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October 27, 1958, in retrospect, US envoy's account
FIROZUDDIN AHMED FARIDI
ARTICLE (October 17 2008): It happened 50 years ago. It looks like yesterday. Let us first say a few words about the background of this fateful date. On March 6, 1956, the National Assembly of Pakistan unanimously elected Iskander Mirza as the first President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
The Republic's first constitution was promulgated on March 23, 1956, and the newly elected President took his oath of office, under Article 215 of the constitution of Pakistan, 1956, exactly in the words, as laid down in para 1 of its IInd schedule. The following 13 words from the prescribed constitutional oath of office are reproduced below for future record, in public interest - and as dark humour:
"I do solemnly swear that I preserve, protect and defend the constitution..." (emphasis added). Two and a half years later, in the dark hours of a hot and humid Karachi night, on October 7, 1958, the unanimously elected president redeemed his solemn pledge, made before his God and his people, by issuing a lengthy proclamation of which a few sentences are again worth reproduction:
"The constitution which was brought into being on 23rd March, 1956, after so many tribulations, is unworkable. It is full of dangerous compromises so that Pakistan will disintegrate internally if the inherent malaise is not removed...As head of state, my foremost duty before my God and the people is the integrity of Pakistan. It is seriously threatened...I, have, therefore, decided that the Constitution of 23rd March, 1956 will be abrogated (and) Pakistan will come under Martial Law. I hereby appoint General Muhammad Ayub Khan, Commander-in-Chief, Pakistan Army, as the Chief Martial Law Administrator."
Three weeks later, in the forenoon of October, 27, 1958, President Iskander Mirza administered oath of office, in the President House, Karachi, to his new cabinet which was a queer mix, inter alia, of serving, powerful army generals, retired, spineless bureaucrats and unknown, ambitious, unscrupulous political upstarts. Of the second (and the middle) category, one (ie, Shoaib, the finance minister) was imported from, or imposed by, the World Bank, just as in the subsequent military usurpations, the intermediate-qualified military dictators of Pakistan have been merrily importing, or meekly inducting, the same pseudo bankers-called-economists from the same Old Bank. President Mirza named Ayub Khan as the prime minister of Pakistan who, inter alia, took the following solemn oath:
"I do solemnly affirm that in the office of Prime Minister, I will faithfully discharge such duties as the President may assign to me..." (emphasis added). The three serving, and senior lieutenant generals who had similarly, and solemnly, made affirmations to faithfully discharge such duties as the President may assign to them, were Azam Khan, K.M. Shaikh and W.A. Burki.
In the evening of October 27, 1958, Generals Ayub and W.A. Burki called on the President. It was a pleasant Karachi evening, and they strolled amiably on the lush green lawn of the President House (now the Sindh Governor House). Both the serving army generals were on their best and most respectable behaviour. Iskander Mirza then went off to visit his friend, Abul Hassan Ispahani, Pakistan's first ambassador to the USA, and later a federal minister. Upon his return, he dined early, and retired to his bedroom, on the first floor of the President's House.
An hour or so later, at about 10 pm, a servant knocked respectfully at the door of the Presidential bedroom. The president woke up from his relaxed sleep, and was informed that some generals were waiting downstairs to have an audience with him.
The triumphant, though tired, 59-year old President put on his bath-robe (not the night gown), and, in that highly informal attire, stepped on to the outside veranda overlooking the Presidential garden where, a few hours earlier, he had enjoyed a pleasant walk and talk with his protégé generals. What he now saw, was anything but pleasant.
A large number of army soldiers, brandishing menacing automatic weapons, were milling around not only in the lush-green, neatly manicured lawn but also in the stately verandas of the President House. The President went downstairs and found lieutenant generals Azam Khan, K.M. Shaikh and W.A. Burki anxiously, and nervously, waiting for him.
The President asked as to what was so important that he had to be awakened at night, from his sleep. The generals submitted that they had come with a message from his Prime Minister. The message was: step down from the office of the president. The draft was promptly produced, and all that the President of Pakistan was required to do was merely to affix his signatures, at the bottom of the draft.
The President read the draft carefully. He then looked at the three rather nervous senior army generals very carefully. He thereafter looked most carefully at the machine gun-totting soldiers who were at the right, left and rear of the three generals. There were shadows lurking beyond.
It did not take the President long to realise that they had enough fire power to blow up instantly not only the 59-year old man in the casual bathrobe who faced them, but also the much older President House. He signed. The following day, October 28, 1958, the morning papers carried two confusing, and contradictory, official announcements.
One read that a new cabinet, with General Ayub as the prime minister, had been sworn in to "faithfully discharge such duties as the president may assign" to them; whereas the other announcement reported that the president had resigned, and the new prime minister was now the new president.
There was no prime minister in the new set-up. In all later set-ups, too, up to October, 2008, Pakistan either had no prime minister or (with one solitary exception) virtually no real prime minister. What we had posing as prime ministers were the Shaukat Azizs the Shujaat Hussains, the Jamalis and the Gilanis. It is difficult to say as to who amongst them was more pliable and more pitiable. Who says that the age of "Coloning" has not come of age?
For the purpose of enlightenment, and in order to provide a conclusive proof as to how either blatant lies, or half truths, are called by the high-sounding nomenclature of official statements even when they concern the most sensitive and important statecraft, a few sentences from the "declaration" dated October 27, 1958, of President Iskander Mirza are reproduced below, with the footnote that it was called a "declaration", and not a resignation, which it, indeed, was:
"Three weeks ago, I imposed martial law in Pakistan...By the grace of God, this measure...has been extremely well received by our people, and by our friends and well-wishers abroad...An unfortunate impression exists in the minds of a great many people, both at home and abroad, that General Ayub and I may not always act in unison.
Such an impression, I cannot help feeling, if allowed to continue, would be most damaging to our cause...Any semblance of dual control is likely to hamper the effective performance of this immense task...I have, therefore, decided to step aside, and hand over all powers to General Ayub Khan. I wish (him) and his colleagues the best of luck. Pakistan Paindabad." (emphasis added).
Immediately after obtaining the above "Presidential Declaration" by which the President had "decided" to step aside, the three generals hastily left the President House. The weapon-wielding army men, now under the charge of an arrogant brigadier, ordered the ex-President and his Iranian-born wife to get out of the House, at once.
To lend force to the brigadier's forceful argument, the edgy soldiers brandished their automatic weapons. The frightened couple hastily dumped some of their belongings into two bags, and was immediately driven out, under gunpoint, and under heavy military escort, to the PAF air base, Mauripur, Karachi. Their next destination was Quetta.
At the airbase, the only civilian who was a witness to only part of this highly-charged drama, completely written, directed and enacted by the Pakistan army on that eventful night, was the then American ambassador to Pakistan. He ensured, at night, his presence at the Mauripur airbase. Immediately, on his return from Mauripur, he wired a secret report (since de-classified by US Government) to the Secretary of State in Washington D.C. As this instantly-filed report is from a neutral, high-profile foreigner, its extracts are reproduced below, at same length:
QUOTE: "The saddest task in 15 months in Pakistan was saying goodbye to President Mirza and his wife at (PAF) Mauripur base at 5.50 am, October 28, as they boarded (an) ancient Bristol freighter to be flown to Quetta. Except for numerous members of top Pakistan military, I was the only other person present.
"At the Prime Minister's House (now Sindh Chief Minister House), at about 1.30 that morning, I and other chiefs of missions had been told by the new President, Ayub Khan, in response to question by (the) Australian High Commissioner...and me, that we (two) would be permitted to see the Mirzas.
"(Brigadier) General Sher Bahadur, Vice Air Marshal Asghar Khan, and a score of military personnel, mostly army men, were on hand. The Mirzas were not permitted to talk to me alone, but only in (Brigadier) General's presence. President Mirza said that he had first known of General Ayub's take-over of the Presidency, at 10 pm, on October, 27.
"He and Begum Mirza arrived under army escort, with only two bags, and immediately on seeing me, asked if I would send messages of assurance to various members of their families in Pakistan, and abroad. They apparently had not been permitted to do so during the night, (or) were too proud to ask such a favour from the army, or had not known whether they would continue in good health through the night, and so were unsure of what message they should send.
Though President Ayub had told me, in reply to a question, that the Mirzas were not under arrest, they certainly conducted themselves as if they were, and so did the army men at the airport.
"I rode back to town (Karachi) wondering if the Mirzas would ever leave Quetta, whether (Hussein Shaheed) Suharwardy might not be the next victim of Ayub's rise to solitary dictatorship, and how matters in Pakistan would now be shaped by two vindictive men, the new President and his Deputy (Chief) Martial Law Administrator, and Secretary General of the Government, Aziz Ahmed." Unquote.
In the above top secret diplomatic dispatch, mention has been made of Vice Air Marshal (later Air Marshal) Asghar Khan who, in his book, "Generals in Politics-1958 to 1962" gives the following account of that fateful night:
"He (Ayub) then called a meeting of the ambassadors of the foreign countries and members of his cabinet. It was about 11.30 pm when everyone had assembled, and Ayub Khan told them of the action that he had taken, and explained briefly the reasons that necessitated his doing so.
There was no reaction from any of them except the United States ambassador and the high commissioner for Australia...The US ambassador reacted sharply to the news, and asked Ayub Khan some pointed questions about the action that he had taken, and the safety of Iskander Mirza. He enquired about the plans he had for the former president, and wanted to know how he would be treated.
Ayub Khan appeared upset at the manner in which the United States ambassador had spoken, and said that Iskander Mirza would be treated well, and was being sent to Quetta early next morning, where he would stay for a few weeks. (The Australian high commissioner) who had served in the British Indian army and later (in) the Pakistan army was a personal friend of Iskander Mirza, and he, too, expressed anxiety about his (Mirza's) safety." Unquote.
In the early hours of the night of October, 27, 1958, when President Mirza slept soundly in the President House, Karachi, he was an almighty President. When he woke up the same night, he found himself a prisoner. It was as if he had, at last, woken up to reality.
Perhaps he was always a prisoner of circumstances. This then is a page from our chequered history covering just one day and night on 27/28 October, 1958. History teaches us two great lessons. It has always taught us these two lessons. One, that none ever learns from history. Two, that history, therefore, repeats itself. History is, indeed, the best judge and the best teacher. However, its fee is too exorbitant to pay. Only the Pakistani nation can afford it.
Pakistan Paindabad.
Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]
FIROZUDDIN AHMED FARIDI
ARTICLE (October 17 2008): It happened 50 years ago. It looks like yesterday. Let us first say a few words about the background of this fateful date. On March 6, 1956, the National Assembly of Pakistan unanimously elected Iskander Mirza as the first President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
The Republic's first constitution was promulgated on March 23, 1956, and the newly elected President took his oath of office, under Article 215 of the constitution of Pakistan, 1956, exactly in the words, as laid down in para 1 of its IInd schedule. The following 13 words from the prescribed constitutional oath of office are reproduced below for future record, in public interest - and as dark humour:
"I do solemnly swear that I preserve, protect and defend the constitution..." (emphasis added). Two and a half years later, in the dark hours of a hot and humid Karachi night, on October 7, 1958, the unanimously elected president redeemed his solemn pledge, made before his God and his people, by issuing a lengthy proclamation of which a few sentences are again worth reproduction:
"The constitution which was brought into being on 23rd March, 1956, after so many tribulations, is unworkable. It is full of dangerous compromises so that Pakistan will disintegrate internally if the inherent malaise is not removed...As head of state, my foremost duty before my God and the people is the integrity of Pakistan. It is seriously threatened...I, have, therefore, decided that the Constitution of 23rd March, 1956 will be abrogated (and) Pakistan will come under Martial Law. I hereby appoint General Muhammad Ayub Khan, Commander-in-Chief, Pakistan Army, as the Chief Martial Law Administrator."
Three weeks later, in the forenoon of October, 27, 1958, President Iskander Mirza administered oath of office, in the President House, Karachi, to his new cabinet which was a queer mix, inter alia, of serving, powerful army generals, retired, spineless bureaucrats and unknown, ambitious, unscrupulous political upstarts. Of the second (and the middle) category, one (ie, Shoaib, the finance minister) was imported from, or imposed by, the World Bank, just as in the subsequent military usurpations, the intermediate-qualified military dictators of Pakistan have been merrily importing, or meekly inducting, the same pseudo bankers-called-economists from the same Old Bank. President Mirza named Ayub Khan as the prime minister of Pakistan who, inter alia, took the following solemn oath:
"I do solemnly affirm that in the office of Prime Minister, I will faithfully discharge such duties as the President may assign to me..." (emphasis added). The three serving, and senior lieutenant generals who had similarly, and solemnly, made affirmations to faithfully discharge such duties as the President may assign to them, were Azam Khan, K.M. Shaikh and W.A. Burki.
In the evening of October 27, 1958, Generals Ayub and W.A. Burki called on the President. It was a pleasant Karachi evening, and they strolled amiably on the lush green lawn of the President House (now the Sindh Governor House). Both the serving army generals were on their best and most respectable behaviour. Iskander Mirza then went off to visit his friend, Abul Hassan Ispahani, Pakistan's first ambassador to the USA, and later a federal minister. Upon his return, he dined early, and retired to his bedroom, on the first floor of the President's House.
An hour or so later, at about 10 pm, a servant knocked respectfully at the door of the Presidential bedroom. The president woke up from his relaxed sleep, and was informed that some generals were waiting downstairs to have an audience with him.
The triumphant, though tired, 59-year old President put on his bath-robe (not the night gown), and, in that highly informal attire, stepped on to the outside veranda overlooking the Presidential garden where, a few hours earlier, he had enjoyed a pleasant walk and talk with his protégé generals. What he now saw, was anything but pleasant.
A large number of army soldiers, brandishing menacing automatic weapons, were milling around not only in the lush-green, neatly manicured lawn but also in the stately verandas of the President House. The President went downstairs and found lieutenant generals Azam Khan, K.M. Shaikh and W.A. Burki anxiously, and nervously, waiting for him.
The President asked as to what was so important that he had to be awakened at night, from his sleep. The generals submitted that they had come with a message from his Prime Minister. The message was: step down from the office of the president. The draft was promptly produced, and all that the President of Pakistan was required to do was merely to affix his signatures, at the bottom of the draft.
The President read the draft carefully. He then looked at the three rather nervous senior army generals very carefully. He thereafter looked most carefully at the machine gun-totting soldiers who were at the right, left and rear of the three generals. There were shadows lurking beyond.
It did not take the President long to realise that they had enough fire power to blow up instantly not only the 59-year old man in the casual bathrobe who faced them, but also the much older President House. He signed. The following day, October 28, 1958, the morning papers carried two confusing, and contradictory, official announcements.
One read that a new cabinet, with General Ayub as the prime minister, had been sworn in to "faithfully discharge such duties as the president may assign" to them; whereas the other announcement reported that the president had resigned, and the new prime minister was now the new president.
There was no prime minister in the new set-up. In all later set-ups, too, up to October, 2008, Pakistan either had no prime minister or (with one solitary exception) virtually no real prime minister. What we had posing as prime ministers were the Shaukat Azizs the Shujaat Hussains, the Jamalis and the Gilanis. It is difficult to say as to who amongst them was more pliable and more pitiable. Who says that the age of "Coloning" has not come of age?
For the purpose of enlightenment, and in order to provide a conclusive proof as to how either blatant lies, or half truths, are called by the high-sounding nomenclature of official statements even when they concern the most sensitive and important statecraft, a few sentences from the "declaration" dated October 27, 1958, of President Iskander Mirza are reproduced below, with the footnote that it was called a "declaration", and not a resignation, which it, indeed, was:
"Three weeks ago, I imposed martial law in Pakistan...By the grace of God, this measure...has been extremely well received by our people, and by our friends and well-wishers abroad...An unfortunate impression exists in the minds of a great many people, both at home and abroad, that General Ayub and I may not always act in unison.
Such an impression, I cannot help feeling, if allowed to continue, would be most damaging to our cause...Any semblance of dual control is likely to hamper the effective performance of this immense task...I have, therefore, decided to step aside, and hand over all powers to General Ayub Khan. I wish (him) and his colleagues the best of luck. Pakistan Paindabad." (emphasis added).
Immediately after obtaining the above "Presidential Declaration" by which the President had "decided" to step aside, the three generals hastily left the President House. The weapon-wielding army men, now under the charge of an arrogant brigadier, ordered the ex-President and his Iranian-born wife to get out of the House, at once.
To lend force to the brigadier's forceful argument, the edgy soldiers brandished their automatic weapons. The frightened couple hastily dumped some of their belongings into two bags, and was immediately driven out, under gunpoint, and under heavy military escort, to the PAF air base, Mauripur, Karachi. Their next destination was Quetta.
At the airbase, the only civilian who was a witness to only part of this highly-charged drama, completely written, directed and enacted by the Pakistan army on that eventful night, was the then American ambassador to Pakistan. He ensured, at night, his presence at the Mauripur airbase. Immediately, on his return from Mauripur, he wired a secret report (since de-classified by US Government) to the Secretary of State in Washington D.C. As this instantly-filed report is from a neutral, high-profile foreigner, its extracts are reproduced below, at same length:
QUOTE: "The saddest task in 15 months in Pakistan was saying goodbye to President Mirza and his wife at (PAF) Mauripur base at 5.50 am, October 28, as they boarded (an) ancient Bristol freighter to be flown to Quetta. Except for numerous members of top Pakistan military, I was the only other person present.
"At the Prime Minister's House (now Sindh Chief Minister House), at about 1.30 that morning, I and other chiefs of missions had been told by the new President, Ayub Khan, in response to question by (the) Australian High Commissioner...and me, that we (two) would be permitted to see the Mirzas.
"(Brigadier) General Sher Bahadur, Vice Air Marshal Asghar Khan, and a score of military personnel, mostly army men, were on hand. The Mirzas were not permitted to talk to me alone, but only in (Brigadier) General's presence. President Mirza said that he had first known of General Ayub's take-over of the Presidency, at 10 pm, on October, 27.
"He and Begum Mirza arrived under army escort, with only two bags, and immediately on seeing me, asked if I would send messages of assurance to various members of their families in Pakistan, and abroad. They apparently had not been permitted to do so during the night, (or) were too proud to ask such a favour from the army, or had not known whether they would continue in good health through the night, and so were unsure of what message they should send.
Though President Ayub had told me, in reply to a question, that the Mirzas were not under arrest, they certainly conducted themselves as if they were, and so did the army men at the airport.
"I rode back to town (Karachi) wondering if the Mirzas would ever leave Quetta, whether (Hussein Shaheed) Suharwardy might not be the next victim of Ayub's rise to solitary dictatorship, and how matters in Pakistan would now be shaped by two vindictive men, the new President and his Deputy (Chief) Martial Law Administrator, and Secretary General of the Government, Aziz Ahmed." Unquote.
In the above top secret diplomatic dispatch, mention has been made of Vice Air Marshal (later Air Marshal) Asghar Khan who, in his book, "Generals in Politics-1958 to 1962" gives the following account of that fateful night:
"He (Ayub) then called a meeting of the ambassadors of the foreign countries and members of his cabinet. It was about 11.30 pm when everyone had assembled, and Ayub Khan told them of the action that he had taken, and explained briefly the reasons that necessitated his doing so.
There was no reaction from any of them except the United States ambassador and the high commissioner for Australia...The US ambassador reacted sharply to the news, and asked Ayub Khan some pointed questions about the action that he had taken, and the safety of Iskander Mirza. He enquired about the plans he had for the former president, and wanted to know how he would be treated.
Ayub Khan appeared upset at the manner in which the United States ambassador had spoken, and said that Iskander Mirza would be treated well, and was being sent to Quetta early next morning, where he would stay for a few weeks. (The Australian high commissioner) who had served in the British Indian army and later (in) the Pakistan army was a personal friend of Iskander Mirza, and he, too, expressed anxiety about his (Mirza's) safety." Unquote.
In the early hours of the night of October, 27, 1958, when President Mirza slept soundly in the President House, Karachi, he was an almighty President. When he woke up the same night, he found himself a prisoner. It was as if he had, at last, woken up to reality.
Perhaps he was always a prisoner of circumstances. This then is a page from our chequered history covering just one day and night on 27/28 October, 1958. History teaches us two great lessons. It has always taught us these two lessons. One, that none ever learns from history. Two, that history, therefore, repeats itself. History is, indeed, the best judge and the best teacher. However, its fee is too exorbitant to pay. Only the Pakistani nation can afford it.
Pakistan Paindabad.
Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]
