When in August 1947, Pakistan achieved independence,
it was, unlike its neighbor India, in all respects a new nation,
based on religious conviction rather than historical
or ethnic tradition. The unique state united two separate
territories 2,000 miles apart. West Pakistan, including the
Indus River basin and the West Punjab, was perennially
short of water and was populated by dry crop farmers and
peoples of the steppe. East Pakistan was made up of the
marshy deltas of the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers.
Densely populated with rice farmers, it was the home of
the artistic and intellectual Bengalis.
Even though the new state was an essentially Muslim
society, its first years were marked by intense internal
conflicts over religious, linguistic, and regional issues.
Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s vision of a democratic state that
would assure freedom of religion and equal treatment for
all was opposed by those who advocated a state based on
Islamic principles.
Even more dangerous was the division between east
and west. Many in East Pakistan felt that the government,
based in the west, ignored their needs. In 1952, riots
erupted in East Pakistan over the government’s decision
to adopt Urdu, a language derived from Hindi and
used by Muslims in northern India, as the national language
of the entire country. Most East Pakistanis spoke
Bengali, an unrelated language. Tensions persisted, and
in March 1971, East Pakistan declared its independence
as the new nation of Bangladesh. Pakistani troops attempted
to restore central government authority in the
capital of Dhaka, but rebel forces supported by India went
on the offensive, and the government bowed to the inevitable
and recognized independent Bangladesh.
The breakup of the union between East andWest Pakistan
undermined the fragile authority of the military regime
that had ruled Pakistan since 1958 and led to its
replacement by a civilian government under Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto. But now religious tensions came to the fore, despite
a new constitution that made a number of key concessions
to conservative Muslims. In 1977, a new military
government under General Zia Ul Ha’q came to power
with a commitment to make Pakistan a truly Islamic
state. Islamic law became the basis for social behavior as
well as for the legal system. Laws governing the consumption
of alcohol and the role of women were tightened
in accordance with strict Muslim beliefs. But after
Zia was killed in a plane crash, Pakistanis elected Benazir
Bhutto, the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and a supporter
of secularism who had been educated in theUnited
States. She too was removed from power by a military regime,
in 1990, on charges of incompetence and corruption.
Reelected in 1993, she attempted to crack down on
opposition forces but was removed once again amid renewed
charges of official corruption. Her successor soon
came under fire for the same reason and in 1999 was
ousted by a military coup led by General Pervaiz Musharraf,
who promised to restore political stability and honest
government.
In September 2001, Pakistan became the focus of international
attention when a coalition of forces arrived in
Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban regime and destroy
the al-Qaeda terrorist network. Despite considerable support
for the Taliban among the local population, President
Musharraf pledged his help in bringing terrorists to
justice. He also promised to return his country to the secular
principles espoused by Mohammed Ali Jinnah. His
situation was complicated by renewed tensions with India
over Kashmir and a series of violent clashes between
Muslims and Hindus in India.
World History
