mongol catastrophy, fight it back with renewed vigour on religious plane and then to expand its horizons beyond the Sahara in Africa, across the Indus in India and over the oceans into Indonesia. This movement is known as"Sufism".

The beginning of sufi movement, its philosophy and the biographies of its leaders (saints) are too well-known, and dwelt upon at great length by a large number of scholars to be recapitulated here. I shall take up only those aspects which are relevant to our subject concerning the emergence of Pakistan. An important point to bear in mind is that there would have been no Pakistan without the sufi movement.

Pakistan and sufism are inter-related, inter-woven and inseparable from each other. If Pakistan's beginning is traced back to the conquest of this sub-continent by Muslims armies, as is erroneously done, then the whole sub-continent should have become Pakistan since Muslim arms were successful throughout the area. But Pakistan emerged only in those territories where sufism met with success. Pakistan, therefore, can be described as the fruit of sufi movement. "Pre-eminent among these problems relating to the life of the Muslim community in all regions since the twelfth century", writes Professor Gibb, "is the activity and influence of the sufi shaikhs and orders.

It was into the sufi movement that the life blood of the community flowed ever more strongly. No adequate history of Islam can be written until it, with all its causes and effects, has been studied patiently and with scholarly integrity, In no region, moreover, is this study more fundamental or more urgently required than in that of Islam in Indian subcontinent". He further says: "From the 13th century A.D. sufism increasingly attracted the creative social and intellectual energies within the community, to become the bearer or instrument of a social or cultural revolution."

In its early stages sufism was an individual affair confined to intellectuals and spiritualists with hardly any appeal to the masses. But with the passage of time it acquired new dimensions and began to deal with the mundane aspects of life as well. Its beginning, popularity and propagation have been attributed to many causes among which may be mentioned:

1. to free religious thought from the rigidity imposed by the ulema;

2. to emphasise in the Islamic teachings the element of God's love and mercy for His creation rather than His wrath and retribution;

3. to practise what one professes and not merely indulge in slogans and soliloques;

4. to stress the essence of faith rather than mere observance of formalities;

5. to move away towards rural areas from the evil and debilitation effects of wealth, monarchy and bureaucracy concentrated in big cities;

6. to demolish the edifice of false values based on pelf and power and restore morality to its proper place in the niche of Muslim society;

7. to combat the fissiparous tendencies and centrifugal forces which were spreading their tentacles in the Muslim world;

8. to discourage parochial feelings and eliminate racial pride which had assumed primary importance in Muslim thinking relegating the ideal of brotherhood to a secondary place etc.

These factors which gave birth to organised sufism were indeed serious ailments which had afflicted Muslim society for some time and had assumed menacing proportions by the 12th century A.D. It was easily discernible that Muslim political structure was crumbling and its entire moral and social fabric facing extinction. The most redeeming feature of this dark and dismal period was that this challenge was successfully met by the Muslim society from its own resources and from its own inherent strength by employing its own moral and intellectual weapons. The answer to this grave challenge was the sufi movement. Sufism gave a new lease of life to the Muslims, provided them with a bright vision, opened up fresh vistas for them, and guided them towards unexplored horizons. It was a glorious and splendid performance, unparalleled and unsurpassed in human history.

Hundreds of devoted workers left their hearths and homes, spread out over unknown regions hazarding strange climes and conditions with hardly any material resources to aid and assist them. Poverty and privation stalked their efforts while distance and inaccessibility stood in their way. But undaunted and undeterred they marched forward demolishing the distances, breaking the barriers, conquering the climes. And lo! they succeeded. What was the secret of their success? They had both strength of character and courage of conviction, were selfless and devoted to a cause.

[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="DarkRed"]SUFISM IN ORGANISED FORM[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

Sufism became organised, and adopted a form and institution in the 12th and 13th centuries A.D. The two great pioneers in this field were Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani and Hazrat Shahabuddin Suhrawardy. By introducing the system of 'silsila' which was a sort of association/order, and takia/khankha, a lodge or hospice, they invested the movement with a sense of brotherhood and provided it with a meeting place. The 'silsila' and the takia/khankha were the king-pins of the organization. With a stream of selfless workers available and with no dearth of devoted and assiduous leadership, the movement made swift progress and spread far and wide.

It is incorrect to state that the sufis followed the Muslim conquerors in the sub-continent. They were here, though in small numbers, and had started their work even before the arrival and triumph of Muslim armies. "We now know that a sufi, Sh. Abdur Rahman, had settled in Ajmer even before Khwaja Moinuddin, and was the author of the first work in Hindi."( Indian Muslims, By Prof. M.Mujeeb.). At this time Ajmer was ruled by Rajput Rajas.

Similarly, Shaikh Ismail Bukhari came to Pakistan before Mahmud Ghaznavi. Mohammed Alfi who came as early as Mohd. Bin Qasim's time began missionary work in Hindu-ruled Kashmir. "The Ismaili missionary Abdullah landed near Cambay in 1067A.D. and worked in Gujrat when the country was governed by Sidhraj Jai Singh. He and his Jain teacher Huma Charya are said to have been converted to Islam when there was no recorded Muslim invasion." (The Shias of India, By John Norman Hollister). Such instances can be multiplied without end.

The character of sufi movement was such that if did not require official patronage or military protection. It succeeded without both in a number of countries such as Malaya, Indonesia and East and West Africa. The same is true of their work in Pakistan. In fact, power was a hindrance rather than a help to the progress of Sufi mission. This is amply borne out by the fact that sufis achieved least success near the seats of power in the sub-contintent and had greater appeal where they had to fall upon their own moral and spiritual resources in which they were not wanting.

"Shaikh Daud of Lahore declined to meet Akbar although the Emperor was anxious to benefit from his guidance and blessings. Eminent Khalifas of Shaikh Nizamuddin refused to consider a proposal made by Mohammad Tughlaq to coordinate missionary activity with political expansion." (Indian Muslims, By Prof.M. Mujeeb.)

"Neither the succession of victories by Muslim armies nor the massacre of Hindu and the destruction of their temples brought many Hindus to the fold of Islam. On the contrary, as would be natural in the circumstances, conquest only built up Hindu resistance. The battles of Islam were won not by Muslim iconoclasts but by peaceful missionaries." (A History of the Sikhs, By Kushwant Singh.) What actually transpired was that the vigorous period of organised sufi movement merely coincided with the conquest of northern India by the Ilbari Turks early in the 13th century A.D.

Here we shall briefly narrate the work of sufis in Pakistan. Early in the 8th century A.D. when Mohammad Bin Qasim conquered Sind (which included most of Punjab) sufi movement had not taken any organised form, as already stated. In those days Islam was propagated mostly by merchants and individual preachers belonging to various trades. They were successful only to a limited extent; they did not spear-head a mass movement.

The first organised work in this region was started by Ismaili missionaries who achieved considerable success in Sind and southern Punjab where they gained political power as well by installing Ismaili rulers at Multan and Mansura. But the success of Ismaili missionaries was short-lived. Both Mahmud Ghaznavi (997-1030 A.D.) and, 150 years later, Mohammad Ghori (1175-1206 A.D.) defeated and smashed the power of the Ismaili rulers which resulted in the slow withering away of Ismaili Shiaism in Pakistan. Among the early Ismaili missionaries to gain ground in Pakistan were Pir Sadruddin, Pir Kabiruddin and Syed Yusufuddin.

The success of Ismailism in Pakistan coincided with its similar success in other parts of the Muslim world from the middle of the 10th to the middle of the 12th century A.D. During this period the Ismaili Caliphate of the Fatimids at Cairo had emerged the most powerful and Hasan Bin Sabbah's followers in the mountain fastnesses of northern Iran and Syria had become a factor to be reckoned with. But the Ghaznazvids, the Ghorids, The Seljuqs, the Ayubids and lastly the Mongols each in turn took steps to break their political power, while the sufis completely triumphed over them in the religious sphere. Southern Pakistan having become an integral part of the Muslim world from quite an early period, witnessed this rise and fall of the Ismailis in its own territories as well.

The Ghaznavid period was marked by the arrival in Lahore of the important spiritual figures of Hazrat Shaikh Ismail and Hazrat Ali Bin Osman Hujweri, popularly known as Data Ganj Baksh (died between 1072-79 A.D.) The latter was among the leading sufi philosophers of the day and since no organised 'silsilas' had started in his time, he did immense missionary work in an individual capacity and set an outstanding example for future generations.

"Shaikh Ismail was the first missionary who began preaching Islam in Lahore in 1005 A.D. He used to deliver 'khutbas' every Friday at which thousands of Hindus embraced Islam. Next came Hazrat Shaikh Ali Bin Osman Hujweri during the time of Masud Ghaznavi and was highly successful in converting large number of Hindus to Islam." (Tareekh-e-Sind By Ijazul Haq Quddusi.) He is reported to have converted Rai Raju, a Hindu General of the Ghaznavids, to Islam.

However, according to scholars, the general conversion to Islam in Pakistan started on a sizeable scale two hundred years later, from the 13th century, after the Ghorid rule. This period begins with the arrival of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in this sub-continent followed by a large number of Chishti and Suhrawardy sufis. This period also saw the expansion of Muslim power across the Sutlej into northern India. "Muslim mysticism reached India when it had entered the last and the most important phase of its history- the organisation of silsilas in the 12th-13th centuries A.D. In the early period, only Suhrawardy and Chisti silsilas started their work." (Religion and Politics in India in the 13th Century A.D. By Khaliq Ahmad Nizami.)

"Sind claims the distinction of being the home of Indian sufism. According to Hasan Nizami, Suhrawardy sufis were the first to arrive in India and made their Headquarters in Sind. Suhrawardy order attained great influence in Pakistan under the leadership of Hazrat Bahauddin Zakaria of Multan. The famous Qadirya order entered India through Sind in 1482 A.D. Syed Bandagi Mohammad Ghouse, one of the descendants of the founder (Shaikh Abdul Qader Jilani 1078-1116) took up residence in Sind at Uch (now in Bahawalpur) and died in 1517 A.D." (An Introduction to History of Sufism By A.J.Arbery.)

[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="darkred"]THE PIONEERS[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

The great pioneers of this 13th century sufi movement in Pakistan were the four friends known as 'Chahar Yar': Hazrat Fariduddin Masud Ganj Shakar of Pak Pattan (1174-1266); Hazrat Syed Jalaluddin Bukhari of Uch-Bahawalpur (1196-1294); Hazrat Bahauddin Zakaria of Multan (1170-1267) and Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar of Sehwan (1177-1274). It is said that 17 leading tribes of the Punjab accepted Islam at the hands of Hazrat Fariduddin Masud Ganj Shakar. Among them were the Kharals, Dhudhyan, Tobiyan, etc. According to some , Wattu, a Rajput tribe was also converted by Baba Farid. Hazrat Jalaluddin Bukhari converted Sumras and Sammas of Sindh while Hazrat Zakaria and Shahbaz Qalandar attained great success in Multan and the northern areas of Sindh. Saqi Sarwar Sultan converted a large number of Jats and a group among them is still known as Sultani Jats.

But the Sufis did not do their work in a hurry. They first set an example of highest probity by their personal acts and explained the message of Islam in a simple, forceful manner without exerting any political or economic pressure so that the work of conversion continued for centuries throughout the Delhi Sultanate, through the Khilji, Tughlaq, Lodhi and Mughal periods down to the days of the British Raj. We learn that during the time of the Mughals a noted sufi, Shaikh Dawood of Chati (in Pakistan) was carrying on the work of conversion quite vigorously. The historian Badauni says: "Hindus to the number of 50 or more came each day with their families and relatives to pay their respects to the Saint (Shaikh Dawood) and under his spiritual influence embraced Islam."

[B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]Other notable sufis of Pakistan were:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

[COLOR="Blue"]Hazrat Shah Mohammad Ghouse who migrated from Sindh and settled down in the Punjab; Hazrat Mian Mir, who was born in Sindh and migrated to Lahore where he is buried. (A personal friend of the 5th Sikh Guru Arjun, he laid the foundation of Hari Mandir in Amritsar). Hazrat Shah Jamal of Ichra, Lahore; Hazrat Shah Khairuddin Abul Maali of Lahore, Shaikh Ismail of Lahore; Hazrat Syed Yakub Zanjani (d. 604 H) Lahore, Hazrat Abdul Nabi Sham of Sham Chourasi who was originally a Hindu; Ruknuddin Rukne Alam of Multan who was grandson of Hazrat Bahauddin Zakaria whose family had also migrated from Sindh; Hazrat Jalaluddin Bukhari Makhdoom-e-Jahanian Jahan Gusht of Uch who was the grandson of Hazrat Jalaluddin Bukhari; Syed Ahmad Saqi Sarwer Sultan of D.G. Khan; Shaikh Yusuf Gardezi of Multan (1026-1152); Shaikh Safiuddin Haqqani of Uch; Pir Jalaluddin Qutub-al-Aqtab who died at Uch in 1293 AD converted the Mazaris and several other Baluch tribes to Islam; Channan Pir of Cholistan, Bahawalpur; Sharfuddin Bulbul Shah, Syed Ali Hamdani and Mir SyedHasan Samnani of Kashmir; Shaikh Badruddin Suleman and Shaikh Budruddin Ishaque of Pak Pattan; Shaikh Sadruddin Arif, Shaikh Ruknuddin Abul Fatah and Shams Subzwari of Multan; Alaul Aque; Hazrat Khardari Baba Mulla Taher of Ziarat; Pir Hunglaj on the coast of Makran; Pir Shori in Bugti territory; Shah Bilawal in Lasbela; Pir Omar in Khuzdar; Zinda Pir in Lund area, Chatan Shah near Kalat, Sultan Shah in Zehri territory. Pir Baba of Swat, Kaka Sahib of Nowshera; Khwaja Makhdum Chisti, Sakhi Sultan (Mangho Pir) and Hazrat Abdullah Shah of Karachi; Syed Shah Ali Makhi, Ghazi Baba, Makhdoom Mohammad Nooh, Hazrat Mohiuddin Gilani, Shah Khairuddin Gilani and Hazrat Shah Inayat of Sindh.[/COLOR]

These sufis were great intellectuals, well-read and widely travelled. Most of them were speakers of high calibre, men of letters and poets of eminence. Because of their merits and morals coupled with their spiritual attainments they succeeded in making a powerful impact on the life of the people among whom they settled. It was no mean achievement to change the religion and transform the entire social life of millions of people in this subcontinent.

[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="DarkRed"]THE BLESSINGS OF THE SUFIS[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

The sufis performed a multitudinous role. Being proficient in learning, adept in medicine and steeped in spiritualism, they dispensed these possessions for the greatest good of the greatest number. Highest nobles of the state as well as lowest strata of society gathered in the Khankhas and the sufis showered their blessings upon them irrrespctive of rank and religion. They provided succour to the harassed and solace to the harrowed, made available food and shelter to the needy, preached against corruption, and admonished the harsh and oppressive rulers. There is hardly any social or moral crime against which the sufis did not raise their voice----slavery, hoarding, black-marketing, profiteering, wine, etc. Barni remarks that as a result of their teachings "vices among men had been reduced".

Hazrat Shah Baz Qalander's success in his campaign against the oppression of the local raja and against the vices prevailing in Sehwan is well-known.

When Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti was asked about the highest form of devotion, he replied that it was nothing but helping the poor, the distracted and the downtrodden. Infact Muslim mystics looked upon 'social service' as the supreme object of all their spiritual exercises. they did not believe in isolated, solitary life of contemplation. 'Live in society and bear the blows and buffets of the people' was the advice of most of them to their disciples.

Shaikh Ruknuddin Rukn-e-Alam of Multan is reported to have remarked that since all sorts of people visited a saint it was necessary for him to possess three things: 1. money; 2. learning; and 3. spiritual ability. With the first he could help those who needed monetary aid; with the second he could solve the problems of scholars and with the third he could provide spiritual guidance. It may be mentioned here that some of the sufis accepted gifts and donations from their rich disciples and distributed them among the poor visitors, thus serving as a media for fair distribution of wealth.

The sufis always advocated the path of peace and askd people to avoid rift and bloodshed. Shaikh Fariduddin Ganj Shakar of Pakpattan advised his disciples to placate one's enemies. He once told a vistor: "Do not give me a knife; give me a needle. The knife is an instrument for cutting asunder and the needle for sewing together."

Another aspect of sufi teachings was that they stressed God's love rather than His wrath; treated their enemies softly, sympathetically and never abused other systems or creeds. Though greatly instrumental in bringing back Ismailis of Sindh and Punjab into the fold of Sunni Islam, they always praised the services of Ismaili missionaries who preceded them. Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia had commended the work of the well-known Ismaili missionary Nur Turk although he was responsible for the rising against early Turkish Sultans in Delhi.

The sufis were so kind and considerate towards people of all cultures and creeds that they exercised profound influence on Hindu society. It was because of the sympathy and understanding shown by them to the Hindus, particularly of the lower strata, that in the 14th and 15th centuries AD the religious leadership of Bhakti movement rose from the lower sections. Never before in the long history of Hinduism, religious leaders had sprung from that strata of society to which Chaitanya, Kabir, Nanak, Dhannu, Dadu and others belonged. And what is more significant, there was hardly any leader of Bhakti school who had not passed some of his time in khankha.

Thus, khanqhas (hospices) not only brought non-Muslims and Muslims together but they also narrowed the gulf that divided the Muslims of foreign origin and local converts. If the sufis had not played this vital role of far reaching importance there would have hardly been a common meeting ground between some of the ruling classes obsessed with a superiority complex, and the ruled who comprised both non-Muslims and newly converts. Without sufis, most Muslim rulers of the early period would have remained isolated, lacking a broad base, always in danger of extinction.

As against the stiff, nonchalanat and contemptuous attitude of some Sultans towards converted Muslims, the sufis gave them a sense of pride and enhanced their social prestige by various means. They usually conferred on them such titles of nobility as Khwaja (also pronounced Khoja), Momin (Memon), Malik, Shaikh, Akhund, Khalifa, etc.

By adopting an attitude of river-like generosity, sun-like affection and earth-like hospitality, the sufis struck at the very roots of casteism and religious exclusiveness and paved the way for large-scale conversions to Islam.

Pakistan And Afghanistan
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

The nature of relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan is a very delicate one. Leaving aside the recent realities (past 20 years) of the close brotherly relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan during the Jehad against the Soviets/Communists, the emergence of the former-Taliban, and now the post 9-11 Afghan govt., prior to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan many Afghans were uneasy towards the region of Pakistan. What had embittered the feelings of the Afghans was the taking away of Pashtun inhabited territories by the Sikhs who perpetrated brutal atrocities on their Muslim subjects and made their existence miserable.

Similarly, their successors the British, were no less antagonistic toward the Pashtuns and waged constant war against them causing great hardships and miseries to the inhabitants of the entire area. The Pashtuns of what is called today NWFP and the Tribal Areas of Pakistan had to make tremendous sacrifices for about 130 years both under the Sikhs and the British (1818-1947). It was this misfortune of the Pashtuns of this belt that was partly responsible for the attempts made by the Kabul rulers to get it back.

But from August 14, 1947 things have taken a different turn and the entire perspective has changed. The Pashtuns of neither the settled regions nor the Tribal Areas are subjected to any discrimination nor any expeditions sent against them or armies deployed to suppress them. They are citizens of a free state where they enjoy the same rights as people of other provinces. Pashtuns hold positions of highest responsibilty in civil as well as military services of Pakistan. They are today proud citizens of a Muslim state and have so much endeared themselves to the other people of the country that one cannot think of Pakistan without the Pashtun element forming part of it. They have produced great leaders of national stature with large followings in the Punjab, Sind and Baluchistan.

Since the day Mahmud Ghaznavi entered this sub-continent, Pashtuns have been a constant factor in political, social and military life of Muslims of this sub-continent. In terms of time from 1000 AD onwards for about a thousand years, and in terms of space from Chitral to Chittagong and from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin, the ubiquitous Pashtun has always been there. There is no city or town in this sub-continent with Muslim population without Pashtun 'mohallas' or neighborhoods and there is hardly a Muslim family which has not entered into matrimonial relations with Pashtun.

As far as Afghanistan is concerned we can very well understand the feelings of Amir Dost Mohammed, Sher Ali, Abdur Rehman Khan and King Amanullah toward fellow Pashtuns east of Durand Line living under non-Muslim rule during their time. But today they are not living under non-Muslim rule. Similarly today the problem is not of "divided Pashtuns" as Kabul was inclined to look at it in the past, but on the contrary Pashtuns playing a leading role in two Muslim states..... in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan. There was a time when Durand Line divided Pashtuns to weaken them but today the Line makes them partners-in-power in two states. No decision on any issue can be taken by the government of Pakistan without the consent of the Pashtuns living in Pakistan.

Further, since they are spread over NWFP and Quetta division of Baluchistan, they will weild power in the governments of both provinces in any constitutional setup. Would the Afghan government and the supporters of 'Pakhtunistan' movement like to deprive the Pashtuns of this important role in Pakistan? Wise counsel is: they should not. Moreover, Pashtuns are the connecting link between the two brotherly Muslim states whose geographical and economic necessities may, in the near future, bring about their fusion.

A few words about the fusion of the two brotherly countries. The idea of Afghanistan forming an autonomous province of Pakistan is not an unfamiliar or impracticable one. The letter 'alif' in the Urdu (or 'A' in English) word Pakistan stands for Afghans. Both Jamaluddin Afghani and Allama Iqbal cherished the concept of North-West British India and Afghanistan together forming a single Muslim state. Moreover, Pakistan, as at present constituted is poor in minerals but rich in food and fibres while Afghanistan has tremendous untapped mineral and manpower resources. Plus, Afghans would be able to get direct access to Pakistan's ports of Arabian sea, while Pakistanis will be able to get direct access to Central Asian markets.

A fusion of the two would be pregnant with immense possibilities not only for the people of the two countries but for the entire Muslim world. There is nothing wrong or repugnant in this idea. The combined strength of the Pashtuns from the Indus to the Oxus and from Dir to Herat would ensure their internal autonomy as well as a strong voice and a powerful say in the Central Government of Pakistan. Furthermore, such confederation will be a diluting factor to the predominant groups of Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Punjabis in Pakistan, thus creating stronger equity among all groups. World trends are towards greater integration and larger pooling of resources. Let the Afghans give the idea a calm and cool consideration in the larger interests of Muslim unity. There is plenty of commonality between Pakistan and Afghanistan in respect to their religion, culture, race, history, geography, etc.

Here I would like to quote a paragraph relevant to this aspect from W.K. Frazer Tytler's book "Afghanistan: A Study of Political Developments in Central and Southern Asia". He writes: "It is indeed a strange feature of this complicated situation that there exists, like a cancer in the body politic of northern South Asia, this collection of 'independent' tribes, well armed, intractable and formidable, who may at anytime disturb relations and disrupt the economy of either of the states in whose midst they dwell. It is an anachronism and a danger to the stability of northern South Asia and the peace of Central Asia. The remedy is the fusion of the two states of Afghanistan and Pakistan in some way or other. It may be argued that, given the differences in mental and political outlook of the two states, such fusion is impossible. This may be so; I am in no position to argue the matter. But history suggests that fusion will take place, if not peacefully, then by force." This is the view of an eminent western author.

The above study brings out two alternatives for the solution of Pak-Afghan problems. Either the Durand line remains, enabling the people of Pashtun race to play a leading role in both Afghanistan and Pakistan which should lead to the shelving of 'Pakhtunistan' issue forever and the establishment of amicable relations between the two, Or, since one of the objectives of setting up an independent state (Pakistan) in the north-western parts of British India was to include in its fold Muslims living up to the Hindu Kush or the Oxus which have been the traditional boundaries of all the Muslim and pre-Muslim dynasties of this area, a fusion of Afghanistan and Pakistan is highly desirable. Such a development would be natural, normal and extremely welcome. It will benefit both, strengthen both, and open up new vistas for both. As the present boundaries of Afghanistan skip the Hindu Kush and lie along the Oxus, the possiblities are considerably broader and potentialities exceedingly brighter.

The whole issue needs to be studied in historical, cultural and religious perspective and not in terms of modern, recently nurtured ideas of parochial western nationalism. We have to break the linguistic and racial barriers sometime and somewhere and demonstrate to the world that Muslim nationalism does not brook petty ideas and does not believe in tenuous bonds. The best place to demonstrate the superiority of Islamic principles of nationalism is between the Sutlej and the Oxus and the best time is the 21st century.

Common rule over Pakistan and Afghanistan is not a new or novel idea in the context of history. The Sakas, Parthians, Graeco-Bactrians, Kushans, Ghaznavids, Abdalis and many others were rulers of both the countries with their capital either at Peshawar, Taxila, Ghazna or Qandahar.

Then, the territories now forming Afghanistan have great political significance for the Muslims of South Asia. From its bosom have originated movements and monarchs who established Muslim rule in Pakistan, and later in the entire sub-continent.

Mahmud Ghaznavi, though a Turk, was born and brought up in Ghazna in Afghanistan and it was with the help of Afghan soldiers that he conquered several cities in northern India and introduced Muslim rule in the areas now known as Pakistan (11th century AD).

Mohammad Ghori, though of Turko-Persian origin, was born and nurtured at Ghor in Afghanistan. It was again with the help of Afghan soldiers that he extended Muslim sway over the whole of northern India (12th-13th century AD).

It was again an Afghan, Alauddin Khilji, who extended Muslim rule for the first time to southern India up to Cape Comorin (end of 13th and early 14th century AD).

Zahiruddin Baber, though a Barlas Turk, conquered parts of Afghanistan and stayed at Kabul for no less a period than twenty years, making it a base for the conquest of the sub-continent where he finally established Mughal rule.

It were the Afghan dynasties of Lodhis and Suris that strengthened the base of Muslim rule in India by introducing land reforms, by bringing the rulers (Muslims) and the ruled (Hindus) closer to each other and by encouraging cultural and literary activities.

It will be noticed that almost all the Muslim dynasties that ruled over this sub-continent sprang up from the territories now constituting the state of Afghanistan...... Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Khiljis, Lodhis, Suris and Mughals, not to speak the various Afghan dynasties that ruled over the provinces.

And finally when the Mughals were facing extinction, being stangulated to death by the Marathas and the Sikhs, it was again an Afghan, Ahmed Shah Abdali, who came to their rescue (middle of 18th century) and allowed them a brief respite. But since the Mughals were a spent force and unable to rise again, the support and succour provided by Abdali proved of no avail.

However, Abdali being a shrewd and sensible leader, aware of the huge anti-Muslim forces raising their head, and conscious of the limitations of his own power, established his hold, as a first step, in the north-western corner naming it Afghanistan (1747 AD). Pakistan is merely an extension of Abdali's kingdom..... in fact Punjab, Sind, Baluchistan and Kashmir formed part of it during reigns of Abdali, his son Taimur Shah and during short period of the latter's sons Shah Zaman and Shah Shuja. In view of this historical background, Pakistan and Afghanistan cannot remain separate from each other for long especially when the same forces that Abdali had faced and crushed in the 18th century (Sikhs and Marathas) are again, in a different garb (India), posing a threat to the independence of this entire region.

Since Afghans have made glorious contribution to the development of the administration, education and culture of this sub-continent, instead of remaining isolated with closed minds within the boundaries of Afghanistan, they can come out again play a leading and constructive role in the whole of Pakistan extending their area of activity up to Sea of Arabia. They have been known throughout history for their valour, broad-mindedness and tolerance. Instead of thinking on racial lines let them demonstrate these fine qualities once again for the benefit of their co-religionists.

Pakistan-Afghanistan Border is a Settled Issue
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Pakistan-Afghanistan Border is a Settled Issue[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

About twenty-three miles south of Pillar XII, which is erected on the Saricol range of Pamir, lies the beginning of the "North West Frontier". Pillar XII is located at latitude 37o20'5"N and longitude 74o24'50"E. It was erected by a joint Anglo-Russian Commission in September 1895, on the left bank of a tributary of the Tegermen-Su river, one mile from its mouth; and it is the last among pillars, which carry the Russo-Afghan frontier from the eastern end of Lake Victoria (Wood's Lake) to the Chinese frontier.

The protocol embodying the final agreement was signed on July 22, 1887 and is known as the Pamir Agreement. The demarcated boundary according to the 'The Pamir Agreement' remains unchanged to this day. This border was internationally recognized as the border between Russia (then Soviet Union) and Afghanistan. Today this boundary is the internationally recognized border between the Central Asian countries (former Soviet republics as successor independent states of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan) and Afghanistan.

The Afghan frontier turns west from Pillar XII and follows the northern ridge of the Sarikol Range bordering the Taghdumbash Pamir. It then curves southward over the Wakhjir Pass to join the present Pakistan-Afghan frontier, which is often referred to as the Durand line. While negotiating the Durand Line, Amir Abdul Rahman Khan of Afghanistan had received a British mission in a formal Durbar which was held in November 1893, in the Salam Khana Hall, where the civil and military officers of Kabul and chiefs of various tribes were present.

The Amir in his speech gave an outline to the audience of all the understanding which had been agreed upon and the provisions which had been signed, and urged upon them the necessity for adhering firmly to British alliance. He pointed out that the interests of Afghanistan and England were identical.

The Amir further told the audience that it was for the first time that Afghanistan had a definite frontier which would prevent future misunderstandings and would render Afghanistan strong and powerful after it had been consolidated with the aid in arms and ammunition which would be received from the British.

The demarcation of the Durand Line was carried out in fulfilment of the Anglo-Afghan agreement' of November 12, 1893 between Amir Abdul Rahman Khan of Afghanistan and Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, Foreign Secretary to the Government of India.

The demarcation of the Indo-Afghan frontier, as defined in the above mentioned agreement, was divided into sections and was carried out for the most part by the joint Anglo-Afghan Commission during the year 1894-1896. In 1947, the Indian sub-continent emerged as two independent dominions of India and Pakistan. West Pakistan by right of its location inherited the former North West Frontier of British India and the Indo-Afghan boundary established vide the agreement of 1893.

There are some circles who continue to spread disinformation that the agreement was signed under duress and has a validity of 100 years. Unfortunately, the propaganda emanates from a country in the neighbourhood of Pakistan. This country also instigates anti Pakistan elements in the Afghan government to issue controversial statements undermining Pak-Afghan relations. A host of websites of this country also disseminate anti Pakistan propaganda. It is therefore necessary to put the facts in the correct perspective as follows:

• The International Border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is based on the map attached with the original Agreement of 1893.

• Clause 6 of the Agreement clearly states that the agreement is regarded by both the parties as a full and satisfactory settlement of all the principal differences of opinion which have arisen between them. The Agreement has been reaffirmed by successive Afghan rulers.

• 1905 Treaty with Amir HabibullahKhan continuing the Agreements which had existed between the British Government and Amir Abdul Rahman Khan. Para 2 states "I also have acted, am acting and will act upon the same agreement and I will not contravene them in any dealing or in any promise."

• Treaty of peace between the British Government and the Independent Afghan Government concluded at Rawalpindi on 8th August 1919. Article 5 states that "the Afghan Government accepts the Indo-Afghan frontier accepted by the Late Amir.”

• Friendly and Commercial Relations treaty between Great Britain and Afghanistan at Kabul on 22 November 1921. Article 2 of the treaty states that, "The two high contracting parties accept the Indo-Afghan frontier as accepted by the Afghan Government under Article V of the treaty concluded at Rawalpindi on 8th August 1919."

• Notes were exchanged between His Majesty's Government and Afghan Minister in London, 1930 (His Highness General Shah Wali Khan to Mr. Arthur Henderson), Afghan Legation 6th May 1930. Both parties ~greed that it was their understanding that the Treaty of Kabul of 22 November 1921 continued to have full force and effect.

• On 13 June 1948, Shah Wali Khan, the Afghan envoy to Pakistan declared, " Our King has already stated, and I, as the representative of Afghanistan, declare that Afghanistan has no claims on frontier territory and even if there were any, they have been given up in favour of Pakistan. Anything contrary to this which may have appeared in the press in the past or may appear in the future should not be given credence at all and should be considered just a canard."

The Pak-Afghan International Border has sound technical and legal background. According to international law, treaties of the extinct state concerning boundary lines remain valid and all rights and duties arising from such treaties of the extinct state devolve on the absorbing state. Pakistan is the successor state of British India. The following is worth mentioning:

• A country to country treaty does not need any revision unless both parties desire change.

• International Agreement once finally concluded can be revoked only bilaterally and not unilaterally.

• Unless otherwise provided in the concluded treaty about its duration, the treaty becomes of a permanent nature. This is applicable to the 1893 Treaty Agreement.

• International Law does not lay down the maximum life period of one hundred years for an internationally concluded border agreement between the two states, when fixed border validity has not been mentioned in its text.

It goes beyond doubt to say that the international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is a settled matter and is globalfy accepted. It is supported by International Law and the treaty of 1893 has been ratified several times by successive Afghan governments.

The Language Movement of Pakistan
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]The Language Movement of Pakistan
Preservation of Pakistan's native languages against the domination of English and Urdu[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

[B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]Should Urdu continue as our National Language?[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

Language is the most important aspect of culture. It is the dominant feature in determining nationality or ethnicity. It is the binding force that unites a people, and makes them distinct from others. Language represents a people’s heritage and identity. However, the imposition of Urdu as the national language of Pakistan has been disastrous to the country.

Urdu language evolved during the declining period of Muslim rule in South Asia. But Persian (Farsi) always remained the official language of South Asia during the Muslim rule. Turkic and Arabic languages were also popular, Turkic language being the mother-tongue of many among the ruling elite, and Arabic language learnt for religious or scholarly purposes. The base of most South Asian Muslim empires was in north India, particularly in Delhi and surrounding areas. With the passage of time, due to the constant interaction between the ruled Khari-boli-speaking north Indian Hindu masses and the ruling Persian-Turkic-speaking Muslim elite, a new language slowly evolved called Hindustani, whose Persianized form came to be known as Urdu. Although, Hindustani/Urdu language eventually became popular, it was limited to parts of north India (Delhi, UP, MP, etc.) and never became the official language during Muslim rule. Other regions continued their native languages such as Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Kashmiri, Seraiki, Baluchi, etc. having nothing to do with Urdu, while Persian was the official language throughout the Muslim empire.

Even in the case of north India, the official language continued as Persian down to the days of the last Mughal emperor. “Persian remained the official language of every Muslim state in India and the ambition to emulate Persian classics was nowhere given up, the influx of Persian poets being a compulsion for the study of Persian” (Indian Muslims, by M. Mujeeb). It was only later on, from the advent of the British that north Indian Muslims adopted Urdu and developed an attachment for it.

“During the first centuries of its existence, Urdu literature was entirely poetical. Prose Urdu owes its origin to the English occupation of India and to the need of text books for the College of Fort William. The Hindi form of Hindustani was invented at the same time by the teachers at the College. It was intended for the use of Hindus and was derived from Urdu by ejecting all words of Arabic and Persian birth, and substituting in their place words borrowed or derived from the indigenous Sanskrit” (A Study of History, Vol. V, by AJ Toynbee). Also, the Perso-Arabic script of Urdu and Devangari script of Hindi are other significant differences between the two.

Despite these differences, Urdu and Hindi languages are extremely similar to each other, mostly composed of native north Indian linguistic elements. Having a common origin, both languages are intelligible to each other, and overwhelmingly share the same syntax, vowels, vocabulary, etc. It would be safe to say that both Hindi and Urdu are almost the same language, the minor differences being somewhat comparable to the Persianized Azeri language of Iran with the Russianized Azeri language of Azerbaijan. Leaving aside the undoubtedly close relationship between Hindi and Urdu, the fact remains that Urdu is only native to parts of north India, and is a foreign language in Pakistan.

Since north India (Delhi, UP, etc.) was the base of Muslim and British empires, the Urdu-speaking north Indian Muslims had an environmental advantage in better education, jobs, and businesses. The result being that the Urdu-speaking north Indian Muslims dominated in South Asia as the educated elitist Muslim class. Due to their domination, it led to Urduization of some other non-Urdu-speaking Muslims who sought better education and status. Also, to some extent, propaganda of Urdu as being the only true “Muslim” and “superior” language of South Asia was promoted. With the birth of Pakistan Movement, the bulk of it having a majority of Urdu-speaking north Indians, Urdu language was further promoted. Upon Pakistan’s creation, the peak of Urduization process became a reality with the imposition of Urdu on the non-Urdu speaking peoples of Pakistan, in the form of Urdu as the national language of Pakistan.

Except for the 7% of Pakistanis who are north Indian Muslim migrants or their descendents, also known as Muhajirs, whose mother-tongue is Urdu, none of the other Pakistanis have anything to do with Urdu. In fact, imposition of Urdu is resented among many peoples of Pakistan. The loss of East Pakistan was also mostly due to imposition of Urdu on Bengalees. There were language riots in Sindh during the 70s. And basically Urdu is resisted in much of the country. If many people have learnt Urdu, it is simply because they are forced to do so, for social and economic communicational necessities under the Urdu-dominated system of the country. Instead of Urdu, why was not Arabic or Persian made the national language of Pakistan? At least, Arabic is the language of Islam (of Quran), thus naturally it would had been more accepted among Pakistanis. Also, Persian was another logical option, because of its historical role of being the official language in the region (Muslim and other periods), and would have made us closer to the Muslim brothers on our western borders.

National language is suppose to unite a country, but in Pakistan, Urdu as the national language has caused division and resentment among most Pakistanis. But the worse part is that Urdu being a north Indian language and foreign to Pakistan is slowly destroying the local languages/cultures, and “Indianizing” the native Pakistanis. This is cultural and linguistic genocide of Pakistanis. It is Indian imperialism, wearing the mask of falsehoods about Urdu language. Many of the native languages of Pakistan are already in danger of being extinct, mostly due to Urdu imposition. And when a language dies, so does its people’s identity and heritage. Pakistan was created mostly based on our cultural distinctiveness; unfortunately, Urdu-imposition is only forcefully making us artificially closer to India.

And with this linguistic imperialism, also comes other aspects of cultural invasion. For example, north Indian music/TV/film dominates in Pakistan, whereas native Pakistani music/film/TV is largely ignored by the Urdu dominated media. Indian culture is widely spreading in Pakistan and it is visible with more women wearing the Indian dress sari, people adopting many Indian words/phrases in their native Pakistani languages, many Indian customs and ceremonies followed by Pakistanis, Pakistanis being brainwashed with biased Indian socio-political views, and much more.

We Pakistanis are grateful to Quaid-e-Azam for his efforts in the creation of Pakistan; however, as a human being he was not perfect. Jinnah’s choice of Urdu as the national language of Pakistan was his biggest mistake with long-term negative consequences. Criticizing Urdu as the national language of Pakistan might be very painful to many Pakistanis. But ignoring this issue with falsehoods and illusions will only worsen the problem. Let us be open-minded and cease Urdu as the national language of Pakistan. At the same time, Urdu language should be respected, and people given the freedom to learn or speak it. Promoting native languages to become the official languages of their respective provinces or districts is the best solution to the problem. All native languages of Pakistan should be declared as the national languages of Pakistan. This will ensure the preservation of our language/culture, unity and respect between the various ethnicities, and pride and distinctiveness in our Pakistani nationhood. If a multi-lingual country like Switzerland can have a successful multi-linguistic system, then so can we. Let us make change for our betterment before it's too late!



[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="darkred"]Should English continue as our Official Language?[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

All languages of Pakistan are oppressed, and the ruling elite Anglophones continue to deny them their rightful role they deserve as the official languages of Pakistan. Fifty three years after the so-called independence English continues as the official language and graduates from non-English medium schools face a job market in the control of these colonial forces bent on the total destruction of all Pakistani languages. The fact is that in 1947 we inherited an elitist ruling class bureaucracy tenaciously clinging to power and owing allegiance to Britain alone and seeking a strengthening of Anglo-American interests and cultural subversion, the destruction of Muslim/Pakistani values and lifestyles throughout the country. The plain fact is that as long as English remains as the official language of Pakistan it will be difficult to create a vibrant national spirit or culture The status of national language is meaningless; unless it is allowed to assume the role of official language, and as the medium of universal instruction within the country. Language is a potent force in the promotion of nationalism and national cohesion.

Indeed, after more than a half century of the so-called independence, majority of Pakistanis are still in a state of mental slavery. You have accurately pinpointed the causes and agendas behind the far more potent danger to our culture and identity---the English domination in Pakistan; which is led by the British-installed Anglophile elite of Pakistan, to serve the interests of the Anglo-Americans and their own.

Widespread ignorance among the masses is being exploited, with the false propaganda of English as the "global" or "better" language. Also, the promotion of English is misleadingly justified as the "heritage" of Pakistanis, or on the basis of "linguistic evolution".

The argument of English being a global language holds no weight, as you know these so called global languages come and go, depending on a nation's politico-economic influence in the world. At different time periods, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Persian, and Arabic served as global languages. Sure, it is good to learn the global language or any other language, but not at the cost of losing your own. And what is more important is that while these transitions in the balance of world power take place, other nations should cling on to their language/culture in order to ensure their long term survival.

The claim of English as a better language is simply hogwash. Linguists and cultural anthropologists agree that language is independent of the mental level in people. There is no correlation between a people's language and their level of sophistication. For example, the once barbaric Germanic-speaking people, who were far less civilized than others, are today one of the most sophisticated people in the world. Languages that lack the essentials of today's constantly changing modern world can simply be further developed to meet the demands via proper linguistic institutions. Out of national pride, the once rarely spoken and ancient Hebrew language was revived and further developed as Israel's national language. Today, Israel is one of the world's leading countries in technology, and its Hebrew language proudly satisfies their demands. Japan, China, Korea, Russia, Latin and Arab countries, Iran, and many others are proof that national pride of language can overpower against any odds.

English language, as the heritage of Pakistanis is another bogus claim. The very fact that the British imperialists invaded South Asia, looted and enslaved its people, and then fled back to their country thousands of miles away does not make them part of our heritage. Unlike the Aryas, Sakas, Yavanas, Hunas, Turks, and various other invaders, the British did not settle permanently in South Asia, nor did they intermarry with the South Asians. Therefore, the British and their English language are not the true heritage of Pakistanis, but instead they are the bitter legacy of foreign subjugation and plunder.

It is true that language is in a constant natural process of evolution, dependent on the sociopolitical circumstances. As different peoples interact or merge, they influence each other, thereby bringing change. This is a slow natural process, independent of external factors. Unnecessarily using a foreign/colonial language, or purposely substituting the words in your language from it, is nothing more than slave-mindedness, and stands against the very principles of linguistic evolution. A proud Arab, Iranian, French, Chinese, Japanese, etc. would never unnecessarily prefer to speak English, nor replace words in their language from English.

The greater part of the blame for the continuing dominance of English language in Pakistan lies within us, the common Pakistanis. We blame others, particularly the elite and foreign powers, but at the same time it is very hypocritical of us to send our children to English medium schools, lavishly using English language/words instead of our own, and basically giving a godly status to everything English/Western. This slave-mindedness and inferiority complex is so deeply rooted in our psyche, that we don't even want to acknowledge or fight it. We are so much consumed with careerism and materialism that we continue to ignore the infection of slavery in our minds, like a deadly disease slowly destroying our identity and culture.

The Land And People Of Baluchistan
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]THE LAND AND PEOPLE OF BALUCHISTAN[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

In spite of the intrinsic hostility of its landscape and climate, archaeological discoveries have confirmed that Baluchistan was already inhabited in the Stone Age, and the important neolithic site at Mehrgarh is the earliest (7000-3000 B.C.) on the subcontinent. Until its overthrow by Alexander the Great, Baluchistan was part of the Persian Empire, whose records refer to it as "Maka".

In 325 B.C. Alexander led part of his army back from his Indus campaign to Babylon across the Makran Desert at the cost of terrible suffering and high casualties. Thereafter Baluchistan lay for centuries on the shadowy borderlands of the Zoroastrian rulers of Iran and the local Buddhist and Hindu dynasties of northwestern subcontinent.

Islam was brought to Baluchistan in 711 when Muhammad bin Qasim led the army which was to conquer Sind across the Makran route, but the area was always too remote for firm control to be exerted by any of the later local dynasties. It accordingly receives only very passing mention in the court histories of the time. The connections of the inland areas were variously with Iran, Afghanistan and India, those of coastal Makran rather across the Arabian Sea with Oman and the Gulf.

The name "Baluchistan" only came into existence later with the arrival from Iran of the tribes called Baluch (usually pronounced "Baloch" in Pakistan). Just how and when they arrived remains a matter of hot debate, since the traditional legends of their Middle Eastern origins, supposed to have been in the Aleppo region of Syria have been further confused by cranky theories either that like the Pathans they may descend from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, or that they originated from Babylon, since "Baluch" is phonetically similar to the names of the god Baal or the Babylonian ruler Belos.

Better evidence is suggested by the Baluchi language which beIongs to the same Iranian group of Indo-European as Persian and Kurdish. This suggests that the Baluch originated from the area of the Caspian Sea, making their way gradually across Iran to reach their present homeland in around A.D. 1000, when they are mentioned with the equally warlike Kuch tribes in Firdausi's great Persian epic, the Book of Kings:

Heroic Baluches and Kuches we saw,
Like battling rams all determined on war.

Warlike the history of the Baluch has certainly always been. As the last to arrive of the major ethnic groups of Pakistan they were faced with the need to displace the peoples already settled in Baluchistan. Some they more or less successfully subjugated or assimilated, like the Meds of Makran and other now subordinate groups. From others they faced a greater challenge, notably from the Brahui tribes occupying the hills around Kalat.

The origins of the Brahuis are even more puzzling than those of the Baluch, for their language is not Indo-European at all, but belongs to the same Dravidian family as Tamil and the other languages of south India spoken over a thousand miles away. One theory has it that the Brahuis are the last northern survivors of a Dravidian-speaking population which perhaps created the Indus Valley civilisation, but it seems more likely that they too arrived as the result of a long tribal migration, at some earlier date from peninsular India.

As they moved eastwards, the Baluch were initially successful in overcoming the Brahuis. Under Mir Chakar, who established his capital at Sibi in 1487, a great Baluch kingdom briefly came into existence before being destroyed by civil war between Mir Chakar's Rind tribe and the rival Lasharis, whose battles are still celebrated in heroic ballads. Although the Baluch moved forward into Panjab and Sind, the authority of the Moghuls stopped them establishing permanent kingdoms there, although the names of Dera Ghazi Khan in Panjab and Dera Ismail Khan in NWFP are still reminders of the Baluch chiefs who conquered these lands in the 16th century. The Baluch who settled in the plains gradually became largely detribalised, forgetting their native language and increasingly assimilated to the local population, with their tribal origins remaining little more than a proud memory.

In Baluchistan itself, which came only briefly under the authority of the Moghuls, the tables were turned on the Baluch by the Brahuis who succeeded in re-establishing their power in Kalat. Throughout the 18th century, the Khans of Kalat were the dominant local power, with the Baluch tribes settled to the west and to the east of them being forced to acknowledge their suzerainty.

The greatest of the Khans was Mir Nasir Khan (1749-1817), whose military success owed much to the regular organisation of his army, with its separate divisions recruited from the Sarawan and Jhalawan areas which constitute the northern and southern parts of the Brahui homeland. The Khanate of Kalat became the nearest thing there has ever been to an independent Baluchistan. This extended beyond the modern boundaries, since Mir Nasir Khan's authority ran as far as the then insignificant town of Karachi. Although dominated by the Brahuis, they themselves became increasingly "Baluchified". Today, for instance, the Brahui language only keeps the first three of its old Dravidian numbers. From "four" upwards Brahuis count in Baluchi, in which most are anyway bilingual.

With the British expansion into northwestern subcontinent and their disastrous first Afghan war (1839-41), internal power struggles within Kalat prompted the first British military interference, and the signing of a treaty in 1841. The British annexation of Sind in 1843 from the Talpur Mirs, themselves a dynasty of Baluch descent, and the subsequent annexation of Panjab meant that Kalat and the other regions of Baluchistan were now part of the sensitive western borderlands of British India, where the possibility of Russian interference induced a permanent state of imperial neurosis. Although the eastern Baluch tribes were partially pacified by the efforts of Sir Robert Sandeman, it was thought easiest to leave the Khan and his subordinate chiefs in control of most of the rest of Baluchistan.

A further treaty was signed in 1876, which forced the Khan to 'lease" the strategic Quetta region to the British but left him in control of the rest of his territories with the aid of a British minister. Granted the rank of a 19-gun salute to mark the size if not the wealth of Kalat, the Khans were for a while content to pursue the eccentric Iifestyle characteristic of so many south Asian princes of the time. One Khan became legendary as a passionate collector of shoes, and made sure no pair would ever be stolen by locking up all the left shoes in a dungeon below the Fort at Kalat.

With the last ruler of Kalat, Mir Ahmad Yar Khan (1902-79), the Khanate again briefly entered the political arena. Exploiting the opaque clauses of the 1876 treaty, which left some doubt as to just how independent Kalat was supposed to be, he hesitated to join Pakistan in 1947. The brief independence of Kalat finally ended in 1948 when the Khan signed the necessary merger documents, followed by his formal removal from power and the abolition of the state's boundaries in 1955. The present shape of Baluchistan was finally rounded out in 1958 when the Sultan of Oman sold Gwadar, given to one of his ancestors by the Khan of Kalat, back to Pakistan.

The People And The Land Of Sind
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND OF SIND[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

The land of Sind has a hoary past with some of the most striking episodes in history having occurred in its bosom. It has given a slightly different variation of its name to our neighbouring country and to the religious majority of its inhabitants. Both the words India and Hindu are derived from Sindhu, which, in Persian became Hind and Hindu (the letter H substituted for S) and in Greek and Roman, Ind (the letter S of Sind having being dropped). The meaning of the word Sindhu is water, referring to the great river. There is an old belief among Muslims that four rivers had sprung from Heaven: Neel (Nile), Furat (Euphrates), Jehoon (Juxartes) and Sehoon (Sind).

The Aryans called the whole of Pakistan, Kashmir and East Afghanistan as Sapta Sindhu -- the land of seven rivers. In Rigveda it is referred to as Sapta Sindhva, while India is named Bharat Varsa (the land of the sons of Bharat, a legendary Emperor).1 Thus, even for the Aryans there were two countries in this sub-continent: Sapta Sindhva and Bharat Varsa. The Assyrians in the 7th century B.C. knew the north-western part of the sub-continent as Sinda. However, when India began to be called Hind by Persians and Arabs, and Ind by Greeks and Romans, the local people continued to call their land, Sind. This distinction continued for centuries. Arab geographers, historians and travellers also called the entire area from the Arabian Sea to the range of Kashmir mountains Sind.3 As such, there were always two countries in the sub-continent -- Sind and Hind. The present Pakistan (including Kashmir and a major portion of Afghanistan) constituting one country, and India, another.

As regards the composition of the population of Sind Province (before Partition) the two main stocks that inhabit Sind are related to, and common, one with the Punjab and another with Baluchistan. The majority stock is that of Rajputs and Jats who are the descendants of Sakas, Kushans and Huns who also constitute the majority of the population the Punjab. During Kalhora rule a number of Jat tribes such as the Sials, Joyas and Khawars came from the Punjab and settled in Sind. They are called Sirai i.e., men from the north and speak Siraiki language.

Two main Rajput tribes of Sind are: the Samma, a branch of the Yadav Rajputs who inhabit the eastern and lower Sind and Bahawalpur; and the Sumra who, according to the 1907 edition of the Gazetteer are a branch of the Parwar Rajputs. Among others are the Bhuttos, Bhattis, Lakha, Sahetas, Lohanas, Mohano, Dahars, Indhar, Chachar, Dhareja, Rathors, Dakhan, Langah etc.4 The Mohano tribe is spread over Makran, Sind and southern Punjab. They are also identified with the 'Mallah' of the Punjab and both have in common a sub-section called Manjari. All these, old Sindhi tribes are known under the common nomenclature of Sammat.

The smaller stock is that of Baluchi tribes setlled in various parts of Sind mostly during the last five hundred years or so Since they were martial people and ruled over Sind for some time before the arrival of the British, they acquired vast lands in the province with the result that a large number of present-day Sindhi landlords are of Baluch origin. According to the 1941 census, which was the last one held before Partition Baluchis formed 23% of the total Muslim population of Sind. Among the Baluchi tribes inhabiting Sind are the Rind, Dombki, Jakhrani, Leghari, Lashari, Chandio, Karmati, Korai, Jatoi, Burdi, Khosa, Jamali, Umrani, Bugti, Marri, Mazari, Talpur, Brohi, Nizamani, Buledhi, Karrani, Bozdar, Nukharni, Magsi etc. These tribes are spread over Baluchistan, Sind and the south-western districts of the Punjab.

Yet a third stock of Sindhi population comprises of the descendants of Muslim conquerors, administrators and missionaries who were mostly Arabs, Persians, Turks or Mughals. They are a small minority settled in cities and towns but so deeply absorbed and blended with the other components of the population that all the three together have evolved a distinct language and culture. Of this third element Arabs have contributed most to the development of Sindhi language and literature and to the advancement of its intellectual and cultural activities.

Since the early history of Sind is intimately related to the history of the Punjab and other provinces of Pakistan it need not be dealt with at length. Only a brief account shall be attempted here, without mentioning the Indus Valley civilization which will be discussed some other time.

Dawn of history reveals an Aryan dynasty in power in Sind. In the Mahabharata (12th or 13th century B.C.) Jayadrath, King of Sind appears as a partisan of Panduas against their cousins Kauruas. Next historical mention of Sind is found about 575 B.C. during the time of Achaemenian dynasty. The Iranian General, Skylax, explored Indus in a flotilla equipped near Peshawar, conquered the Indus Valley and annexed it to the Empire of Darius the Great. The conquered province of the Punjab and Sind was considered the richest and the most populous satrapy of the Empire and was required to pay the enormous tribute of fully a million sterling. Next historical record is that of Alexander's invasion in 326 B.C. A tribe called Mausikanos whose capital is usually identified with Alor (Rohri) is said to have submitted. According to Greek historians the territories of this chief were the most flourishing of all that the Greeks had seen. A few centuries later Roman historians have mentioned Sind as a rich country. Patala in lower Sind was known to them as an emporium of trade.

Alexandrian period was followed by that of the Mauryas (3rd century BC) whose fall brought in Graeco-Bactrians (2nd century B.C.). They ruled over the whole of Pakistan with their capital at Taxila. Their coins are still found in the old towns of Sind. The Graeco-Bactrian period was followed by that of the Scythian (Saka) invasion in the first century BC. "They settled here in such large numbers that Sind became known as Indo-Scythia and to this day a large proportion of the population is certainly Scythian."5 Two Scythian tribes, the Jats and Meds, are mentioned as having invaded the Punjab and Sind. Some of the present day Mohanas of Sind and Baluchistan call themselves Med. "In 60 AD Sind was occupied by Scythians, ruled perhaps from far away Taxila."6

The first century A.D. witnessed the arrival of the Kushans who, along with the Scythians (Sakas) and later Parthians, ruled over Afghanistan and Pakistan for about four centuries from Peshawar. The next great holocaust occurred in the 5th century A.D. with the Hun invasion which surpassed all previous records in its intensity and vastness. Their invasion ushered in the Rajput era which lasted till the 7th century A.D. in Sind (80 years before the arrival of Mohd. Bin Qasim); till the end of 10th century AD in the Punjab and NWFP (upto the arrival of Mahmud Ghaznavi) and till the end of 12th century in northern India when Mohammad Ghori defeated Prithviraj in 1192 A.D.

Before lmaduddin Mohammad Bin Qasim's arrival here, Rajputs were the ruling race in Sind and in the rest of northern India. The last Rajput ruler of Sind was Raja Sahasi II whose dominions extended up to Kashmir. He was a contemporary of Prophet Mohammad and professed Buddhism as did his father Siharus. The rule of Raja Sahasi II ended in 632 A.D. the year Prophet Mohammad died. He was succeeded by his Brahmin chamberlain, Chach, who had become a favourite of Sahasi's wife. Chach ruled over Sind for about 68 years from 632-700 A.D. His son Dahir was the ruler when Mohammad Bin Qasim arrived here in 711 A.D.

The line of rulership before Islam runs thus: Siharus, Sahasi II, Chach, Dahir. The first two were Buddhist Rajputs and the last two Hindu Brahmins. The new Brahmin rulers were extremely hostile towards the Buddhists who were in substantial numbers in Sind at that time and they had ruthlessly suppressed the Jats and Meds who formed the bulk of the peasantry.

Humiliating conditions were imposed on the Jats depriving them of many civil rights. "When Chach, the Brahmim chamberlain who usurped the throne of Rajput King Sahasi II went to Brahmanabad, he enjoined upon the Jats and Lohanas not to carry swords, avoid velvet or silken cloth, ride horses without saddles and walk about bare-headed and bare-footed."7 It was because of this background that Mohammad Bin Qasim received cooperation from the Buddhists as well as the Jats and Meds during his campaign in Sind. Among others who did not oppose Mohammad Bin Qasim's advance and made peace with him was the Bhutto tribe.8 In fact he was hailed as deliverer by several sections of local population. The humble position of the Buddhists in Sind seeking support from outside can be read in the Chach Nama.

"Mohammad Bin Qasim's work was facilitated by the treachery of certain Buddhist priests and renegade chiefs who deserted their sovereign and joined the invader. With the assistance of some of these traitors, Mohammad crossed the vast sheet of water separating his army from that of Dahir and gave battle to the ruler near Raor (712 A.D.). Dahir was defeated and killed."9


[B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]THE JATS OF SIND[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

Before commencing a review of the Muslim period of Sind's history, we shall speak briefly of the Jats of Sind (Pakistan) who were known all over Iran and the Middle East for their sturdy constitution and industrious nature. They have a colourful history and an adventurous past.

The author of Mujmaul Tawarikh has quoted an extinct Sanskrit work according to which the original inhabitants of Sind were Jats and Meds. Early Arab writers on Sind also say that Jats and Meds were important tribes in their time. Ibn Khurdabah mentions 'zutts' as guarding the route between Kirman and Mansura while Ibn Haukal writes: "Between Mansura and Makran the waters from the Mehran form lakes and the inhabitants of the country are the south Asian races called Zutt. The Chinese traveller Yuan Chwang who visited this region in the 7th century A.D. also mentioned Jats.

"The Jats claim to be included in the 36 royal Rajput tribes. Some of them state that their forefathers came from Ghazni. But it is generally accepted that they are the descendants of the ancient Getae, or Jeutchi, from Scythia. Some authorities consider that they entered the sub-continent some time in 1500 BC and are the same as the Jattikas mentioned in the Mahabharata, and also identical with the Jatti of Pliny and Ptolemy. Their original home was on the Oxus."10 According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the Jats of the lower Indus comprise both Jats and Rajputs, and the same rule applies to Las-Bela where descendants of former ruling races like the Sumra and the Samma of Sind and the Langah of Multan are found. At the time of the first appearance of the Arabs they found the whole of Makran in possession of Jats (Zutts).

According to a 'Hadis', Hazrat Abdulla Bin Masood, a companion Prophet saw some strangers with the Prophet and said that their features and physique were like those of Jats.11 This means that Jats we in Arabia even during the Prophet's time. Hazrat Imam Bukhari (d. 875 A.D. - 256 A.H.) writing about the period of the Companions in his book "Al adab al Mufarrad" has stated that once when Hazrat Aisha (Prophet's wife) fell ill, her nephews brought a Jat doctor for her treatment. We hear of them next when the Arab armies clashed with the Persian forces which comprised of Jat soldiers as well.

The Persian Command Hurmuz used Jat soldiers against Khalid Bin Walid in the battle of 'salasal' of 634 A.D. (12 hijri). This vvas the first time that Jats were captured by the Arabs. They put forward certain conditions for joining the Arab armies which were accepted, and on embracing Islam they were associated with different Arab tribes.12 This event proves that the first group of Pakistanis to accept Islam were Jats who did it as early as 12 hijri (634 A.D.) in the time of Hazrat Omar.

The Persian King Yazdjard had also sought the help of the Sind ruler who sent Jat soldiers and elephants which were used against the Arabs in the battle of Qadisia.

According to Tibri, Hazrat Ali had employed Jats to guard Basra treasury during the battle of Jamal. "Jats were the guards of the Baitul Maal at al-Basra during the time of Hazrat Osman and Hazrat Ali."13 Amir Muawiya had settled them on the Syrian border to fight against the Romans. It is said that 4,000 Jats of Sind joined Mohammad Bin Qasim's army and fought against Raja Dahir. Sindhi Jats henceforth began to be regularly recruited in the Muslim armies.

"Some of the Zutt deserters from the Persian army were transplanted in 670 A.D. by Caliph Muawiya from Basrah to Antioch. When the Arabs conquered Sind, another batch of Zutts whom the conquerors had uprooted from their native pastures seem to have been sent to Syria by Hajjaj (691-713 A.D.) and eventually sent on by the Caliph Walid 1(707-15 AD) to join the previous batch of Zutt deportees at Antioch whence some, again, were sent on by the Caliph Yazid II (720-24 A.D.) to Massisah in Cicilia…. But the bulk of Hajjaj's deportees from Sind seem to have been settled in Iraq. In the reign of Abbasid Caliph Mansur (813-33 A.D.) they broke into a rebellion which it took him and his successor Mutasim 833-42 AD), the best part of 20 years to quell….. Whether there had or had not been a voluntary immigration as well as a compulsory deportation of Zutt to Iraq from Sind, we may take it that in the course of the first two centuries of Arab rule, manpower from western subcontinent (i.e., Pakistan) had it in one way or another been pouring into a south-western Asia that, on the eve of the Arab conquest, had been depopulated by the two last and most devastating of the Romano-Persian wars."14

This statement of Tonybee is revealing in that it shows the close relations Pakistan had with the Middle East. Sindhis began to settle in areas as far away as Iraq and Syria which were depopulated by wars between the Persians and the Romans.

The origin of European gypsies is also traced to Sindhi Jats. Harun-ur-Rashid had recruited Jats to reinforce Cilician fortress. When the Romans descended on Ayn Zarbah in 855 A.D. they carried off into East Roman territory the Jats together with their women, children and buffaloes. This detachment of the Jats was the advance guard of the gypsies of Europe.15 They continued to pour into Europe in small batches at various stages subsequently.


[B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]THE ARAB PERIOD[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

Turning to the history of Sind, it may be divided into seven periods: (1) Pre-Muslim; (2) Arab Rule; (3) Middle Ages from Mahmud Ghaznavi to the establishment of Mughal Rule; (4) Mughal Period; (5) Kalhora period; (6) The Talpur Period; and (7) The British Period. We shall deal with briefly discussing only certain salient features of each period.

We have already spoken of the Indus Valley Civilization and the pre-historic period in an earlier chapter. Between the fall of the Mauryan Empire and the arrival of the Arabs i.e., roughly 200 B.C. to 700 A.D., a span of 900 years, Sind and other parts of Pakistan experienced wave after wave of hordes from Central Asia settling down in these regions. The Bactrians, Sakas, Kushans, the Pahlavas and the Huns etc., came, conquered and settled here. From these stocks, mingled with indigenous blood, ultimately emerged the new Kshatrya ruling class of Hindus later called Rajputs and the peasant class of Jats and Gujjars. 16 The most outstanding aspect of this pre-Muslim period is that Sind was intimately connected with the rest of Pakistan and not with India. It had either independent kingdoms or kingdoms in common with Pakistan.

Several reasons are ascribed to the Arab desire to conquer Makran 17 and Sind. Firstly, Sindhi Rajas had helped the Persians in their wars against the Arabs. Sindhi forces participated in the battles of Nehawand, ‘Salasal’, Qadisia and Makran and fought against the Arabs. Secondly, when after the conquest of Persia by the Arabs some of their rebel chiefs began to seek refuge in Sind, its Raja refused to surrender them to the Caliphs inspite of repeated requests. Thirdly, since Arab traders were being constantly harassed by pirates from the Makran and Sind coasts, a foot-hold in these areas considered necessary to safeguard Arab maritime interests.

The first naval expedition undertaken by the Arabs in this ocean was during Hazrat Omar's caliphate in 636 A.D. - 15 A.H. under the command of Osman bin Abi'Aas, the Governor of Bahrain and Oman. He attacked Thana, a port near modern Bombay. A little later he sent another naval expedition to Debal in Sind under the command of his brother Mughira. Raja Chach was the ruler of Sind at that time and his kingdom was well defended. Mughira was defeated by the Raja's forces and killed in action.

During Hazrat Omar's caliphate the Governor of Iraq also sent an expedition by land to Makran under the command of Rabi Bin Ziad Haris. Though Makran was conquered but the victory was short-lived, as the locals recaptured the country. Makran was, however, permanently conquered during the last days of Hazrat Omar's caliphate in 642 AD - 43 AH. under the command of Hakam Taglabi. Hazrat Osman, the third Caliph had sent Hakim bin Jabala to Sind in 650 A.D. to collect information. Before him Sahar-al-Abdi had visited Sind for the same purpose in 643 A.D. during Hazrat Omar's last days.18 The next Arab general to enter Pakistan by land was Muhlib bin Sufra who came through the Khyber Pass in 665 A.D. -65 A.H.

The real story, however, begins with Hajjaj Bin Yusuf who was Governor of Iraq. The story of Arab merchants returning from Ceylon to Basra having been looted by Sindhi pirates is well-known. It is related that some of the women who were being carried away by the pirates implored Hajjaj to rescue them.

Hajjaj took serious notice of the incident and wrote to Dahir, the ruler of Sind, for the release of captives as well as the goods which were being sent to the caliphate as presents by the ruler of Ceylon. Not receiving a favourable reply, Hajjaj, with the permission of Caliph Walid, sent a force to Debal under the command of Abdulla bin Nabhan. This force was annihilated by Dahir's army and its commander killed in battle. (According to Dr. Daud Pota the tomb of Abdullah Shah at Clifton in Karachi is of this General, Abdulla bin Nabhan).l9 Again, Hajjaj sent a bigger expedition to Debal, to oppose which Dahir sent his son Jaisia with a fairly large contingent. For the second time Arabs were defeated and their commander Badil bin Tuhfa killed in action at Debal. (According to the British historian Eliot, Karachi and the island of Manora constituted the city of Debal).

Hajjaj was infuriated and perturbed at the developments. Having realised that the ruler of Sind was a powerful monarch, he started making large-scale preparations and took personal interest in the matter
since the issue had now become one of prestige. The selection of a commander for this expeditionary force had also to be made with due care keeping in view all the aspects of the problem. Hajjaj's choice fell on the young 20 year old (according to some 17) Mohammad Bin Qasim. The army and its Commander were given rigorous training for over one year in the desert of southern Iran which had similar climatic conditions to those of Sind.

Through intelligence reports, all the strong and weak points of the enemy and details of their weapons and defences were collected, studied, and the Arab army equipped accordingly. Hajjaj bin Yusuf went through through the minutest details and after thorough study of the maps of Sind, guided Mohammad Bin Qasim on the strategy to be followed. Not content with this, Hajjaj made arrangements to convey his messages and orders to Mohammad Bin Qasim from Basra to any point in Sind within a week. Orders were that Mohammad Bin Qasim should not attack any city or fort or engage his forces in any large-scale battle with the enemy without getting orders from Basra. Even instructions concerning the day and time of attack and weapons to be used in a particular place or battle were sent by Hajjaj.

This time Arab armies triumphed and the triumph proved permanent. I shall not go into details which are available in all histories and mention only a few points which have not been high-lighted.


[B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]MOHAMMAD BIN QASIM'S RULE[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

As mentioned elsewhere, Sind had a large Buddhist population at this time but the ruler, Dahir, was a Brahmin. It is said that the Buddhists been receiving constant information from their co-religionists in Afghanistan and Turkistan about the extremely liberal treatment meted out to them by the Arab conquerors of those regions. In view of these reports, the Buddhist population of Sind decided to extend full cooperation to Mohammad Bin Qasim and even acclaimed him as liberator from Brahmin tyranny. Several principalities in Sind were ruled by Buddhist Rajas. The Buddhist ruler of Nerun (Hyderabad) had secret correspondence with Mohammad Bin Qasim. Similarly, Bajhra and Kaka Kolak, Buddhist Rajas of Sewastan, allied themselves with Mohammad Bin Qasim.20 On similar grounds, Jats also joined the Arabs against Dahir.

Secondly, it is generally believed that Mohammad Bin Qasim conquered areas only up to Multan. No, he conquered almost the entire Pakistan which then formed part of the Kingdom of Sind. According to Chach Nama, after conquering Aror (near Rohri), Mohammad Bin Qasim advanced towards Bhatia, an old fort on Beas which was under the command of Chach's nephew. After conquering Bhatia the Arabs laid siege to Iskandla on river Ravi and took it. Chach Nama further states that Mohammad Bin Qasim proceeded to the boundary of Kashmir called Panj Mahiyat, at the upper course of Jhelum just after it debouches into the plains.21 "With a force of 6,000 Mohainmad Bin Qasim, a youth of 20, conquered and reorganised the whole of the country from the mouth of Indus to the borders of Kashmir, a distance of 800 miles in three years 712-15 A.D.22

"Waihind (neat Attock) which was one of the oldest cities of the sub-continent was included in the kingdom of Sind."23 "Mohammad Bin Qasim made Multan the base for further inroads and garrisoned Brahmanpur, on the Jhelum, the modern Shorkot, Ajtabad and Karor; and afterwards with 50,000 men marched via Dipalpur to the foot of the Himalayas near Jelhum."24

It is recognised by all historians that Mohammad Bin Qasim's rule was most liberal and his treatment of non-Muslims extremely just and fair. He not only appointed Hindus to senior administrative posts but left small Hindu principalities undisturbed. Brahmins had become so loyal to him that they used to go from village to village and urge people to support the Arab regime. When Mohammad Bin Qasim was recalled from Sind by the Caliph in very unhappy circumstances, the Hindus and Buddhist of Sind wept over his departure; and when he died they erected a statue in his memory and worshipped it for a long time. Mohammad Bin Qasim’s two sons had a distinguished career. Arnroo became Governor of Sind and Qasim was Governor of Basra for fifteen years.25

But the early Arab period is not one of peace and tranquility. With the recall of Mohammad Bin Qasim the province returned to chaos and confusion. After a few years of anarchy governor Junaid restored normalcy. A short while later, due to bad administration, chaos prevailed again. Conditions were so critical that the next governor, Hakam bin Awanah established a new city called 'Mahfooza' (place of safety) in 732 A.D. - 113 A.H. where all the Muslims collected for safety. Later on, after restoring order and reorganising most of the Province, Hakam’s general Amroo (the son of Mohammad Bin Qasim) built another city 'Mansoora' (victory) near Shahdadpur in 737 A.D. - 119 AH. which became the capital of the Arab kingdom. Because of these unsettled conditions Sind had to be conquered again and again.

"In Sind the recall of Mohammad Bin Qasim was followed by a Hindu reaction which almost wiped out the results of the first victories. When Hakam bin Awanah was appointed Governor of Sind, he found that the natives had rebelled and apostasized. He built two cities, Mahfuzah and Mansurah in the north and south of Sind, to provide places of security for Muslims.'' 26

From the departure of Mohammad Bin Qasim in 715 A.D. to the fall of the Umayyad caliphate in 750 A.D., a period of 35 years, Sind had nine governors. They were Habib Bin Mohlab, Amro Bin Muslim Bahili, Bilal Bin Ahwaz, Junaid Bin Abdur Rehman Marri, Tamim Bin Zaid Atbi, Hakam Bin Awanah Qalbi, Amroo Bin Mohainmad Bin Qasim, Yazid Bin Arrar and Mansur Bin Jamhur Qalbi. During this period "Governor Junaid again conquered all the territory up to Beas and Ravi in the north-east, Kashmir in the north, Arabian ocean in the south, Malwa in the south-east and Makran in the west."27

Umayyad caliphate was replaced by that of the Abbasids in 750 AD, Sind became part of the Abbasid dominions. It remained under Baghdad’s control during the Abbasid Caliphs Saffa, Mansoor, Hadi, Haroon, Mamoon, Mutasim, Wasiq and Mutawakkil. In the reign of the last mentioned Caliph, the Governor of Sind, Umar Hibari, became practically independent owing nominal allegience to the Caliph. Earlier, during the caliphate of Mamoon-ur-Rashid, Sind Governor Bashar Ibn-e-Dawood had revolted and withheld the payment of revenues, but the revolt was quelled judiciously. It may be of interest to note that the postal and intelligence services of Sind were directly controlled by the Caliphs.

The man who governed Sind (then covering major portion of present day Pakistan) for the longest period was Dawood bin Yazid bin Hatim who died in 821 A.D. Two members of the famous Baramaka family of Abbasid Prime Ministers ruled over Sind as Governors during this period. One was Musa Barmakh and the other his son Omar Barmakh. The Barmakh family were said to be originally Kashmiri Buddhists who had migrated to Balkh (now in northern Afghanistan) and after accepting Islam, went to Baghdad where several members of the family had distinguished career. Two of them, Yahya and Jafar, became Prime Ministers of Haroon-ur-Rashid. (The word Barmakh is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘par mukh’ meaning sardar).

During the 105 years of Abbasid period when Sind formed part of their dominions (750-855 A.D.) thirty-one Governors were appointed. The Hibari dynasty which had become independent lasted from 855 A.D. to 1010 A.D. i.e., till the annexation of Sind by Mahmud Ghaznavi. It was the last Arab government. One of its rulers Abdulla bin Omar Hibari (d. 893 AD) ruled for about 30 years and made great contribution to the cultural and economic development of the province. It was during the Hibari period that Sind severed its relations with the caliphate; and it was during this period that two separate states emerged in Sind: one had its capital at Mansura and the other at Multan. In addition, several small Hindu states had also sprung up. It was again during the Hibari rule that the Fatimid Caliph Obidullah-aI-Mahdi sent the first Ismaili missionary, Haishan, to Sind.

[B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]MISSIONARY WORK[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

Sind being the eastern-most province of the Umayyad, and then of the Abassid Caliphates with loose control from the centre, its political as well as religious life was highly perturbed. In the political field due to internecine quarrels, Muslim governments in the area were divided into two sections: The upper region had Multan as its capital and the capital of the lower region was Mansura near Shahdadpur. Sind also became an arena of religious acrimonies because of the large number of Ismaili missionaries who visited this country and the herectics who took refuge here. The first Ismaili missionary to visit Sind was Haisham who came to Sind in 877 A.D. - 270 A.H. He was sent by the founder of the Fatimid caliphate, Obaidullah-al-Mahdi.

Among other prominent Ismaili missionaries to visit Sind were Hazrat Abdullah (1067 A.D.), Pir Sadruddin (1430 AD), his son Kabiruddin, his brother Tajuddin and Syed Yusufuddin, all of whom gained considerable following in Pakistan. Pir Sadruddin had his grand lodge in Sind and it was he who conferred on the new converts the title of Khwaja (Khoja), meaning honourable. According to Dr. Arnold a number of Ismaili missionaries were sent to Sind from the famous "Alamut" fort which was the headquarter of Hasan Bin Sabbah who lived in the late 11th and early 12th century A.D.28 Abdullah-al-Ashtar Alvi, a great grandson of Hazrat Ali was among those who had religious differences with the Caliph, was considered a heretic and took refuge here. Because of sheltering him, the Governor of Sind, Omar bin Hafs was transferred to North Africa by the Caliph. Hazrat Abdullah Ashtar's tomb at Clifton on the sea-shore near Karachi is still visited by devotees.

A large number of Sunni missionaries also visited Sind during the Arab period. The Omayyed Caliph Hazrat Omar bin Abdul Aziz is said to have sent a number of them who were successful in converting several Sindhi landlords. The Abbasid Caliph Mahdi also sent some missionaries who converted a number of Rajas and prominent Hindus up to Peshawar. Mohammad Alfi who came with Mohammad Bin Qasim and was among the most successful missionaries, later became adviser to the Raja of Kashmir and settled there.

As already stated, during the major portion of Arab rule, Sind and southern Punjab were rent by political as well as religious rivalries. Since every development in the Middle East had its direct impact on this region, the Fatimid-Abbasid political rivalry with its religious manifestation in the Ismaili-Sunni controversy, found its full echo here, particularly in the 10th century A.D. (early 4th century hijri). Ismaili, or according to some, Carmathian rulers were installed in the upper region whose capital was Multan. It is related that the Fatimid Caliph Imam Abdul Aziz Billah had sent a misionary Jalam bin Shaiban from Cairo to Multan with a sizeable army in 372 hijri (985 A.D.) to establish Ismaili rule which he did, and himself became head of the state.

At this time the rulers of Makran and Mansura were also Ismailis. The Sumra family of Sind which had accepted Ismaili Islam owed allegience to the Fatimid Caliphs of Cairo, sent them presents and zakat and read their name in Friday 'Khutba'. After the fall of the Fatimids, Sindhi Ismailis attached themselves to the Mustali branch of the Ismailis who were functioning from Yemen. (Members of the 'Mustali’ branch are called Bohris in the sub-continent). The history of this period is so confused that it is difficult to state with any certainty as to when and how long Ismaili and Carmathian rulers held sway at Mansura and Multan. There were frequent changes accompanied by enlargement or shrinkag of territories. Ferishta speaks of Shaikh Hamid Lodhi as the first ruler of Multan converted to Carmathian faith.

Haig says that Multan was seized by Abdullah, the Carmathian, about 287 hijri (900 A.D.). Ibn-e-Haukal visited in 367 hijri but does not mention the Ismailis and says that the rulers of Multan and Mansura recognised the authority of Baghdad. Al Maqdasi visited Multan in 375 hijri and wrote that the people of Multan were Shias, presents were sent to the Fatimids of Egypt and Ismailis were claiming an increasing number of converts. Al Beruni writing about the 424 hijri says "the rise of the Carmathians preceded our time by almost 100 years i.e., in 324 hijri." Whatever the fortunes of the rulers, there is some ground to believe that Ismaili form of Shiaism continued to be dominant in Sind and southern Punjab for a considerable time.

"Propaganda under the Fatimid 'Dawat' in the subcontinent is traced back to the time of Fatimid Caliph al Mustansir. Ismailis had indeed been sent to the subcontinent at a much earlier date. Their field of labour was in Sind, in a district of Multan. Their chief dai was in correspondence with Caliph Muizz (953) and the community had not only increased in numbers, but it had attained power in Multan during his Imamate. The community recognised the Fatimids as Imams but the initiative in Sind may have been taken by the Carmathians. Later history links Multan and Sind with the Nizarian Dawat"29


"Ivanow describes the Ismaili population in south Asia as the most ancient and interesting. Sons of Mohammad Ibn Ismail had sought refuge in Qandahar, then a part of Sind. Sind early became a dist. or Jazira, of the Ismaili 'dawat'. During the Imamats of Al Muizz (953) its chief dai was in direct communication with the Imam." 30


[B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]SIND'S PROGRESS UNDER ARABS[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

However, in spite of political chaos and religious confusion, Sind made great progress in the literary and economic fields during this period. Sindhi scholars and doctors made a mark not only in their own country but in the entire Muslim world. Mathematicians and philosophers from Sind visited Baghdad in large numbers and made outstanding contribution to the promotion of learning among the Arabs. Several physicians were called from Sind for the treatment of Caliphs among whom were Ganga and Manka who treated Haroon-ur-Rashid. The latter was a member of Bait-ul-Hikmat of Haroon-ur-Rashid. Another Sindhi doctor who made a mark in the Muslim world was a newly converted Muslim, Saleh bin Bhahla (Bhalla).

Among the notable Sindhi ulema were: Maulana Islami who hailed from Debal, accepted Islam during Mohammad Bin Qasim's days and was sent by him as envoy to Raja Dahir for negotiations. Abu Maashar Sindhi was Muslim world's noted scholar of 'seerat and 'fiqh'. He lived at Medina for a number of years and later shifted to Baghdad where he died. He was so much respected that on his death Caliph Mehdi led the funeral prayers. His son Abu Abdul Malik was also an eminent scholar and had settled down in Baghdad. Hafiz Abu Mohammad Khalaf bin Saalem who was a ‘hadees’ scholar had migrated from Sind to Iraq where he attained fame. Abu Nasr Fateh Bin Abdulla Sindhi was known for his proficiency in ‘hadees,’ 'fiqh' and Ilm-e-Kalaam.

He wrote 'Tafseer' in Sindhi and rendered Islamic teachings in such beautiful and forceful Sindhi verse that it gained immense popularity both among Hindus and Muslims. Another ‘aalim’ Ishaque Sindhi, was among the most revered muftis of the Abbasid period. Imam Auzai of Sind was considered an authority on religion in the Muslim world. Mohammad bin Ali Shwarib, the Qazi of Mansura and his son Ali bin Mohammad bin Ali Shwarib were also renowned scholars.

Among the Sindhis who earned eminence in the Muslim world as Arabic poets during this period were Abul Ata Sindhi, Haroon bin Abdulla Multani, Abu Mohammad Mansuri who hailed from Mansura, Mansoor Hindi, Musa bin Yakub, Saqafi, Abu Zila Sindhi, Kashajam bin Sindhi bin Shahak etc. Sindhi bin Sadqa was a 'Katib', a writer as well as a poet. Some of them wrote in Sindhi as well as in Arabic. It is said that at the request of a Sindhi Raja, Mahrook, who embraced Islam, the Quran was translated into Sindhi during the reign of Abdulla bin Omar Hibari. Due to the patronage extended by early Abbasid Caliphs and their Baramaka Prime Ministers, a number of Sindhi Pandits and Veds went to Baghdad and engaged themselves in scientific and literary pursuits. They translated a number of Sanskrit books on mathematics, astronomy, astrology, medicine, literature and ethics into Arabic. Prominent among them were Bhalla, Manka, Bazeegar (Bajaikar), Falbar Ful (Kalap Rai Kal), Ibne Dahan, Saleh bin Bhalla, Bakhar, Raja, Makka, Daher, Anko, Arikal, Andi, Jabbhar, etc. Some of these Pandits taught the Arabs, numerals.31

In about 780 A.D. - 154 A.H. when a deputation of Sindhi Pandits visited Baghdad, they carried with them a Sanskrit work known as 'Siddhanat’ which, after translation in Arabic, became known as AI-Sindh-Hind.

Sindhi accountants were also popular in the Arab world. According to Jahez (d. 874 A.D. - 255 A.H.) all the 'Sarrafs' (money-changers) in Iraq were Sindhi treasurers. They were proficient in accounting and exchange business and were also honest and loyal servants.

The Arab rulers of Sind-Multan were extremely liberal, spoke Sindhi and treated their subjects well. They never encroached upon the religious liberties of the Hindus and Buddhists and appointed them to positions of responsibility. Mohammad Bin Qasim had appointed Sisakar, the Prime Minister of Raja Dahir, his own Prime Minister, and Kiska, another Hindu, his Revenue Minister. The entire history of Sind under the Arabs is replete with instances of Hindus holding positions of great responsibility and honour. Three per cent of the country's revenues were given to Brahmins as stipends. When some of the district administrators informed the Government that they were experiencing shortage of cows and bulls which were needed for agricuiture and transport, Government prohibited cow slaughter.

In the economic field also Sind made considerable progress. Agriculture received great impetus with foodgrains being exported tothe Middle East. A number of new varieties of fruits were cultivated among which the bananas of Sind were extremely popular in the neighboring countries. Camphor, neel, banana, coconut, dates, sugarcane, lemons, mangoes, almonds, nuts, wheat and rice are mentioned by almost all visitors as grown in plenty in Sind. Bishari Maqdasi writes that there were innumerable gardens in Sind and the trees were tall and luxuriant. The whole city of Mansura was covered with almond and nut trees.

The cities established by the Arabs "flourished as great centres of trade and learning. A busy trade grew up and the merchants of different nationalities carried Indian goods through Sind to Turkistan and Khurasan imported horses into Sind."32 Debal, Nairun Kot, Sehwan, Khuzdar, Aror, Multan and Mansura were flourishing commercial centres. Arabs had more trade with this country than with Gujrat, Malabar and Bengal. A large proportion of merchandise was transported from the Punjab by rivers. 700-800 maunds of goods were sewn in jute cloth, put in leather bags oiled from outside to prevent water penetrating and put in the rivers. 33

"On account of their favourable geographical position the ports of Sind played a vital role, even before the Arab invasion, in the commercial intercourse between the countries to the west (Iran, South Arabia, Ethiopia) and to the east of the Indus delta, as well as in the export of commodities manufactured in Sind itself. This role gained momentum after Islam had reached Sind. The author of Hudud al'Alam mentions that there were plenty of merchants in Sind, stressing that many a citizen of the coastal areas were engaged in sea trade. The cities of Daibul and Mansura were major trade centres of Lower Sind at the turn of the first and second millennia. In the first centuries of the second millennium, Thatta came in the fore as another major economic and political centre of the country: in the opinion of some scholars, the city in its prime had a population of 280,000."34

Leather and leather goods industry also made great progress during this period. The coloured and soft leather of Sind was known all over the world markets as Al-Sindhi. According to 'Muruj-uz-Zahab', the shoes of Mansura were very popular in Iran and the Arab world. Imam Hanbal relates that a large number of shoes were imported from Mansura into Baghdad where they were in great demand among the royal family and the gentry. But, he remarks, they were very showy.

Arabs also took keen interest in animal husbandry. They improved several breeds of camels, horses, cows, bulls and buffaloes. Sindhi buffaloes were so popular that Arabs used to carry them to their home towns when returning from Sind.

Building of cities and construction of roads and houses was a hobby with the Arabs. They built several new cities such as Mahfooza (in 732 A.D), Mansura (737 A.D.), Baiza (835 A.D.), Jundrore near Multan (in 854 AD) and several others. They also improved and expanded the existing cities by constructing satellite towns. A bridge called "Sukkar-al-Maid" was built over the Indus near Sukkur.

A number of Arab tribes of Quraish, Kalb, Tameem, Saqeef, Harris, Ael-e-Utba, Aal-e-Jareema and Asad, and several prominent families of Yemen and Hejaz had settled in Sind. Masudi (915 A.D. - 302 A.H.) writes that he met many descendants of Hazrat Ali in Mansura who were in the line of Omar bin Ali and Mohammad Bin Ali. He also mentions that there was fertility and opulence here and people were healthy. Some authorities have expressed the view that the wife of Hazrat Imam Hussain, who other of Hazrat Imam Zainul Abdin from whom the line of Hussaini Syeds is traced, was not a Perstan as is generally believed, but a Sindhi lady of noble family."35

Bishari writes that the people of Multan were prosperous, they did not drink wine and their women did not use cosmetics. Both Arabic and Sindhi were spoken. Regarding Mansura he states that the people were very well-read, courteous and religious. The city had a large number of scholars and the general standard of morals and intelligence was high. Mansura remained the capital of Sind from 737 A.D. - 120 A.H to 1026 A.D. - 416 A.H. for about 300 years till its conquest by Mahmud Ghaznavi. In late 3rd century Hijri when Multan became the capital of the northern kingdom, Mansura remained the capital of only the south i i.e., modern Sind. It survived till the Tughlaq period in the 14th century A.D. when it disappeared due to change in the course of river Indus.

As during the time of Darius when Sind constituted the 20th Satrapy of the Achaemenian Empire and considered an extremely rich province, so also during the Arab rule Sind was regarded a prosperous part of the Caliphate and paid a million dirham per annum as revenue to the Government at Baghdad.

Leading Tribes Of Punjab And Their Origins
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]LEADING TRIBES OF PUNJAB AND THEIR ORIGINS[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

Before the advent of Islam, but after the Aryan migrations, several invasions and mass migrations of the Central Asian tribes named as the Sakas, Parthians, Kushans, Huns and Gujjars took place in the Punjab (and other parts of Pakistan). The last two tribes i.e. the Huns (White Huns/ Epthalites) and Gujjars arrived in the 5th century AD when Hinduism had revived under the Gupta Empire but had not fully succeeded in crushing the influence of Buddhism. As the Gupta Empire collapsed under the impact of Hun invasions, it caused deep consternation among Brahmins in view of their failure to eliminate Buddhism while the Gupta power supporting them in this task had disappeared. Therefore, they began to make overtures to the new arrivals who were valiant, vigorous and warlike. They were offered the rank of Kshatryas in the Hindu fold, a position only next to that of the Brahmins and confers the responsiblity of rulership.

In the course of time the leading groups of Huns were absorbed in the Hindu fold as Kshatryas while Jats, who were the descendants of the remaining groups of Huns, occupied a lower strata of society. But the present day Jats and Rajputs also include the descendants of the previous invaders..... the Sakas and the Kushans and even of earlier races. Sakas, Parthians, Kushans, White Huns, and Gujjars were ethnically Iranian. In fact, Huns (White Huns/Hepthalites) are also called Iranian Huns to differentiate them from the other Mongoloid Huns who invaded Europe. The word Gujjar is derived from Khazar and Jat from Gatae who inhabited around the Caspian Sea and migrated towards northwest South Asia.

Todd assigns Scythian origin to the Rajputs. Scythians came to be known as Sakas in South Asia, and were absorbed in the Hindu fold as Kshatriyas. Sakas, Yavannas (Greco-Bactrians), Pallavas (Parthians) ultimately became Kshatriyas. The Huns are known to have been regarded as one of the 36 clans of Rajputs. However, except for the Huns, all others had mostly adopted Buddhism mixed with their religions (like Saka sun-worship).

Almost 60% of the population of the Punjab comprises of Rajputs and Jats and the various branches of their race such as Awans, Khokhars, Ghakkars, Khattars, Janjuas, Arains, Gujjars, etc. though the Awans, Khokhars and Khattars claim common ancestry from Qutb Shah who is said to have come from Ghazni with Mahmud Ghaznavi, scholars hold the view that they were most probably converted by Qutb Shah during Mahmud Ghaznavi's reign and were not his descendents. This tendancy of claiming foreign origin by some of the local tribes is not uncommon. Even admittedly Rajput tribes of famous ancestry such as the Khokhar, have begun to follow the example of claiming connection with the Mughal conquerors of India or the Qureshi cousins of the Prophet.

A branch of the Wattu Rajputs of the Sutlej by an affection of peculiar sanctity, have in the course of a few generations become Bodeas and now deny their Rajput and claim Qureshi origin. There is a Kharral family lately settled in Bahawalpur who have begun to affect peculiar holiness and to marry only with each other and their next step will certainly be to claim Arab descent.

However, a significant number of Punjabi tribes are indeed descended from Afghan, Turkic, Arab, Mughal and Iranian Muslim invaders/migrants. Even those who are of local origins but claim foreign Muslim ancestory, might have partial ancestory derived from them. But all in all, the foreign Muslim ancestory element among Punjabis does not exceed more than 20% of their population.

According to Thomson, Awans are a Jat race and were converted to Islam by Mahmud Ghaznavi. In several districts of the Punjab they are registered as Jats. Mr. Thomson in his Jehlum Settlement report adduces many strong reasons in support of his conclusion that the Awans are a Jat race who came from passes west of D.I.Khan. Griffin also agrees to the local Muslim origin of Awans while Cunningham holds that Janjuas and Awans are descended from Anu and calls them Anwan. Another scholar Wilson is of the view that Awans are of indigenous Hindu/Buddhist/Pagan/Animist origin. In the genealogical tree of the Nawabs of Kalabagh, who are regarded heads of the Awans, there are found several native names such as Rai, Harkaran, etc.

As regards Gujjars, the well known scholar Cunningham thinks that they are descended from Scythian (Saka) and Yue-Chi (Kushan) tribes who invaded Pakistan in the first century BC and in the first century AD respectively. Other scholars believe that they are descended from a Central Asian Turkic people called Kazars. Since the tribe migrated from Caspian Sea which is called Bahr-e-Khizar it was named Khizar, Guzar, Gurjar, Gurjara or Gujjar. The name Hazara was given to the district by these Guzara tribes. The name Gujjar, according to another version, is derived from the words 'Gau' and 'Char' meaning cattle grazers.

Though Arains claim Iranian descent, they too are generally considered of Rajput origin, but Rajputs having Scythian-Kushan-Hun origins are indeed related to Iranians. According to the Punjab Gazetteer, the Arains of sahiwal District themselves pointed out that they are Surajbansi Rajputs originally settled around Delhi. Arains of Ghaggar Valley say that they were Rajputs living on the Panjnad near Multan. Mr. Pursr writes that they are usually supposed to be Muslim Kambohs. the Jullander Arains themselves say that they are descended from Rai Chajju of Ujjain. Kambohs claim descent from Raja Keran who was related to him.

Similarly, Ranghars and Meos are described to be of Rajput/Jat origin who were converted to Islam during the time of Qutbuddin Aibak. Kahutas are a mixed Mughal and Rajput tribe. Khattars are related to Awans and Jats.

Khokhars are sometimes returned as Jats and sometimes as Rajputs. Col. Davis notes that many of the social customs of the Khokhars of Shahpur denote Hindu origin. Eastern Punjab Khokhars themselves claim Jat-Rajput origin. Only some of the West Punjab Khokhars claim Arab origin.

Gen. Cunningham identifies the Ghakkars with Gangaridae of Dionysius and holds them to be descendents of Yueti or Tokhari Scythians (sakas).

In Pakistan, Rajput and Jat tribes are so mixed up that it is difficult to distinguish one from the other at many places and in several cases. Some of the Rajput tribes are probably of Jat origin and vice versa. In southwest Punjab the name Jat includes a most miscellaneous congries of tribes of all sorts. Its significance tends to be occupational: to denote a body of cultivators or agriculturists. Even tribes which bear well-known Rajput names are often classified as Jats in the Punjab. Anyway, the origin of both is the same as stated earlier.

Gen. Cunningham and Maj. Todd agree in considering the Jats of Indo-Scythian stock. Maj. Todd classifies Jats as one of the great Rajput tribes. They belong to one and thesame stock.... they have been, for many centuries, so blended and so intermingled into one people that it is practically impossible to distinguish them as separate wholes. At present distinction is social rather ethnic. The same tribe Rajput in one district and Jat in another according to the position in local tribes... During census many of the Jats entered, as third heading, the name of the Rajput tribe from which they claim to have sprung.

The Jats in ancient times inhabited the whole valley of the Indus down to Sind.... They now form a most numerous as well as the most important section of the agricultural population of Punjab.

Beyond the Punjab, Jats are chiefly found in Sind where they form mass of the population.

The main (Muslim) Rajput tribes of the Punjab are: Bhatti, Punwar, Chauhan, Minhas, Tiwana, Noon, Chib, Gheba, Jodhra, Janjua, Sial and Wattu etc. While the important (Muslim) Jat tribes are: Bajwa, Chatta, Cheema, Randhawa, Ghammon, Buta, Kahlon, Gil, Sehota, Taror, Waraich, Summa, Wahla, Bhutta, Malhi, Sukhera, Alpials, Dahas, Langah, Ranghar, Meo, Awan, Khokhar, Ghakkar, etc. But some of these Rajput tribes are classified are Jats and vice versa.

Punjab has had its periods of prosperity and poverty in a regular cycle. Before the arrival of Muslims, Punjab along with the other regions/provinces of present day Pakistan was leading a separate existance from that of India, and kingdoms based in its territories or in the NWFP often ruled over most of northern India. Kushan, Saka, Bactrian and Hun Kingdoms with their capitals at Peshawar, Taxila and Sialkot respectively, ruled over large parts of northern India for centuries.

Pashtuns and their Origins
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]Pashtuns and their Origins[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]


Between South Asia, Central Asia and the Iranian plateau of Sijistan lies a triangular shaped territory studded by bare and barren mountains covering an area of approximately 250,000 sq. miles. Starting from Dir in the north, this triangle runs along the Indus, takes a westward turn a few miles south of Dera Ismail Khan, and embracing within its fold Loralai, Sharigh, Degari, Harnai, Quetta, Pishin, Chaman and Qandahar extends up to Herat. From here it curves north-east and following the foothills of Hindu Kush comes back to Dir. This region includes the major portion of NWFP, a part of Quetta Division of Baluchistan and three-fourths of Afghanistan. In this triangular-shaped, hilly country divided between Afghanistan and Pakistan lives the world's largest group of tribesmen numbering over 30 million variously called Afghans, Pathans, Pashtuns or Pakhtuns.

Any attempt to delve deep into the history of these interesting peopIe and find out their origin would prove baffling. But strangely indeed their history has attracted the attention of an unusually large number of scholars. In the modern period more and more western historians and researchers are taking keen interest in the past of this region and its people. But the larger literature on the subject, the greater the difference of opinion and deeper the confusion.

The difficulty arises because of the fact that the area is inhabited by a large number of tribes each of which makes different claims about its origin. The confusion becomes worse confounded when it is found that these claims do not conform to historical evidence and do not agree with the conclusions arrived at by the researchers. In view of this peculiar situation, it is proposed to give only the consensus of opinion and to simpilify matters as far as possible. Many Pathans may not agree with what has been stated here; but unfortunately the nature of the subject is such that an agreement even on broad outlines seems difficult.

Let us first discuss the origin of the names Pathan and Afghan. The term Pakhtun or Pashtun, according to Raverty, is derived from the Persian word 'Pusht' meaning 'back'. Since the tribes lived on the back of the mountains, Persians called them Pashtun which is also pronounced Pakhtun. Some scholars think that the word Pashtun or Pakhtun comes from the old Iranian words parsava parsa meaning robust men, knights. In Indian Ianguages it was spelt as Pakhtana or Pathan. Herodotus and several other Greek and Roman historians have mentioned a people called 'Paktye' living on the eastern frontier of Iran. By the word Paktye they meant the people of the frontier. (According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam the word Pathan is from the Sanskrit word Pratisthana). Muslim historians from Al-Biruni onward called them Afghans, never using the word Pathan which expression was extensively employed by the Hindus. "No Afghan or speaker of Pashtu ever referred to himself as a Pathan and the word is an Indian usage." (The Pathans, by Sir Olaf Caroe)

"It is significant that neither Ibn Batuta nor Baber mention the word 'Pathan'. Baber gives the names of many east Afghanistan tribes, but nowhere does he mention Pathans, Pakhtuns or Pashtuns. He calls the people Afghans and their language, Afghani." (Afghan Immigration in the early Middle Ages, by K.S Lal)

As for the word Afghan, it appears in the inscriptions of Shahpur I at Naksh-e-Rustam which mentions a certain Goundifer Abgan Rismaund. According to Sprengler, a similar name 'Apakan' occurs as the designation of the later Sassanian Emperor Shahpur III. "The word Afghan, though of unknown origin, first appears in history in the Hudud-al-Alam, a work by an unknown Arab geographer who wrote in 982 A.D." (Afghanistan, by W.K Frazier Tytler). But according to the Encyclopaedia of Islam: "the first mention of the Afghans in written history is in the Chronicle of al-Utbi in Tarikh-e-Yamini and an almost contemporary mention by Al-Biruni. Utbi records that Sabuktagin enrolled Afghans in his army." Another version states that the earliest recorded use of the name Afghan is by the Indian astronomer, Varaha-Mihira of the 6th century A.D. in the form Avagana. (Encyclopaedia of Britannica).

"'The supposition that the Pathans are any different from the Afghans is not borne out either by the legendary accounts associated with the origin of this people or by historical or ethnological data." (Afghan Immigration in the Early Middle Ages, by K.S Lal). Both Bellew and Longworth Dames consider the two terms as appellation of a common people. There is no racial difference between the two. The two words are synonymous referring to one and the same people though a few writers try to make a distinction between Afghans and Pathans which is ephemeral.

For instance, some authors maintain that only those tribes living in southern Afghanistan, particularly between Herat and Qandhar and who speak Persian should be called Afghans while others living in the rest of Afghanistan, NWFP and Baluchistan speaking Pashtu language should be called Pathans. What they mean is that those who speak Pashtu are Pathans and those of them who speak Persian are Afghans. Sir Olaf Caroe makes a distinction between the Afghans and the Pathans on the basis of the hillsmen and plainsmen. He thinks that those living in the fertile plains of Qandhar, Herat, Kabul and Peshawar should be called Afghans and those living in the hills, Pathans. Lt. Gen. George McMunn divides Afghans into three groups: Abdalis, Ghilzais and Pathans (Afghanistan from Darius to Amanullah, by Lt. Gen. Dir George McMunn). But, as already stated, such distinctions are confusing and will lead nowhere. All should be called either Afghans, Pashtuns, Pakhtuns or Pathans.

There has, however, been no dispute over the name of the language they speak. It is called by one name only i.e., Pashtu. But its origin, again is disputed. Most of the authors are agreed that "it is both in origin and structure an Eastern Iranian language which has borrowed freely from the Indo-Aryan group." (The Pathans, by Sir Olaf Caroe). But one of the greatest authorities on the Pathans, Morgenstierne, on the other hand, feels that it is probably a Saka dialect from the north. The general opinion, however, is that Pashtu is a branch of the original Iranian language called Pahlawi.


[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="darkred"]CLAIMS ABOUT ORIGIN[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

The triangle between the Indus, Hindu Kush and the Sijistan plateau of Iran is populated by an assorted group of tribesmen some of them living in plains and valleys and others in mountains interspersed over the entire length and breadth of this triangle. As already stated this is the largest conglomeration of tribal people in the world.

We shall begin with the accounts of their origin as given by later Muslim historians. According to Niamatulla's Makhzan-i-Afghani and Hamdulla Mustaufi's Tarikh-i-Guzida: one of Prophet Ibrahim's descendents, Talut (or Saul) had two sons, one of whom was named Irmiya or Jeremia. Irmiya had a son named Afghan, who is supposed to have given the name to the Afghan people. Tareekh-e-Sher Shahi states that Bakht Nasr who invaded Jerusalem and destroyed it, expelled Jewish tribes, including sons of Afghan, from their homeland. During the days of the Babylonian captivity when the Jews were scattered, one of the tribes settled in the Hari Rud area of modern (south) Afghanistan.

Pathan legend states that they accepted Islam during the time of the Prophet when a group of their kinsmen (Jews) living in Arabia sent word to them that the true Prophet of God as prophesied in their scriptures had appeared in Mecca. The Afghans, the story goes, sent a delegation to Arabia headed by one Imraul Qais who met the Prophet, embraced Islam, came back and converted the entire tribe to the new religion. The Prophet was so pleased with Qais that he gave him the name of Abdur Rashid, called him Malik (king) and Pehtan (keel or rudder of a ship) for showing his people the path of Islam.

The story proceeds: Qais Alias Abdur Rashid Alias Pehtan had three sons named Sarban, Batan and Ghurghust. Most of the present-day Pathan tribes claim descent from these three persons. Batan had a daughter named Bibi Matto. She fell in love with Hussain Shah, a prince of Turkish origin, and their intimacy reached a stage where her pregnancy could not be concealed. Marriage was the only course open, but the offspring, a boy, was given the name of Ghilzai, meaning in the Afghan language a son 'born of theft'. Bibi Matto's next son was Ibrahim who, because of his intelligence and wisdom, was addressed by Qais as Loi-dey (Lodi) i. e., Ibrahim is great. Two of Loi-dey's grandsons were Pranki and Ismail. BahIul Lodhi, the founder of the Afghan empire of Delhi, was eight generations from Pranki and was a member of the Sahukhel tribe of Lodhis. The Suris and Nuhanis are descended from Ismail's two sons Sur and Nuh. Thus the Ghilzais (Khiljis), Lodhis, Suris, Nuhanis, and their branches, the Sarwanis and Niazis are common descendants of Bibi Matto from her Turkish husband Hussain Shah.

The major tribes of Afghans named above, it must have been noted, should be of Turkish origin as they are descended from the Turkish prince Hussain Shah who married the Afghan girl Matto, daughter of Batan and grand-daughter of Qais Abdur Rashid. Thus, according to their own accounts there would be two groups of Afghans, one of Jewish (Semitic) origin and the other of Turkish origin.

There is a third group of Afghans called Hazaras living in the Hazarajat areas of Afghanistan. They are said to be descended from the remnants of the Mongol armies which had come along with Changez Khan or during later Mongol inroads. The origin of the Hazara Afghans, as such, is Mongol.

Regarding the large number of tribes living on both sides of Pak-Afghan border such as Shinwaris, Mohmands, Mahsuds, Khattaks, Afridis, Orakzais, Achakzais, Bannuchis, Waziris, Bangash, Yusufzais, etc., some trace their origin to Aryans, others to Greeks who had come with Alexander, some to the Jews and still others to the Caucasians. "The Kalnari tribes of today: the Waziris, Bannuchis, Khattaks, Bangash, Orakzais, Afridis and the rest are sprung from an indigenous stock not Pushtu-speaking and became fused with or overlaid by Pushtu and Pushtu-speaking peoples learning in the process the language of the dominant race. The Kalnaris are not Afghans in the true line and may be much older established." (The Pathans, by Sir Olaf Caroe)

"The original Afghans are a race of probably Jewish or Arab extraction; and they together with a tribe of Indian origin with which they have long been blended still distinguish themselves as the true Afghans, or since the rise of Ahmad Shah Durrani as Durranis, and class all non-Durrani Pushto speakers as Opra. But they have lately given their name to Afghanistan, the country formerly known as Khorasan.

"All inhabitants of Afghanistan are now in comon parlance known as Afghans, the races thus included being the Afghan proper, the Pathan proper, the Gilzai, the Tajik and the Hazara, besides tribes of less importance living in the confines of the country". (The Punjab Castes, by Denzil Ibbetson)

Of late, scholars in Afghanistan are seriously absorbed in research to prove that Afghans are neither of Jewish, nor Turkish nor Mongol nor Greek origin but of pure Aryan stock. They are taking pains to demonstrate original home of Aryans was Afghanistan by pointing out the similarity in the names of several places in their country with those mentioned in the Rig Veda.

Thus, the different tribes of Afghans/Pathans have different claims, racially as divergent as the Semitics and the Aryans, Greeks and the Turks, Mongols and the Caucasians. However, leaving aside the claims, there is another aspect of this issue which has great substance, weight and research behind it. This aspect is the conclusions arrived at recently by the Western scholars after a careful study of the historical and cultural developments of the region and its people. Based on the intormation obtained from latest excavations and the data collected in a specific manner, modern scholars have expressed certain views on the origin of the Afghans/Pathans which cannot be brushed aside lightly or treated flippantly. They aver that the origin of the Afghan/Pathan is something different. Let us briefly study their views.


[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="darkred"]ORIGIN AS TRACED BY MODERN SCHOLARS[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

They are of the view that there might have been some settlements of the Jews in the area in 800 B.C. or so; similarly, some remnants of the Aryans might have been left in the inaccessible mountains in days of yore; and that there did exist some Greek and Iranian colonies here and there. But from 1st century B.C. to 5th century A.D., during a span of 600 years, this area witnessed three immigrations from Central Asia of such gigantic magnitude --- those of the Sakas, Kushans, Huns and Gujjars --- that everything was swept before them, overwhelmed by them and submerged in them. In short, hardly any previous group whether Aryan, Jewish, Greek or Iranian could retain its identity.

Western scholars, therefore, maintain that an overwhelming majority of the Afghan/Pathan tribes are positively descended from the Sakas, Kushans, Huns and Gujjars. Some of the scholars point out the possibility of the word Abdali being another form of Epthalite by which name the White Huns (the ancestors of Rajputs) were known. Grierson finds a form of Paithan in use in the East Gangetic Valley to denote a Muslim Rajput. Bellew, one of the greatest authorities on Pathans, notes that several characteristics are common to both the Rajputs and Afghans and suggests that Sarban, one of the ancestors of the Afghans, was a corruption of the word Suryabans (solar race) from which many Rajputs claim descent (Bellew: Races of Afghanistan).

The great Muslim historian Masudi writes that Qandahar was a separate kingdom with a non-Muslim ruler and states that 'it is a country of Rajputs'. It would be pertinent to mention here that at the time of Masudi most of the Afghans were concentrated in Qandahar and adjacent areas and had not expanded to the north. Therefore, it is highly significant that Masudi should call Qandahar a Rajput country.

Since the modern state of Afghanistan and the N.W.F.P. province of Pakistan were the main regions through which Central Asian tribes passed and in which they settled down, it is impossible that these areas should have remained uncolonised and the blood of their inhabitants unsullied. Therefore, it can be safely concluded that the present day Afghans/Pathans are mostly, notwithstanding their claims, the descendants of Central Asian tribes of Sakas, Kushans, Huns and Gujjars. It need hardly be pointed out that from them are also descended the major tribes of the Kashmir, Punjab, Sind and Baluchistan.

Just as the present-day Greeks are Slavs and not of the same race as Alexander and Aristotle, so also is the case with the present day Afghans and Pathans. According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the theory of the Jewish descent of Afghans is of later origin and may be traced back to Maghzan-e-Afghani compiled for Khan-e-Jehan Lodhi in the reign of Mughal Emperor Jehangir and does not seem to have been recorded before the end of the 16th century A.D. Prior to this period no other book mentions that Afghans are descended from Jewish tribes. The Jewish books also dont mention anywhere that Saul's son Jeremia had a son named Afghan from whom Afghans claim descent.

Similarly, the story of Qais Abdur Rashid having gone from Afghanistan to Arabia to meet the Prophet and after returning to his country having converted the Afghans to Islam also does not stand the scrutiny of history. Muslim historians Ibn Haukal, Utbi and Alberuni are unanimous in the view that uptill the time of Mahmud Ghaznavi i.e. almost four hundred years after the death of the Prophet, most of the Afghans were still non-Muslims. Mahmud Ghaznavi 'had to fight against the infidel Afghans in the Sulaiman mountains.' Even 200 years later in the encounter between Mohammad Ghori and Prithviraj in 1192 A.D., according to Farishta, Hindu/Buddhist/Animist/Pagan/Shamanist/Zoroastrian Afghans were fighting on the side of the Rajput Chief. The fact that the Afghans should have joined the Rajput confederacy of Prithviraj may also indicate some sort of kinship between them.

On this subject the views of the Russian scholar Yu V. Gankovsky are also interesting. He says: "My opinion is that the formation of the union of largely East-Iranian tribes which became the initial ethnic stratum of the Pashtun ethnogenesis dates from the middle of the first millennium AD and is connected with the dissolution of the Epthalite (White Huns) confederacy. In the areas north of the Hindu Kush some of the tribes of this confederacy participated in the formation of the nationalities who inhabit Middle Asia today, and, among other tribes, in the formation of the Turkmen and Uzbek nationalities. This is attested, among other things, in the records of genonimy which indicate that among the Turkmen and Uzbeks (as well as among the Lokai) there occurs the ethnonym Abdal descending from the name of an Epthalite tribal union (Abdals, Abdel). South of the Hindu Kush, another part of the Epthalite tribes lost their privileged status as the military stronghold of the ruling dynasty and was ousted into the thinly peopled areas of the Sulaiman mountains, areas where there were not enough water supplies and grazing grounds. There they became a tribal union which formed the basis of the Pashtun ethnogenesis.

"Of the contribution of the Epthalites (White Huns) to the ethnogenesis of the Pashtuns we find evidence in the ethnonym of the largest of the Pashtun tribe unions, the Abdali (Durrani after 1747) associated with the ethnic name of the Epthalites -- Abdal. The Siah-posh, the Kafirs of the Hindu Kush, called all Pashtuns by a general name of Abdal still at sing of the 19th century.

"It is not impossible that certain Kushan-Tokharian elements also took the formation of the Pashtun ethnic community. In this connection it is worthwhile to note the fact cited by G. Morgenstierne: among the Ormuri the Pashtuns are known under the ethnic names 'kas' i.e., Kushan. A number of Pakhtun tribes belong to the Ormuri group. They are Afridis, Orakzais, Khattaks, Khugiani, etc."

This treatise of Prof. Gankovsky forcefully puts forward the view that Afghans-Pakhtuns are the descendants of Epthalite (White Huns) and Kushans.

Pakistan and Bangladesh
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Pakistan and Bangladesh[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

In the context of Islam's journey in the sub-continent a few words about
the common factors between Pakistan and Bangladesh would not be out of
place here. We cannot overlook the fact that it were the people of
Pakistan and Bangladesh that welcomed the preachers of Islam and
embraced its teachings spontaneously and earnestly in overwhelming
numbers, while its success in other parts of the sub-continent was
limited.

The same phenomena was witnessed earlier when Buddhism, which had
embraced a major portion of the sub-continent was suppressed and driven
out by resurgent Hinduism under the Guptas. But large number of people
in Pakistan and Bangladesh remained firm adherents of Buddhism which,
almost extinct in other parts of India, continued to persist and prevail
in the two wings till the arrival of Islam. Militant Hinduism succeeded
in reconquering the rest of India in the 4th century AD during the Gupta
period but it could not re- establish itself firmly and regain its hold
to the same extent in Pakistan and Bangladesh which continued to remain
largely Buddhist. "While Buddhism in the rest of South Asia declined
before the rejuvenation of Hinduism.......it remained strong in Bengal
until the 12th century AD." (Pakistan---Birth and Growth of a Nation, by
Richard Weeks).

According to Huen Tsang who visited this sub-continent in the middle of
the 7th century AD, Buddhism of the Mahayana creed was still dominant in
the western/NW region i.e., Pakistan. Chach Nama also mentions that
Buddhists were in large numbers in Pakistan at the time of Muslim advent
in Sindh in the 8th century AD and were hostile towards their Brahmin
rulers.

Whether it was a religious issue, such as the spread of Buddhism or
Islam, both Pakistan and Bangladesh accepted them simultaneously
shedding Hindu yoke at the earliest opportunity. Again, whether it was a
political issue, both the countries asserted their freedom again and
again and mostly remained independent of Central Indian Government.

The people of Pakistan and Bangladesh have availed of every opportunity
to work unitedly against Hindu imperialism and, what is most
significant, Hindu religion was never able to take deep roots in their
soil. This view is forcefully proved by the fact that no single sacred
city or holy temple of any importance for Hindus exists in the lands
that constitute Pakistan and Bangladesh. Of the seven sacred Hindu
cities of 1.Banaras, 2.Hardwar, 3.Ayodhya, 4.Ujjain, 5.Dwarka,
6.Conjeevaram, and 7.Mathura none is either in Pakistan or Bangladesh.

The entire Hindu religious literature insists on branding the two wings
of this sub-continent now known as Pakistan and Bangladesh as impure
lands inhabited by 'rakhashas' i.e., devils. Pakistan and Bangladesh
were never regarded as part of the 'holy' land of Bharatvarta.

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"]These developments and aspects speak eloquently of the underlying
historical reality: [/COLOR][/B]

That Pakistan and Bangladesh have a common enemy; that they survive or
perish together; that the hearts of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis
invariably beat in unison and their feelings flow in a rhythm; that
their thinking has been harmonious, their outlook compatible, their
response to changes uniform, their approach to problems similar. They
accepted Buddhism in overwhelming numbers and adhered to it to the last
when the rest of India had exterminated that religion; they accepted
Islam and have adhered to it when the rest of the sub- continent has
remained largely Hindu. This phenomena of similarity of stance between
Pakistan and Bangladesh has persisted all through history, but divided
by a thousand miles of Hindu territory and Brahmin intrigues they could
not unite.

Due to this unfortunate aspect the 20th century experiment of a single
state of Pakistan embracing both the wings could not last even a quarter
of a century. Politically, Pakistan and Bangladesh may have fallen apart
for the time being but in due course they are bound to adopt a common
posture against Indian expansionist efforts.

The history of this sub-continent is a history of perpetual struggle of
the peripheral areas of the Indus Valley (Pakistan) and Padma-Meghna
Delta (Bangladesh) against the Gangetic Valley governments.

Mongol invasions of the Punjab
 

[B][COLOR="DarkRed"][CENTER][SIZE="3"]Mongol invasions of the Punjab[/SIZE][/CENTER][/COLOR][/B]

With the establishment of Muslim Sultanate in Delhi in 1206 AD a new power had sprung up beyond Central Asia. Changez Khan had been crowned head of the united Mongol tribes the same year. A few years later began the misfortunes of the Muslim world which had a profound effect on every facet of Muslim life in the subcontinent, particularly the Punjab. Having smashed the power of Muhammad Khwarizm Shah who was the greatest Muslim monarch of the time, Changez Khan began to chase his nephew, Jalaluddin Khwarizm Shah.

This young and valiant monarch gave fight to the 'Scourge of God' and had several encounters with him all along Khorasan and Afghanistan-- the last on the banks of River Indus. With his forces depleted and unable to stand the vast numerical superiority of the Mongols, Jalaluddin Khwarizm Shah, while fighting the enemy and inflicting heavy casualties on him, plunged into the Indus at Kalabagh and wavingf his flag swam accross into the Punjab along with his retinue. From a rock jetting over the river near Kalabagh, Changez Khan watched this singular act of daring with deep admiration and profound respect. Turning to his sons Changez advised them to imbibe the invincible spirit, indomitable courage and implacable determination demonstrated by his youthful adversary. "Such a son must a father have", he exclaimed.

Perhaps exhausted, perhaps overawed by the bleak prospects of chasing such a formidable enemy, Changez returned home leaving in peace the newly born Delhi Sultanate. If Changez had crossed the Indus, history of this subcontinent would probably have been different. "Jalaluddin Khwarizm Shah fought bravely and desperately against the Mongols at the bank of the Indus and atlast seated on his charger, leapt from the top of a 60 ft cliff near Kalabagh into the river bearing the banner in his hand. Changez admired his bravery but it did not prevent him sending an army across the Indus in pursuit. It ravaged the districts of Peshawar, Lahore and Multan but did not find the Shah".

However, peace was not to last long. Changez Khan's successors took up the cutgels within a decade and for the next hundred years kept the Delhi Sultanate on it's tenterhooks. From the days of Shamsuddin Altamash to the early days of Tughlaq dynasty, Mongol raids and ravages were a regular and constant feature. And who bore the brunt of these ferocious Mongol attacks? The Punjab!!

It was on the rivers Indus, Jhelum and Chenab that India was defended; it was on the plains of the Punjab that the enemy forces were so often defeated and beaten; it was in the 'doabas' of the Punjab that the Mongols
practised their fiendish scorched earth policy. Thrice Lahore was captured, sacked and burnt. But the people of the Punjab bore these calamities with perfect equanimity and exemplary fortitude.

[B][I][COLOR="DarkRed"]The extent to which the Punjab suffered as a result of Mongol attacks from 13th century onward can be reckoned from the following events: [/COLOR][/I][/B]

1. In 1221 AD some of Changez Khan's forces crossed the Indus in pursuit of Jalaluddin Khwarizm Shah, ravaged vast tracts of the punjab and sacked Multan and Lahore. (At this time Naseeruddin Qabacha was the independent ruler of Pakistan and Shamsuddin Altamash of India).

2. In 1241 AD during the reign of Altamash's daughter, Razia Sultana, Mongols attacked the Punjab, sacked and burnt Lahore.

3. In 1246 AD Mongols attacked the Punjab and invested Multan.

4. In 1260 and in subsequent years during the time of Balban, Mongols attacked the Punjab and ravaged the countryside several times. In one of the encounters near Multan, Balban's eldest son Prince Mohammad was
killed.

5. Next big attack came in 1285 AD.

6. In 1291 AD a grandson of Hulagu invaded Punjab and was defeated by Alauddin Khilji.

7. In 1298 AD Mongols again invaded the Punjab with a force of 100,000 and advanced as far as Delhi but were decisively defeated by Alauddin Khilji.

8. In 1304 and 1305 AD Mongols attacked the punjab and ravaged Multan, but were defeated by the Governor of the Punjab, Ghiyazuddin Tughlaq.

9. In 1327 AD the punjab was attacked and Multan ravaged.

10. In 1358 AD Mongols again attacked the Punjab.

These were only the major attacks, in between there were innumerable raids with what consequences one can only visualize. Ghiasuddin Tughlaq who was Governor of Lahore before he became ruler of Delhi in 1320 AD is said to have fought 29 battles against the Mongols during Alauddin Khilji's reign.

Since to save the Delhi Sultanate, it was vital to make defence on one of the five rivers of the Punjab, whoever defended it successfully was considered a national hero and tipped for rulership at Delhi. When the Khilji dynasty declined, the court nobles invited Ghiasuddin Tughlaq, Governor of Lahore to take over. The Tughlaq dynasty he established lasted from 1320 to 1398 AD. It collapsed when Delhi was attacked by Taimur Lung.

From the establishment of Delhi Sultanate in 1206 AD for over 300 years, the Punjab bore the brunt of foreign attacks and saved the Muslim state from extinction.

In this painful process, Punjab's population and prosperity diminished and its entire life was crippled. After this period, the Punjab was almost an uninhabitable waste, except for a few walled cities. Because of constant Mongol raids, it remained depopulated and very little agriculture was carried on.

Differences between Pakistanis and Indians
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Differences between Pakistanis and Indians[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="darkred"]Language/linguistics:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

About 99% of languages spoken in Pakistan are Indo-Iranian (sub-branches: 75% Indo-Aryan and 24% Iranian), a branch of Indo-European family of languages. All languages of Pakistan are written in the Perso-Arabic script, with significant vocabulary derived from Arabic and Persian. Punjabi, Seraiki, Sindhi, Pashto, Urdu, Balochi, Kashmiri, etc. are the languages spoken in Pakistan.

About 69% of languages spoken in India are Indo-Iranian (sub-branch: Indo-Aryan), 26% are Dravidian, and 5% are Sino-Tibetan and Austro-Asiatic, all unrelated/distinct family of languages. Most languages in India are written in Brahmi- derived scripts such as Devangari, Gurmukhi, Tamil, etc. Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Assamese, Punjabi, Naga, and many others are the mother-tongue languages spoken in each of India's states.

As you can see both countries have distinct linguistic identities. Even in the case of Punjabi, while it is the mother-tongue of a majority in Pakistan, it represents the mother-tongue of only 2% Indians. Besides, Pakistani Punjabi (Western Punjabi) is distinct in its vocabulary/dialect and writing script when compared to Indian Punjabi (Eastern Punjabi). Another thing to keep in mind is that Indian Punjabi is mostly spoken by Sikhs who consider themselves distinct from the rest of Indians and had been fighting for independence. In the case of Urdu/Hindi, while Hindi is the mother- tongue of a majority in India, Urdu is the mother-tongue of only 8% Pakistanis. Besides, they both are distinct languages, Urdu has a writing script and strong vocabulary derived from Arabic and Persian, whereas Hindi has strong vocabulary derived from Sanskrit and is written in Devangari script. Most Pakistanis can understand English and watch American/Brit movies but that does not make them British/American, same is the case with Hindi.

[B][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="2"]Race/genetics: [/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]

About 70% of Pakistanis are Caucasoid by race, 20% Australoid- Negroid, and 10% Mongoloid in their overall genetic composition. Majority of Pakistanis are tall with fair skin complexion, similar to Middle Eastern and Mediterranean peoples. While the racial features of each ethnic group are not uniform, Pashtuns are the most Caucasoid, followed by Kashmiris, Baluchis, north Punjabis, and then Sindhis, Seraikis, Urdu-speakers, etc. The Australoid-Negroid and Mongoloid racial elements are quite infused within the dominant Caucasoid genes among Pakistanis, however there are some that have retained their distinct racial characteristics.

About 50% of Indians are Australoid-Negroid by race, 35% Caucasoid, and 15% Mongoloid in their overall genetic composition. Majority of Indians are darker in their skin complexion, with wider noses, shorter heights, etc. The Australoid-Dravidoid racial element dominates among the lower caste Indians, South Indians, Eastern and Central Indians, etc. The Caucasoid racial element dominates in Northwest Indians and higher caste Indians. The Mongoloid racial element dominates in Northeast Indians and border regions with China.

Obviously, both countries have distinct racial identities. A common international perception based on observance of physical features is that most Pakistanis are lighter skinned than most Indians. Most Pakistanis resemble the looks of peoples inhabiting on its western borders and beyond. Indeed, many Pakistanis also resemble many Northwest Indians or higher caste Indians, but those are a minority in India. Similarly, a few people of Pakistan resemble peoples of South India, lower caste Indians, Northeast India, etc. but they are a minority in Pakistan. And besides, let's say, if some Saudis look similar to the French that does not make them one people, same applies here between Indians and Pakistanis.

[B][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="2"]Culture/Traditions:[/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]

Pakistanis have a distinct culture, traditions and customs. Shalwar kamiz is the dress commonly worn, both by men and women in Pakistan. Pakistani food is rich in meat (including beef), whereas wheat is the main staple. Pashto, Punjabi, Balochi, Sindhi, etc. music and dances are distinctly unique with their own melodies, instruments, patterns and styles. Pakistani arts in metal work, tiles, furniture, rugs, designs/paintings, literature, calligraphy, etc. are distinct and diverse. Pakistani architecture is unique with its Islamic styles. The manners and lifestyles are guided by a blend of Islam and local traditions.

India's commonly worn dress is dhoti for men and sari for women. Indian food is mostly vegetarian, with wheat as the main staple in the north and west, and rice is the main staple in south and east. Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Bengali, etc. music and dances are distinctly unique. So are Indian arts in the many areas. Indian architecture is unique in its mostly Hindu styles. The manners and lifestyles of most Indians are guided by Hinduism.

Pakistanis and Indians definitely have distinct cultures of their own. Some Indian women wear shalwar kamiz, but that was introduced by the ancestors of Pakistanis. Many Pakistani food dishes are absent in Indian cuisine and vice versa, and if some dishes are shared, they were also introduced by the ancestors of Pakistanis (like naan, tikka, kabob, biryani/pulao, etc.). There is barely any Hindu architectural influence in Pakistan (Gandhara is Graeco- Buddhist and Harappan is distinct), but significant influences by the ancestors of Pakistanis can be found in India. The lives of most Pakistanis are shaped by Islam, whereas the lives of most Indians are shaped by Hinduism.

[B][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="2"]History/background:[/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]

Pakistanis are a blend of their Harappan, Aryan, Persian, Greek, Saka, Parthian, Kushan, White Hun, Arab, Turkic, Afghan, and Mughal heritage. Waves of invaders and migrants settled down in Pakistan through out the centuries, influencing the locals and being absorbed among them.

Most Indians are a blend of their heritage of Dravidoid-Australoid hunters and gatherers, and Aryans (in north). Northwest Indians have a heritage from Harappans, Aryans, Sakas, and White Huns. Northeast Indians have a heritage based from Mongoloid hunters and gatherers. Also, Turks, Afghans and Mughals ruled north India for centuries.

Pakistan and India have a distinct history and background. The region of Pakistan was never part of India except for 500+ years under the Muslims, and 100 years each under the Mauryans and the British. If any thing, it were the ancestors of Pakistanis who colonized north/northwest India, among them were Harappans, Aryans, Sakas, Kushans, White Huns, Turks, Afghans, and Mughals.

[B][COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="2"]Geography:[/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]

Pakistan is geographically unique, with Indus river and its tributaries as its main water supply. It is bordered by the Hindu Kush and Sulaiman Mountain ranges in the west, Karakoram mountain range in the north, Sutlej river and Thar desert in east, and Arabian Sea in the south. The country in its present form was created by the Pakistanis themselves out of the British Raj, the Indus people themselves who are now mostly Muslims.

India is geographically unique, with Ganges river and its tributaries as its water supply in the north, and other river systems in the rest of the country. Himalayas as its northern boundary, Sutlej river and Thar desert as its western border, the jungles of northeast as its eastern border, and Indian Ocean in the south. The mountains in the central-south India are the great divide between Dravidians of the south and Indo-Aryans of the north. The country itself was created by the British, a direct descendent of the remnants of British Raj.

It is evident that India and Pakistan have their own unique geographical environments. Pakistan is located at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East. On the other hand, India is located at the core of South Asia.

Ethnicity and Provincialism in Pakistan
 

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]Ethnicity and Provincialism in Pakistan[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

Ethnocentrism is wrong, but what is worse is denial of ethnic identity/differences. As different ethnic groups, we have more than enough commonality to be a strong nation. Differences between sub-cultures/ethnicities exists in most countries, but what holds a nation together is basic cultural, linguistic, religious, historical, and/or geographic commonalities. We should accept and respect our ethnic differences, after all Pakistan is a federation of such, and be united as a nation based on our commonality in being linguistically/culturally Indo-Iranian, racially mostly Caucasian, geographically based on Indus Valley, having a common history, and following the religion/culture of Islam. All of these common factors among the different Pakistani ethnic groups makes them close to each other, yet very different from the Indians. These common factors defines the Pakistani nationhood, not just religion as many Pakistanis are made to believe in.

The present-day provincial setup of Pakistan has its origins from the British era. The British rulers drew boundaries of provinces not based on ethnic demographics, but the politics of that era for their interersts. As has always been the case, the ethnic demographics have also evolved since 1947. In reality, the current provincial setup of Pakistan is artificial. The large southern region of "Punjab" is Seraiki, its southwest is Baluchi, and northwest Hindkowi. The huge northeast part of "NWFP" is Hindkowi, and the north is Khowari/Shina/etc. Almost half of "Baluchistan" is Pakhtun (northern part), with pockets of Brauhis the central region and Jats/etc. in the southeast. Almost half of "Sindh" is Urdu-speaking (urban areas). Not to mention the countless Afghan, Central Asian, Iranian, Bengalee, etc. refugees, and inter-ethnic migrations in various parts of the country. Though outdated and slightly flawed, here is an article of interest on this subject by Ahmed Abdalla published in 1973:

For the last few years the question of Pakistan's "nationalities" is being debated, propagated, supported and contested at various levels and in different quarters. Unfortunately, in these lively discourses some basic issues have been ignored. We shall make an attempt here to discuss and analyse two most salient aspects of the problem.

Firstly, are the nationalities, so often spoken of , located in clearly demarcated and distinct areas to division on regional basis?

Secondly, have the nationalities, whatever regions they are living in, settled down permanently or, is the population pattern still fluid and changing, yet to assume a final shape and a stable character?

Let us address ourselves to the first question province-wise:

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]NWFP[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

The province known as NWFP has an area of 39,283 sq. miles with a population of one crore ten lacs. Its most populous district called Hazara on the eastern bank of river Indus is inhabited, from Manshera downward, by non-Pakhtuns, mostly Gujjars and Hindko speaking Pathans of mixed blood. In the regions west of river Indus starting from the north, the people of the (former) state of Chitral are non-Pakhtuns belonging to the racial stock of Chinese Turkestan akin to the people of Gilgit, Skardu, Hunza, Yasin and Nagar.

Next, the majority of the people of the province’s biggest city, peshawar, belong to various Iranian and Central Asian stocks and are not Pakhtuns. In the southern region, half the people od D.I. Khan district are, again, non-Pakhtuns mostly Awans, Jats, Rajputs and Baluchis.

In this context how would an advocate of four nationalities determine the exact boundaries of Pakhtunistan which, if scrupulously adhered to on racial and linguistic considerations, may shrink to very unpalatable proportions. This
population complex also Explains the limited success in NWFP of Wali Khan (a protagonist of Pakhtunistan) in the general elections of December 1970.


[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]BALUCHISTAN[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

The province called Baluchistan has an area of 134,000 sq. miles with a population of about 24 lacs. Of the ten districts of Baluchistan province, three districts viz Quetta-Pishin, Zhob and Loralai are overwhelmingly Pathan; two districts viz Kachchi and Lasbela are inhabited by Rajputs, Jats and their allied tribes while the remaining five viz Sibi, Chagi,Kalat, Mahran and Kharan are largely Brohi-Baluchi. Even in some of the tehsils of these five districts non-Baluchis are in majority. For instance, Sharigh Tehsil ( Harnai ) of Sibi distric has a fairly large percentage of Pathans. Population-wise about seven lacs are Pathans; over four lac Rajputs and Jats and about one lac Punjabis, Muhajirs and Gilgiti labour taking the total of non-Baluchis to 12 lacs leaving only 12 lac Baluchi and Brohi tribes in a population of 24 lacs. In this state of affairs how much area and what percentage of population of Baluchistan will accrue to a province based on Baluchi-Brohi nationality? Out of ten districts they will, at best, get five.

If the Baluchis/Brohis seriously think of having particular areas of Baluchistan marked on the basis of nationality, they may indeed come to grief.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]SIND[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

Sind has an area of over 54,000 sq. miles and a population of one crore 40 lacs. Of this about 55 lacs are Muhajars, Pathans and Punjabis. Of the remaining 85 lacs, about 25 lacs are of Baluchi/Brohi origin ( Sindhi-speaking
), leaving barely 60 lac old Sindhis in a total of 140 lacs.

Most of the regions west of Indus from Jacobabad to Dadu are inhabited by Baluchi and Brohi tribes since long before partition. After partition the population pattern of the province has drastically and basically altered due to the influx of refugees from India and immigrants from other provinces of Pakistan. These refugees and immigrants, are of different origins. Any
attempt to re-demarcate the boundaries of the province of Sind on the basis of nationality may diminish the size of the Sindhi nationality province to a disagreeable size.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]PUNJAB[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

Punjab has an area of 79,542 sq. miles with a population of 3 crores 75 lacs. It may be pointed out that the present boundaries of Punjab were determined by the British more on the basis of political considerations than on racial or cultural grounds. For instance, the D. G. Khan and Muzaffargarh districts are overwhelmingly Baluchi, while Multan and Bahawalpur have, all through history, had closer affinities with Sind than with Punjab. Multan was the capital of Sind for a long time so much so that in western India Sindhis were usually called Multanis.

Even today the spiritual home of the Sindhis is the tomb of Hazrat Bahauddin Zakaria in Multan. Sindhis have such great veneration for this Saint that they make it a point to visit his Mazar by walking bare-footed. If the Punjabis think of basing their provincial boundaries on nationality, they may not be able to retain all the areas that today constitute Punjab.

In view of this background, if the four nationalities concept is accepted, it would become essential and unavoidable to re-demarcate the present provincial boundaries which have neither racial nor linguistic basis. In case of re-demarcation of provincial boundaries major portions of Hazara and D. I. Khan districts of NWFP will go to Punjab; whole of D. G. Khan and part of Muzaffargarh districts of the Punjab will go to Baluchistan; Three districts of Baluchistan will go to NWFP and two to Sind while Jacobabad and parts of a few districts of Sind west of Indus will go to Baluchistan.

If this exercise is resorted to, two problems will crop up: Firstly, several sub-nationalities with strong historical claims will put up their own demands for separate provinces which would be difficult to refuse. Whatever the claims and pretensions of four nationalities, the rights and merits of the sub-nationalities are much more strong and have a more cogent and powerful
historical backing. As such, further vivisection will become inevitable.

What is more important is that there is hardly an instance of these so-called nationalities having a separate, distinct existence in history, Pakhtuns have never presented a united front. Khushal Khan Khattak bemoans this weakness of the Pakhtuns throughout his poetry and hurls the most bitter invectives on them for their failure to forge unity. In fact the most outstanding aspect of the Pakhtun history has been their refusal to act as one nation or nationality.

As regards Baluchistan, its entire history is replete with struggles, wars and rivalries between Baluchi and Brohi tribes not to speak of intertribal conflicts among Baluchis and Brohis themselves. Northern Punjab being the route of the invading armies from Central Asia into Gangetic valley, never had any opportunity to have separate nationality.

As for Sind, it has been expanding and shrinking in size depending upon both internal and external situations, particularly on the conditions prevailing in Iran, Central Asia and India. At one time it embraced the whole of the present-day Pakistan, plus vast portions of Rajputana in the east and Qandharin the west. And at another it was confined only of lower Sind with Thatta as its capital. In this process it has been absorbing and shedding the nationalities living to its north, east and west.

Moreover, even if it is decided to re-demarcate the present provincial boundaries on the basis of nationalities, will the people living in one province for generations agree to become part of another? Will the Sindhi- speaking and Punjabi-speaking Baluchis, playing such important role in the politics of the provinces of their adoption, consent to join Baluchistan? Similarly, would the non-Pushtu-speaking people of D.I. Khan and Hazara wish to be absorbed by Punjab? Same applies to Quetta Division, Lasbela, Kachchi, etc., etc.

Adoption of four nationalities basis and consequent re-drawing of boundaries will necessitate holding of referendum in various regions of each province. The result of such a referendum is anybody’s guess. Instead of solving the problem it will open up a pandora’s box and lead to further vivisection.

For instance, once the four nationalities get their provinces strictly on the basis of regrouping of nationalities, further rivalries inherent in those nationalities will come up to surface. Clash between Baluchi-Brohi groups in Baluchistan, between northern-southern Pathans in Pakhtunistan, between Punjabis-Seraikis in Punjab and between Sindhis-Muhajirs in Sind, will become
inevitable. On what basis will the protagonists of four nationalities theory deny the sub-nationalities their right to have separate status when the latter have both history and language to back their stand.

Another important factor in this context cannot be overlooked. Each one of the present provinces is multi-lingual. Pushtu, Hindko and Punjabi are the major languages spoken in the NWFP; Punjabi, Seraiki, Urdu and Baluchi in the Punjab; Baluchi, Brohi , Lasi, Kurd and Pushtu in Baluchistan; Sindhi, Urdu and Baluchi in Sind.

[B][CENTER][SIZE="3"][COLOR="darkred"]PROBLEM OF MIGRATION[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

Next we shall discuss the second factor relating to the concept of nationality which is as important as the previous one. Unlike India where people are living a settled life in clearly demarcated regions based on various languages in vogue there, the conditions in Pakistan are quite different, its population being yet in a fluid state.

Large groups of people living in all the four provinces are still mobile, constantly migrating from one province to another. There has been a regularflow of Pathans and Baluchis into the Punjab and Sind which continues even today. Lakhs of Pathans are employed in Karachi and other industrial cities of Sind and Punjab such as Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Multan, Lyallpur, Daudkhel, Rawalpindi, etc. Similarly, the flow of Baluch tribes into Sind has not yet stopped.

The people of Punjab are also flowing out in small numbers into Sind, Baluchistan and NWFP. They have either acquired lands or doing business in other provinces.

Baluchistan and NWFP, in turn, are not free from influx from further west—there being a constant flow of Powindas and others from Afghanistan.

It is generally believed that the Powindas go back after winter season. But this is not so; several of them remain behind. It would be of interest to note that many of our distinguished personalities are Powindas and recent immigrants from Iran and Afghanistan. Maulana Mufti Mahmud, a leader of Jamiat-ul-ulamai Islam comes from the Naaser tribe of Powindas. Gandapurs of D. I. Khan are Powindas. From his mother’s side, Mr. Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, a leader of National Awmi Party is an Iranian Powinda. Some of his maternal relations are still in Iran. General Mohammad Musa, former C-in-C of the Pakistan Army belong to the Hazara tribe of Afghanistan; his father had migrated from Afghanistan and settled in Quetta. General Yahya Khan, former President of Pakistan is a Qizilbash from northern Iran whose family had settled in Peshawar.

That the process of the settlement of Powinda families has not yet stopped in NWFP and Baluchistan is proved by the fact that in 1972 the NAP Government of Baluchistan put restrictions on their permanent settlement in the Quetta Division. This measure was strongly resented by the Pakhtoon leader, Abdus Samad Khan Achakzai on the ground that it was aimed at the Pakhtun elements of Baluchistan's population.

A special personality who deserves mention in this context is the First Lady of Pakistan, Begum Nusrat Bhutto, wife of President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. She is a 'Kurd' from Kirmanshah in Iran and belongs to the tribe which produced the illustrious Muslim general and monarch Sultan Salahuddin Ayubi. Pakistan is indeed fortunate to have its first lady from the kith and kin of a soldier of whom the entire Muslim world is proud.

There are many other groups and individuals in Pakistan who have recently arrived from Iran and Afghanistan and the process continues.

In this fluid situation, would the protagonists of four nationalities theory agree to have the provincial boundaries re-demarcated, with resulting restrictions on the flow of population from one province to another? It would not only be impractical but outrageous and harmful to each one of the so-called nationalities, spelling their economic ruin.

With the process of migration still in progress and the final population pattern yet to take definite shape and form; with the so-called nationalities inter-mingled with each other in every province; and with each nationality carrying within its fold district sub-nationalities. It has neither historical background nor geographical roots nor racial or linguistic basis. The idea is irrational, illogical and anomalous. Its implementation would be politically tragic and economically disastrous for all the four.

Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world whose provincial boundaries cannot be demarcated on the basis of nationalities because of the intermingling of various racial and linguistic groups with each other. In fact nationalities in the true sense of the word do not exist in Pakistan in clearly demarcated areas as they do in India, USSR, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, Canada, etc.

From Karakoram to Karachi, Pakistan is a solid land mass with distinct geographical boundaries; inhabited by people of same racial stock, having a common history, heritage, dress and diet; pursuing the same religion, with Urdu understood by all and regional languages having a common script. Very few nations in the world possess such strong uniting factors as the people of
Pakistan. Centrifugal and separatist tendencies that are at present being highlighted by outside powers in collaboration with a few so-called leaders, have hardly any roots in the masses.

The people of Pakistan, irrespective of the province they belong to, think and act alike. Separatist tendencies have not even touched them; they are simple, religious-minded, hard-working innocent folk. They regard themselves firstly Muslims, secondly, Pakistanis and thirdly, their allegiance is to the tribe they belong to. Four nationalities concept does not form part of their thought-pattern.

Qutb-ud-din Aibak [1150-1210] Slave Dynasty
 

[CENTER][B][SIZE="4"][COLOR="DarkOrange"]Qutb-ud-din Aibak [/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]
[B][COLOR="Black"][1150-1210] [/COLOR][/B][/CENTER]

Born to a Central Asia Turk family, Qutb-ud-din Aibak was captured and sold as a slave when he was a child. He was lucky to be purchased by the chief Qazi of Nishapur, who treated him like one of his own sons. Aibak received good education and was trained in the field of archery and horsemanship. However, when the master died, his sons, who were jealous of Aibak, sold him to a slave merchant. Fortune once again favored him and Muhammad Ghuri bought him.

Out of Ghuri's thousands of slaves, Aibak, because of his character and qualities, became one of his master's favorite. Aibak steadily rose through the ranks and eventually became a General. Like his owner Ghuri, Aibak performed his greatest deeds while still a subordinate. He was responsible for most of the conquests of Northern India and was appointed as Ghuri's Viceroy to Delhi. When Ghuri died in 1206, the Turkish Amirs and Generals elected Aibak as the new Sultan. It was he who shifted the capital first from Ghazni to Lahore, and then from Lahore to Delhi, and thus is considered as the first Muslim ruler of South Asia.

Aibak could not rule for long and died in 1210 after falling from a horse while playing polo. He is buried near the Anarkali Bazaar in Lahore, where a new tomb was constructed over his grave around 1970. Though his tenure as a ruler was only four years, and most of them were spend in dealing with the revolts of nobles like Taj-ud-din Ildiz, Nasir-ud-din Qubachah and a few Hindu chiefs, yet he established a firm administrative system. He restored peace and prosperity in the area under him and roads were free from thieves and robbers. He started the construction of Quwaat-al-Islam Mosque at Delhi. He also laid the foundation of the Qutb Minar, which was completed by his successor Iltutmush. Aibak was known as Lakh Baksh because of his generosity. He was also a pious Muslim. Historians have praised his evenhanded justice. He patronized Nizami and Fakh-i-Mudabbir, both of whom dedicated their works to Aibak.

His successors, who ruled India till 1290, were also slaves like him and the dynasty is known as the Slave Dynasty.

Shams-ud-din Iltutmush [1180-1236] Sultanate of Delhi.
 

[CENTER][B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkOrange"]Shams-ud-din Iltutmush[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]
[COLOR="Black"] [B][1180-1236] [/B][/COLOR][/CENTER]

Iltutmush belonged to a noble family of the Ilbari Turks. His brothers became jealous of his intelligence and good looks and sold him to a slave dealer. After being sold and purchased a few times, he was bought by Sadr Jahn, the Qazi of Bukhara. It was there that he got good training and education. Later he was brought to Delhi where Aibak purchased him. Aibak, who realized the young slave's potential, treated him with kindness and appointed him as Sar-Jandar (Chief of Guards). Due to his hard work, he was first promoted as Amir-i-Shikar and then was promoted to the position of Amir of Gwalior. He also remained in-charge of the Bada'um. Aibak married his daughter to Iltutmush. When Aibak's son, Aram Shah, proved incompetent, the Turkish nobles chose Iltutmush as Sultan.

Iltutmush was a sensible and competent ruler. He welcomed the scholars, administrators and generals who had to leave their countries due to the Mongol invasions, and with their help he established a sound administration. He was a deeply religious man and had great respect for the saints. Qutb-ud-din Bakhtiyar Kaki was a famous saint of his period. Men like Fakh-i-Mudabbir and Minhaj-i-Siraj are considered as great historians of his time, while Taj-ul-Mulk earned great fame in the field of poetry. Iltutmush completed the construction of the Qutb Minar, which had been started by Aibak. He also constructed a mosque at Ajmer that is considered a masterpiece of architecture.

He was the first Muslim ruler of South Asia who introduced Arabic coinage and issued silver, the Tankah. He received a deed of investiture from the Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad, Mustansir Billah, in 1229. This increased his prestige. Iltutmush was a great monarch. He created a stable empire out of the newly conquered territories and protected it from internal opposition and external attacks. Nasir-ud-din Qubachah, one of the nobles of Ghuri, refused to recognize Iltutmush as Sultan and declared his independence. He occupied Uch, Multan and Lahore. Similarly, another Turkish noble Taj-ud-din Ildiz declared his independence in Ghazni. Iltutmush took immediate action and defeated both of them. In 1225 he conquered Bengal, where the Khalji ruler Husam-ud-din Iwaz had declared his independence. He also recaptured Rajputana, where many Hindu rulers had revolted against the central government.

Chengez Khan, following Jalal-ud-din Khwarizm, reached the Indus near Attock. Jalal-ud-din asked Iltutmush to allow him to take refuge in Delhi. By giving him refuge, Iltutmush did not want to annoy Chengez Khan. He politely refused Jalal-ud-din's request by writing him that the climate of Delhi would not suit him. So Jalal-ud-din left for Iran via Sindh. Thus Iltutmush saved the newly established Muslim State from the Mongols.

Iltutmush was also a great general and he extended the borders of the Muslim rule in South Asia. Following Qubachah, Iltutmush's forces entered the territories of Uch and captured them. He also defeated the Sumra, rulers of lower Sindh, and made the area part of his empire. In 1231, Iltutmush besieged the fortress of Gwalior. After a resistance of almost a year, Mangal Dev, the ruler of Gwalior, ran away from the battlefield and the Muslim forces occupied the city. In 1234, Iltutmush conquered Malwa, Bhilsa and Ujjain and managed to extend the southern limits of his empire to Narbad.

The real founder of the Sultanate of Delhi, Iltutmush, died a natural death in April 1236, after ruling for about 26 years.

Razia Sultana [1205-1240]
 

[CENTER][B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkOrange"]Razia Sultana[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]
[B][COLOR="Black"][1205-1240] [/COLOR][/B][/CENTER]

Daughter of Iltutmush, Razia Sultana was the first female Muslim ruler of South Asia. She was a talented, wise, just and generous woman. She was a great administrator and was well versed in governmental affairs. She was not only a good leader in the battlefield but herself was also an excellent fighter. As the most capable son of Iltutmush died during his own life, and the rest were incompetent to govern, Iltutmush nominated his daughter, Razia Sultana, as his successor on the throne of Delhi. Whenever Iltutmush had to leave his capital, he used to leave Razia Sultana in charge of the affairs in Delhi. But when Iltutmush died, Rukn-ud-din Firuz, one of his sons, occupied the throne and ruled for about seven months. Razia Sultana, with the support of the people of Delhi, secured the throne after defeating her brother in 1236.

Razia Sultana established complete law and order in her country. To rule the country, she abandoned her femininity and adopted a masculine getup. She used to dress as a man when appearing in public, be it in court or on the battlefield. She made an Ethiopian slave named Jalal-ud-din Yaqut her personal attendant and started trusting him the most. This challenged the monopoly of power claimed by the Turkish nobles.

The Turkish nobles resented having a woman as their ruler, especially when she started challenging their power. They began conspiring against her. In 1239, the Turkish governor of Lahore rebelled against Razia Sultana. However, when she marched against him, he first fled and then apologized. Then the governor of Bhatinda revolted. When Razia Sultana was trying to suppress the rebellion in Bhatinda, her own Turkish officers deposed her from the throne of Delhi and made her brother Bahram the Sultan. Razia Sultana married the governor of Bhatinda, Malik Altunia, and with his help tried to reoccupy the throne. She was defeated by the Turkish nobles and was compelled to flee away. A peasant who had offered her food and shelter while fleeing from an encounter killed her in her sleep. She died in 1240.

Ghiyas-ud-din Balban [1200-1287]
 

[CENTER][B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkOrange"]Ghiyas-ud-din Balban[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]
[B][COLOR="Black"][1200-1287][/COLOR][/B][/CENTER]

Ghiyas-ud-din Balban was born in a well-to-do Turk family of the Ilbari tribe. The Mongols captured him when he was a child. They sold him to Khwajah Jamal-ud-din Basri in Baghdad. Later he was brought to Delhi where Iltutmush purchased him. From the beginning he was in the good books of his master and eventually became one of the Chalgan, a group of the forty most important nobles of the court. During the rule of Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, he became the most powerful amongst the Chalgan. While Nasir-ud-din spent most of his time engrossed in religious affairs, Balban was the real ruler. Nasir-ud-din married Balban's daughter, which made the latter even more powerful. After the death of Nasir-ud-din, Balban became the Sultan in early 1266.

Balban considered himself, the king, as the deputy of God on earth. He believed that the king should be very powerful so as to frighten everyone around him. He organized his court on the pattern of the courts of Irani kings. Nobody could even dare smile in his court. Smartly dressed well-built soldiers armed with unsheathed swords marched along beside him wherever he went. A number of rulers and princes who had taken refuge in his court were supposed to stand obediently in the court. Some ambassadors even used to faint when he entered his court. Balban established the department of intelligence. He spread his spies throughout the country and used them to gather information about all political developments and conspiracies. This helped him in taking action to stop trouble before it started.

As a Sultan, Balban adopted a blood and iron policy. He knew that during the twenty-year rule of Nasir-ud-din, the Chalgan had become very strong. Each one of them started to consider himself as a second to the Sultan. They did not like the growing power of Balban and were jealous of his ascent. After becoming Sultan, Balban decided to crush the power of the Chalgan. He had some murdered while others were banished to far off places.

When Balban ascended the throne, the Mewatis, Jats and Rajputs had become strong and often revolted against the government. The Mewatis lived near Delhi and had become so bold that they used to plunder the people living right outside the four walls of Delhi. When the royal forces were sent against them they took refuge in the jungles. Balban ordered his forces to crush them even if they had to completely destroy the forests.

During Nasir-ud-din's rule, the Mongols had advanced many times and plundered Lahore. In order to check the Mongol invasion, Balban built new forts and ordered the repair of the old ones between the river Indus and Delhi. He deployed the best of his troops on the northern borders to check the Mongols. His policies paid off, as he managed to stop the Mongol threat from advancing into his territories.

In the last days of Balban, Tughral Baig, the governor of Bengal, revolted against him. Bengal was far away from Delhi and the Sultan was very old. An army sent by Balban was defeated. In spite of his old age, Balban decided to lead an attack against the rebellion leader. He re-conquered Bengal and hanged thousands who took part in the revolt. He appointed his son Bughra Khan as the governor of Bengal and warned him that he would meet the same fate if he ever revolted against him.

The greatest setback for Balban in his entire life was the death of his favorite son, Prince Muhammad, during the war against the Mongols. He realized that without his son, the centralized monarchy that had been built up with such care was bound to dissolve again, as it had at the death of Iltutmush. This realization broke him. He never recovered from the death of Prince Muhammad and died in 1287.

In short Balban put the Muslim rule on firm footings. He completed the task started by Iltutmush. He made the Muslim rule in India so strong that it lasted in one form or the other till 1857.

Alauddin Khalji [1255-1316]
 

[CENTER][B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkOrange"]Alauddin Khalji[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]
[B][COLOR="Black"][1255-1316] [/COLOR][/B][/CENTER]

Alauddin Khalji was the son of Shahab-ud-din Khalji, and nephew and son-in-law of Jalal-ud-din Khalji, the founder of the Khalji rule in South Asia. When Jalal-ud-din ascended the throne, Alauddin was made Amir-i-Tuzk and later on Ariz-i-Mumalik. He was the most important general in the Sultan's army.

In 1292, with Jalal-ud-din's blessings, he invaded Malwa and captured the town of Bhilsa. He then planned to conquer the South without the knowledge of Jalal-ud-din. He took his campaign to Deogir and Deccan. He captured the area and brought back enormous booty. When Jalal-ud-din heard of his nephew's success, he came out of Delhi to receive him. When the two of them were embracing each other, Alauddin killed his uncle and declared himself as the Sultan of Delhi in 1296. The picture of Alauddin Khalji that emerged from contemporary literature, i.e. the writings of Burni and Amir Khusraw, is that of a great monarch, the defender of the Muslim people and a brilliant general and administrator.

Alauddin was a great general and had planned on conquering the entire world like Alexander. But due to certain reasons, he did not manage to achieve his goal. However, he showed his capability as a general on many occasions. He collected a big army and enrolled all his soldiers and horses. The soldiers were given handsome salaries during his regime. The Mongol army of around one hundred thousand troops threatened the security of his empire from the north but he managed to deal with the problem and defeated the otherwise undefeatable Mongols. To do so he repaired the old forts and constructed new ones. He was also the first Muslim ruler of the Sub-continent to enter the southern part of India. No other Muslim ruler managed to penetrate the south as deeply as was done in the reign of Alauddin.

Alauddin considered his nobles to be the biggest hurdle in putting the administration of the country on firm footing. To check the rising powers of the nobles, he put many restrictions on them. This kept them occupied with their own problems and thus did not have the time or the means to revolt against him.

To put the economy of the country on the right track, Alauddin introduced land reforms. He withdrew all grants of land that could not be justified on the basis of service rendered to the state. Tax was increased on agricultural produce. He took steps to see that the peasants were justly treated and to reduce the role of middlemen. Alauddin introduced a four-point agenda to control prices of the items of daily use and to make the life of the common man more comfortable. He fixed the prices of all items, guaranteed the continued supply of all commodities, regulated distribution so that the needs of the people were met while stamping out monopoly, and lastly, established an efficient administration to ensure the smooth running of the system.

Anybody found going against the system was severely punished. Alauddin died after a long illness on January 5, 1316. During his tenure, Delhi became a center of Muslim culture. Great poets such as Amir Khusraw and Amir Hasan Sijzi flourished during his era.

Muhammad bin Tughluq [1300-1351]
 

[CENTER][B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkOrange"]Muhammad bin Tughluq[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]
[B][COLOR="Black"][1300-1351][/COLOR][/B] [/CENTER]

Born in a well-to-do family of Tughluq nobles, Fakhr-ud-din Muhammad Junna Khan, popularly known as Muhammad bin Tughluq, received the best education available. At a very young age he made an impression on Alauddin Khalji, who gave him the title of Akhur Baig in his court. Muhammad supported his father during his campaign against Khusraw and when the father became Sultan, he helped him in administrative affairs of the state. He became the Sultan in February/March 1325 after his father's accidental death.

Muhammad was without any doubt the most educated of all Muslim rulers who ruled Delhi. He had complete command over Persian, Arabic, Turkish and Sanskrit and could comprehend, speak and write all these languages. He was an authority on the subjects like Philosophy, Logic and Mathematics. He also had a good knowledge of Medicine. He started a number of hospitals in Delhi, where the patients were thoroughly looked after.

Muhammad was a deeply religious man and had learnt the Holy Quran by heart. He used to quote verses of the Quran during his conversations. He was a practicing Muslim who never missed his prayers and fasted regularly. During his regime, those who missed their prayers were severely punished. Besides being a pious man, he was also a just ruler. He was popularly known as Adil Sultan. One of the forts he constructed near Delhi was known as Adilabad. He used to listen to the complaints of his people twice a week and tried his best to remove them.

Muhammad was a genius and had a knack of making original plans. He issued copper coins instead of silver and golden coins. Introduction of token currency in those days was an excellent idea but some people started making fake coins in their homes. According to Burni, every house belonging to a Hindu was converted into a coin mint. The market was flooded with fake coins, which the merchants refused to take. In this situation, Sultan withdrew all copper coins and issued silver ones in their place. This caused a huge loss to the royal treasury.

It is generally believed that Muhammad made Deogir his capital instead of Delhi, and changed its name to Daullatabad. It is believed said that the Sultan ordered all the people of Delhi to shift to the new capital. But reliable sources of history prove that he only made Daullatabad his second metropolis so he could look after his southern provinces. He also transferred only a few of his government servants to the southern capital. Unfortunately for him, the government servants who were ordered to shift to the new city sabotaged his plans and created circumstances that compelled the Sultan to reverse his decision.

Muhammad also planned an expedition towards Khorasan. He raised an army of about 370,000 men. The political situation changed and due to his friendship with the new Iranian ruler Abu Said, he had to cancel his plan. This plan also caused heavy loss to the royal treasury. Sultan's idea of sending an expedition to Qarachal also failed due to heavy rainfall in the area. Communication of Tughluq troops was disrupted and thus majority of the soldiers sent by the Sultan lost their lives in the expedition.

To increase the revenue of his country, Muhammad increased taxes in the fertile land of the Doab. Bad luck was once again waiting for him, as the area had no rainfall that year. He did not make any reduction in the land revenue and the farmers revolted. They left their land and took refuge in the jungles. The fertile land became barren. When Muhammad came to know about the real situation, he compensated the farmers and gave them large amounts to rehabilitate their land. All of this resulted in further losses to the royal treasury.

Unfortunately many of his plans failed and resulted in the loss of money and decline in his popularity. Some historians believe that his plans were not impracticable, and his schemes failed due to misunderstandings and unfavorable conditions. They believe that he was born before his time. However, many of schemes were unpopular his subjects did not appreciate them.

Muhammad became sick at Thatta and passed away on March 20 1351. The most famous historian of his time, Zia-ud-din Burni had differences with him and many accounts of his rule based on Burni's work mostly present the negative picture of an important ruler in history.

Firuz Shah Tughluq [1300-1388]
 

[CENTER][B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkOrange"]Firuz Shah Tughluq[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]
[B][COLOR="Black"][1300-1388][/COLOR][/B][/CENTER]

Firuz Shah was the son of Rajab and cousin of Muhammad bin Tughluq. He spent his entire life under the supervision of Muhammad and Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq. When Muhammad bin Tughluq died, the nobles asked Firuz to take charge of the government affairs. Firuz hesitated and asked them to select somebody else but they insisted. His coronation as Sultan took place on March 23, 1351.

Firuz was least interested in war affairs. The death of Muhammad encouraged the rebels in Sindh, who started attacking the royal army. Instead of giving the rebels a fight, Firuz ordered his army to withdraw and come back to Delhi. The territory of Deccan also became independent during his reign. However, he conquered Jaj Nagar and Nagar Kot and annexed them to his kingdom.

Firuz is remembered as a Sultan who was most interested in the welfare of his people. He was of the view that a man can conquer by love and not by sword, and molded his actions to the same theory. In kindness and love, he was second to none amongst the Sultans of Delhi. He took a keen interest in training his 175,000 slaves. He was also interested in social reforms. He maintained an extensive system of poor relief, patronized learning and administered impartial justice. He constructed 40 mosques, 30 buildings for educational institutions, 100 hospitals, 100 public baths, 10 monumental pillars, 10 public wells, and 150 bridges. New cities like Hissar Firuza, Jaunpur and Firuzaba were also built during his reign.

For agriculture, Firuz dug canals from the rivers Jumna and Sutluj. These canals irrigated a large area of land. He dug new tanks to store water for agriculture purposes, and repaired older tanks prepared by Iltutmush and Alauddin Khalji. He took a special interest in gardening. He opened cloth factories in important cities that produced very fine quality cloth.

Firuz was a deeply religious man and had great respect for saints. He withdrew 22 taxes that were deemed to be against the spirit of Islam. He organized the distribution of booty according to Islamic laws. During his regime, men who claimed to be god, prophet or the mehdi were severely punished. He prohibited women from visiting the tombs of holy saints. He removed all pictures from the walls of the palaces and the court. He started eating in ordinary utensils instead of gold and silver.

In the last days of Firuz, his elder son Fateh Khan died. His son's death caused him to lose all interest in his own life. He retired from his job and handed over the reigns of power to his son, Muhammad Shan in 1387. He died of old age in 1388.

Amir Timur [1336-1405]
 

[CENTER][B][COLOR="DarkOrange"][SIZE="3"]Amir Timur[/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR="Black"][1336-1405] [/COLOR][/B][/CENTER]

Timur was born in 1336, at a small town called Kesh, 50 miles south of Samarkand. A Chengezi Turk, he was the son of a minor chief who due to hard work and focused aims was able to become the ruler of a vast empire consisting of Transoxiana, a part of Turkistan, Afghanistan, Persia, Syria, Kurdistan and a major part of Asia Minor. The areas he conquered in his lifetime were only second to the conquests of Alexander.

As a young man he received a serious leg wound while stealing sheep, that resulted in a permanent limp. He was nicknamed Timur Leng (the lame), which ultimately became "Tamerlane". This handicap never hampered his ambitions. His aim was to become a conqueror of the caliber of Chengez Khan.

Timur's career was a combination of destruction and construction. On one hand he organized his army on the line of Mongols but on the other hand he left his administration in the hands of trained Muslim administrators. He would punish rebellions like Chengez Khan but would show a lot of respect for Muslim men of learning. Before destroying a beautiful peace of architecture, he would order sketches drawn, so that he could build its replica in his capital city of Samarkand.

After destroying the powers of Persia and Russia, Timur decided to invade India. His army initially entered India under the leadership of his grandson, Pir Muhammad Jehangir, in November 1397. This army managed to conquer Uch and Multan. In September of the following year, Timur himself came with a huge army 92,000 cavalrymen. He stormed though the areas that came in his way; Bhatnir, Sarsuti, Kaithal, Samana, Tughluqpur and Panipat. He finally reached Delhi. A weak Tughluq ruler, Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, ruled Delhi at that time. Mahmud ran away after being defeated by Timur.

After conquering Delhi, Timur announced general amnesty. It was only after the murder of a few of the Timur's soldiers at the hands of the local people, that he ordered a general massacre of locals and the plundering of Delhi. After looting Delhi for several days, Timur decided to go back. On his way back, he captured Jammu and Punjab. He made Khizar Khan his governor of Multan, Lahore and Dipalpur and left the area before the arrival of summer in March 1399. The booty acquired by Timur's soldiers included rubies, diamonds, garnets, pearls, vessels of gold and silver, silk, brocade and ornaments.

Against advise, he embarked on a grand conquest of China in January 1405. His age caught up with him and he became seriously ill. He was carried back to Samarkand, where he died in February, the same year.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan [1817-1898]
 

[CENTER][B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkOrange"]Sir Syed Ahmad Khan[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]
[B][COLOR="Black"][1817-1898][/COLOR][/B][/CENTER]

The greatest Muslim reformer and statesman of the 19th Century, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was born in Delhi on October 17, 1817. His family on the maternal and paternal side had close contacts with the Mughal court. His maternal grandfather, Khwajah Farid was a Wazir in the court of Akbar Shah II. His paternal grandfather Syed Hadi held a mansab and the title of Jawwad Ali Khan in the court of Alamgir II. His father, Mir Muttaqi, had been close to Akbar Shah since the days of his prince-hood. Syed Ahmad's mother, Aziz-un-Nisa, took a great deal of interest in the education and upbringing of her son. She imposed a rigid discipline on him and Sir Syed himself admitted that her supervision counted for much in the formation of his character.

The early years of Sir Syed's life were spent in the atmosphere of the family of a Mughal noble. There was nothing in young Syed's habits or behavior to suggest that he was different from other boys, though he was distinguished on account of his extraordinary physique. As a boy he learnt swimming and archery, which were favorite sports of the well-to-do class in those days.

Sir Syed received his education under the old system. He learnt to read the Quran under a female teacher at his home. After this, he was put in the charge of Maulvi Hamid-ud-Din, the first of his private tutors. Having completed a course in Persian and Arabic, he took to the study of mathematics, which was a favorite subject of the maternal side of his family. He later became interested in medicine and studied some well-known books on the subject. However, he soon gave it up without completing the full course. At the age of 18 or 19 his formal education came to an end but he continued his studies privately. He started taking a keen interest in the literary gatherings and cultural activities of the city.

The death of his father in 1838 left the family in difficulties. Thus young Syed was compelled at the early age of 21 to look for a career. He decided to enter the service of the East India Company. He started his career as Sarishtedar in a court of law. He became Naib Munshi in 1839 and Munshi in 1841. In 1858 he was promoted and appointed as Sadar-us-Sadur at Muradabad. In 1867 he was promoted and posted as the judge of the Small Causes Court. He retired in 1876. He spent the rest of his life for Aligarh College and the Muslims of South Asia.

Sir Syed's greatest achievement was his Aligarh Movement, which was primarily an educational venture. He established Gulshan School at Muradabad in 1859, Victoria School at Ghazipur in 1863, and a scientific society in 1864. When Sir Syed was posted at Aligarh in 1867, he started the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental School in the city. Sir Syed got the opportunity to visit England in 1869-70. During his stay, he studied the British educational system and appreciated it. On his return home he decided to make M. A. O. High School on the pattern of British boarding schools. The School later became a college in 1875. The status of University was given to the college after the death of Sir Syed in 1920. M. A. O. High School, College and University played a big role in the awareness of the Muslims of South Asia.

Unlike other Muslim leaders of his time, Sir Syed was of the view that Muslims should have friendship with the British if they want to take their due rights. To achieve this he did a lot to convince the British that Muslims were not against them. On the other hand, he tried his best to convince the Muslims that if they did not befriend the British, they could not achieve their goals. Sir Syed wrote many books and journals to remove the misunderstandings between Muslims and the British. The most significant of his literary works were his pamphlets "Loyal Muhammadans of India" and "Cause of Indian Revolt". He also wrote a commentary on the Bible, in which he attempted to prove that Islam is the closest religion to Christianity.

Sir Syed asked the Muslims of his time not to participate in politics unless and until they got modern education. He was of the view that Muslims could not succeed in the field of western politics without knowing the system. He was invited to attend the first session of the Indian National Congress and to join the organization but he refused to accept the offer. He also asked the Muslims to keep themselves away from the Congress and predicted that the party would prove to be a pure Hindu party in the times to come. By establishing the Muhammadan Educational Conference, he provided Muslims with a platform on which he could discuss their political problems. Sir Syed is known as the founder of Two-Nation Theory in the modern era.

In the beginning of 1898 he started keeping abnormally quiet. For hours he would not utter a word to friends who visited him. Medical aid proved ineffective. His condition became critical on 24th of March. On the morning of March 27, a severe headache further worsened it. He expired the same evening in the house of Haji Ismail Khan, where he had been shifted 10 or 12 days earlier. He was buried the following afternoon in the compound of the Mosque of Aligarh College. He was mourned by a large number of friends and admirers both within and outside South Asia.