Vol. 4 No. 2 (2021): Pakistan Journal of International Affairs
Articles

POLITICAL VANDALISM IN PAKISTAN: A CASE STUDY OF PPP REGIME (1972-1977)

Published 2021-06-30

Abstract

Political victimization in developing countries remained the practice of civil and military regimes in various shapes. Pakistan has no exception as when within a week of independence, the dismissal of non-League government in NWFP, and followed by similar practice of August 12, 1948 in Babara Charsadda district. The later practice ordered by the chief minister of N.W.F.P in newly created Pakistan. Interestingly, both the acts exhibited vandalism, and targeted against those rivals. Such vindictive practice continued in Pakistan in different political eras including the PPP led regime of 1970s where political oppression reached to climax against the political rivals. One such political rival of (PPP) was National Awami Party-NAP, which struggled hard to survive in a so called ‘conspiracy case against the state and government of Pakistan’. Consequently, tension created and uncertainty found in the NAP’s leadership as its loyalty towards Pakistan was doubted, and held responsible for assassination of PPP leader, Mr. Hayat Muhammad Khan Sherpao in 1976. State agencies were utilized to scapegoat the NAP, and following the arrest of its chief along with other leaders-their trial was initiated inside Hyderabad prison. The Government tried to prove involvement of NAP’s leadership in anti-Pakistan activities, however, with imposition of Martial Law in July 1977, the case was reviewed and the trial terminated. What irritates the researchers’ mind is to know about the maneuverings of political upheavals in the then era, and curiosity develops to know many points including those that have been analyzed in this paper, i.e. nature of NAP’s politics prior to the trail, the causes being used by the PPP regime to charge the NAP for their affiliation with antiPakistan activities and also the prime concern of Martial Law regime which questioned the validity of the trial, and which exonerated NAP of the charges levelled against its leadership