Yahya Khan Regime, LFO 1970, and Separation of East Pakistan

1. General Yahya Khan Regime 1969-71

The people of Pakistan did not accept the defeat of Mader-e-Millat Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah in Presidential elections of 1965 and the Tashkent agreement between Pakistan and India. As a result, they started countrywide protests against President Ayub. Finally, under public pressure, President Ayub Khan resigned from his office. After this, the army chief, General Yahya Khan, imposed Martial Law and took control of the government on March 25, 1969. The Constitution of 1962 was abolished.

General Yahya Khan, till the formation of new government, formed an interim constitution with the consultation of all political leaders, which was called the Legal Framework Order 1970.

2. Legal Framework Order (LFO) 1970

In November 1969, a commission was set up by General Yahya Khan to prepare the interim constitution, which was finalized on March 30, 1970. Following were the key points of the Legal Framework order:

1. One unit was eliminated from West Pakistan and all four provinces were restored.
2. The people were given the right to vote directly for the elections. 21 years of age was fixed for voting.
3. The equal distribution of seats of National Assembly between provinces was eliminated, and all provinces were given seats according to their population. The total number of seats of the National Assembly was 313. Among these, 13 seats were reserved for women, while women were also given the right to contest on general seats.
4. The minimum age of the candidate was fixed 25 years to contest the election.
5. If the new National Assembly failed to draft a new constitution within 120 days, the Assembly would be dissolved.

In addition to all these points, a policy was introduced in the Legal Framework Order 1970 for the making of future constitution. The country's future constitution was to be federal. The name of the country was to be the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Islamic ideology and democratic values were to be included in the constitution. Citizens were to exercise their basic rights freely. The judiciary had to be independent from administration. Provinces were given autonomy. The President was given the power not to pass the Constitution unless the points set forth above were part of the Constitution. The President was given the power to amend the Constitution which could not be challenged in any court.

3. General Elections 1970

The general elections for the National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies were held according to the Legal Framework Order 1970. As these were the first elections in the history of Pakistan based on adult voting, therefore, there was great enthusiasm in the public for these elections. All political parties participated in these elections. The Awami League and the Pakistan Peoples' Party were very popular among the major political parties. The Peoples' Party chanted the slogan of "Bread, Clothing and Shelter", which became very popular among the people.

As a result of election, the Awami League emerged as the only majority party which had won160 of the 300 general seats of the National Assembly. The Pakistan Peoples' Party won 81 seats and remaining seats won by all the other parties and Independent candidates. The results of the Provincial Assemblies were not different. Awami League won 288 out of 300 general seats in East Pakistan. Pakistan Peoples' Party won majority in Punjab and Sindh, while National Awami Party (NAP) and Jamiat Ulema e-Islam (JUI) got majority in NWFP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Balochistan.

The results of these elections made it clear that the Awami League would form a government in the centre. West Pakistan's political leadership and bureaucracy were concerned because the manifesto on which the Awami League had won was unacceptable to the political leadership of West Pakistan. Therefore, the transfer of powers to the new government was delayed, resulting in a wave of concern in East Pakistan. General Yahya Khan held talks with the head of Awami League, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, but these did not succeed. Thereafter, a civil war situation developed in East Pakistan. Bengalis chanted slogan of independent state with the help of pro-Indian organization Mukti Bahini. Pakistan's Armed Forces had to intervene to crush the revolt. Thus, bloody riots began in East Pakistan.

1. Separation of East Pakistan and Emergence of Bangladesh

As a result of the 1970 general elections, when the Awami League had won the majority in East Pakistan and the reins of the country were not handed over to the Awami League, the law and order situation developed in East Pakistan. To control this situation, Chief Martial Law Administrator General Yahya Khan declared emergency there. The Pakistan army tried to improve law and order situation but the situation kept on deteriorating day by day as the organization called Mukti Bahini was busy spreading riots there. Under these circumstances, on March 15, 1971, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, General Yahya Khan and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman met in Dhaka to restore peace. The negotiations ended without any results. Due to the tense situation, millions of Bengalis began migrating to India. India officially announced to help the Bengalis. The Indian army provided weapons to the rebels and started training them which worsened the situation between Pakistan and India. General Yahya Khan sent more troops to East Pakistan, with the result that Pakistan army gained control of the most of the areas. Given the situation, India attacked East Pakistan with its armed forces. The Pakistan army in East Pakistan contained the Indian forces for two weeks. When they ran out of supplies and no more aid could reach from West Pakistan, India succeeded in its nefarious designs. Thus, on December 16, 1971, East Pakistan got separated and became an independent country by the name of Bangladesh.

5. Causes of Separation of East Pakistan

A brief overview of the secession of East Pakistan can be taken from the following facts:-

(i) Geographical Distance