THE ROLE OF AIR MARSHAL®MUHAMMAD ASGHAR KHAN IN PAKISTAN POLITICS BY Zabir Saeed Badar

THE ROLE OF AIR MARSHAL®MUHAMMAD ASGHAR KHAN IN PAKISTAN POLITICS Zabir Saeed Badar Abstract: Asghar Khan (January 17, 1921) is a Pakistani veteran politician, peace activist, and retired military figure.He entered politics after two successful careers in government: as the first commander in chief of the Pakistan air force and then as chairman of Pakistan International Airlines He left the air force soon after Pakistan's 1965 war with India convinced him that Muhammad Ayub Khan had failed the country and that Pakistan needed a new type of leader Asghar Khan began his political career by joining, in 1969, the Justice Party, but then decided to form his own political organization, the Tehrik-e-Istiqlal. He played an active role in the agitation that led to the resignation of President Muhammad Ayub Khan in March 1969 and the demise of the political system founded by the General Muhammad Ayub Khan. The political agitation against the government of General Ayub Khan, proved to be the high point of Asghar Khan's political career. His party Tehrik-e-Istiqlal performed poorly in 1970 parliamentary elections. However in 1977, the party significant gained momentum and participated with full force in 1977 parliamentary elections, although the party failed to grasp any support in the public as compared to the Pakistan Peoples Party. He was designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, and conferred with the Gold Medal by the Human Rights Commission, and Jinnah Award Awarded by the Jinnah Society for the cause of democracy. After years of founding the Tehrik-e-Istiqlal, Asghar Khan merged his party with PTI in 2011. Biography Mohammad Asghar Khan was born in Jammu, British-held Kashmir in British Indian Empire to an Urdu-speaking Pashtun family on 17 January 1921. His father, Brigadier Thakur Rahmatullah Khan, was a senior officer and colonel-commandant of the posted Brigade combat team of the British Army headquartered in Kashmir. Most of Asghar Khan's family members which had left Tirah Valley in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) to settle in Kashmir, again migrated at the time of partition to Abbottabad in the North-West Frontier Province and settled there. This included his parents and his ten siblings. He and all his brothers, except one, then joined the armed forces of Pakistan.After attending a military school, his family directed him at the Prince of Wales's Royal Indian Military College 1933, and joined the Indian Military Academy in 1939. Initially, Asghar Khan was an Indian Army officer, a Second Lieutenant in the Indian Army, starting his active duty from the Royal Deccan Horse in December 1940. However this was short-lived, the Ministry of Defence drafted Asghar Khan in the newly established Royal Indian Air Force in 1940, joining the No. 9 Squadron of the Indian Air Force. In 1944, Asghar Khan assumed the command his unit and commanded the aerial missions of No. 9 Squadron in Burma. He took active participation in Burma Campaign 1944–1945, directing and commanding aerial operations against the Imperial Japan on behest of the Great Britain.After the World war II, the British government called Asghar Khan to United Kingdom where he joined the RAF Staff College at Bracknell, where he completed a staff course from there. Later, Asghar Khan joined the Joint Service Defence College where he gained B.Sc. in military ethics after submitting his thesis on actions involving the Joint Services. He conducted his post-graduate research and studies from Imperial Defence College where Asghar Khan was awarded M.Sc. in Military administration by the college faculty. Upon his return, Asghar Khan was most-senior officer in the Indian Air Force, although his career with Indian Air Force is not completely known, but it is well understood that Asghar Khan commanded the No. 9 Squadron of the Indian Air Force, in 1945. Asghar Khan was also the first Indian Air Force officer to fly a jet fighter aircraft, a Gloster Meteor, whilst doing a fighter leader's course in UK in 1946.On 7 June 1949, Asghar Khan joined the sub-committee led by RAF Air Vice Marshal Allan Perry-Keene to distribute the defence assets of undivided India between the proposed State of Pakistan.[citation needed] On 14 August 1947, Asghar Khan moved to newly established country, Pakistan in 1947 and after the partition of India in 1947, Prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan appointed Asghar Khan to the rank of Wing-Commander and became the first commandant of the Pakistan Air Force Academy at Risalpur. He was among the one of the most senior officers of the Pakistan Air Force and in 1949, Asghar Khan became the first Officer commanding of the No. 1 Stryker Group based in Peshawar Air Force Base. In 1948, Asghar Khan greeted founder of Pakistan and Governor-General Muhammad Ali Jinnah when Jinnah visited the air force academy.In 1950, Asghar Khan assumed the directorship of the Directorate-General of the Air Operations (DGAO).[1] In 1955, Asghar Khan was appointed as the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff in the Air Headquarters, directing the air administration and personnel department at the Air Headquarters. As Assistant Chief of the Air Staff, Asghar Khan established the major units and infrastructure including the Fighter Leaders School (now Combat Commander's School), the Air Staff College and the College of Aeronautical Engineering at the Pakistan Air Force Academy. As assistant chief of the air staff, Asghar Khan also instituted the Inspectorate directorate for the air force and initiated the tradition of regular air staff presentations. Two of his brothers, Squadran Leader Khalid Khan and Pilot Officer Asif Khan were killed during service with the Pakistan Air Force.After the retirement of Air vice-marshal Arthur McDonald, Prime minister Huseyn Suhravardy approved the appointment of Asghar Khan as the commander-in-chief of Pakistan Air Force. In 23 July 1957, Prime minister Suhrawardy upgraded AVM Asghar Khan to three-star rank air marshal, making him the first native Air Force Commander-in-chief, yet at the age of 36, also the youngest to-date.After assuming the command of air force, Asghar Khan's commanded the air force for next eight years where he took initiatives to modernize and expand the air force facilities, installments, military equipments, and fighter jets acquired from the United States. Asghar Khan also launched the fighter training programmes and combat course at the PAF to train fighter pilots in modern air warfare. His style of leading the air force often comes with criticisms by his junior officers, first alleging that air marshal Asghar Khan was inclined to be autocratic in his decision makings. His juniors noted that the air marshal would went out of his way to elicit a whole range of opinions before taking a decision, but once that decision was made by the air marshal, the air marshal would not tolerate any ifs and buts about its implementations. As for approving the appointments and selections process, Asghar Khan made no secret of his willingness to superseding the senior officers if that became unavoidable in ensuring that the best qualified officers needed to fill the key appointments, particularly in the combat units. During his long tenure, Air Marshal Asghar Khan gave commissioned to established air force bases, in Samungli, Sargodha, and the Peshawar.The time he was appointed as the commander-in-chief, Asghar Khan negotiated with the United States to provide the military equipments, fighter jets, on an indefinite basis. The combat units and fighter squadrons quickly were raised of which majority of the squadrons were equipped with the state-of-the-art F-86 Sabres, and others with F-104 Starfighter, B-57 Canberra, C-130 Hercules, T-33 and the T-37 Tweet aircraft.Although Air Marshal Asghar Khan's political power rested with the air force, he began serious problems with democratic socialist and then-Minister of Foreign Affairs Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. At various meetings Asghar Khan was reported to be hostile towards Bhutto, however Asghar Khan was convinced with Bhutto's rational that the war with India was inevitable. Therefore, Asghar Khan traveled to Indonesia and China. He held talks with Indonesian Navy's admiral RE Martadinata, getting assurance the Indonesian support for Pakistan. After meeting with Indonesian president Sukarno, the president assured that: "India's attack on Pakistan was like an attack on Indonesia and [I]ndonesians are bound to duty to give Pakistan all assistance". However Indonesia remained refrain as the Pakistan Navy tracks Russian submarines wandered near Karachi.Prior to the start of the war, Asghar Khan contacted with Indian Air Force's Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh at the start of the skirmishes at the Rann of Kutch. Both agreed to keep the air force out of the conflict. The message was traced by the PAF Air Intelligence and defected to the President and the Foreign minister immediately. The new meeting was held which all the officers and chiefs of Naval and Army were called to attend the meeting, leaving Asghar Khan keeping out of the loop. The PAF's commandeer-in-chief was not informed and did not take in confidence, nor consulted with the nature of the meeting. Without his knowledge, the preparations was launched with the executive authorization of the Operation Gibraltar by the President Ayub Khan. When the news reached to Asghar Khan, the frustrated and furiated Asghar Khan sent his resignation to the President which was accepted on immediate period. On 23 July 1965, six weeks before the starting of the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965, Asghar Khan took the retirement from the air force and departed from affairs of Ministry of Defence, as he was succeeded by extremely influential officer, Lieutenant-General Nur Khan.After leaving air force, Asghar Khan was employed at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and was appointed as the president of the national flag carriers, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). At there, Asghar Khan learned to fly the commercial airline and obtained a Commercial pilot licence after passing the exam from the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States. Asghar Khan introduced the new uniforms for the air hostess and stewards which earned words of admiration at domestic and international airports. During his tenure, the PIA achieved lowest aircraft accident rate and highest net profit of Pakistan, and was one of the formidable competitor in the world airline business. His tenure as president is often reminded as "gold age of PIA". Despite urging of the government to extend his tenure, Asghar Khan took the retirement and left the MoD in order to start his political career in 1968.[2] FOUNDING TEHRIK-E-ISTIQLAL The Tehrik-e-Istiqlal was founded in 1969 by Air Marshal (retired) Asghar Khan, with the aim of providing Pakistan's rapidly growing middle classes with an organizational vehicle for articulating their political, economic, and social aspirations He believed that the established parties were either too far to the right of the political spectrum or too far to the left to be attractive to the constituency that he cultivated The Pakistan Muslim League of that time was dominated by the landed aristocracy, the Jamaat-e-Islami by Islamic fundamentalists, and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), under the influence of urban intellectuals who espoused various leftist causes According to this analysis, therefore, there was a lot of space in the center of the political spectrum for a party such as the Tehrik to occupy The Tehrik's program attracted a sizable following from the urban professional classes: a number of lawyers, doctors, and engineers joined the party The party's senior office holders were mostly retired government officials or influential lawyers from Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi The Tehrik failed to develop a strong grass roots following, however None of the candidates that it fielded in the national elections of 1970 and 1977 were elected to the National Assembly Asghar Khan, the party chairman, was defeated in 1970 by a relatively unknown PPP politician from Rawalpindi In order to improve its political standing and gain a wider basis of support for itself, the Tehrik joined other opposition parties in 1981 to launch the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) Because the MRD was dominated by the PPP, a party with which the Tehrik had had a difficult relationship all along, its stay in the movement was not a comfortable one The Tehrik quit the MRD in 1986 and launched on its own once again This decision and the visit by Air Marshal Asghar Khan to Kabul in the summer of 1987.An effort aimed at bringing peace to Afghanistan by negotiating with Najibullah, the Afghan president whose government Pakistan had refused to recognize caused him to lose support among the members of his constituency It resulted in a number of defections from the party, particularly from the province of Balochistan and the Northwest Frontier Province The Tehrik surprised political observers by joining the PPP to form the Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDA) to compete in the elections of 1990 The alliance with the PPP did not produce tangible results for the Tehrik and was terminated after the elections The elections of October 1993 did not improve Tehrik's standing, since none of its members were elected either to the National Assembly or to any of the four Provincial Assemblies In the spring of 1996, Asghar Khan resigned from the leadership of the party but was persuaded to stay on The party fielded very few candidates in the elections of 1997 Once again it failed to win any seat at the National and Provincial Assembly and was dissolved.[3] Aster leaving the MoD, Asghar Khan gave vehement criticism and blamed President Ayub Khan and Foreign Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto for the causes of the 1965 war with India, and later turn his criticism pointing straight towards General Yahya Khan for the 1971 war failure, which resulted in the breakup of Pakistan when Sheikh Mujibur Rehman's Awami League, which had won the election, was not allowed to form a government. In protest, Asghar Khan relinquished awards of 'Hilal-i-Pakistan' and 'Hilal-i-Quaid-i-Azam' as a protest against repressive policies of Field Marshal Ayub Khan in January 1969. In 1970, Asghar Khan founded the Independence Movement, initially a centrist secular party. Asghar Khan criticized Bhutto on numerous occasions, holding responsible for tyranny during the elections held in 1970. However, Asghar Khan and his party failed to score any big hits during the 1970 parliamentary elections, initially failed to secure any seats in the parliament. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, Asghar Khan did supported the East-Pakistan morally alleging the West-Pakistan under Bhutto, depriving Eastt from their political and economic right. He also demanded power to be handed over to the people of East Pakistan. In 1972, after Bhutto was made president, Asghar Khan accused Bhutto for the break-up, later noting that: "We are living virtually under one party state.... The outstanding feature is suppression. ACTIVE ROLE IN PAKISTAN POLITICS During Bhutto's rule from 1971 to 1977, Air Marshal Asghar Khan played a major role in opposition to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. During the 1977 elections, Asghar Khan allied his party, the Tehreek-i-Istiqlal with the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) against the People's Party. It was during this period he and his party faced frequent attacks by Pakistan Peoples Party supporters and from the brutal paramilitary Federal Security Force. He was imprisoned in Kot Lakhpat and Sahiwal prisons from March to June 1977. He contested two seats, one from Karachi and the other from Abbotabad, despite alleged rigging by the ppp, Asghar Khan was elected by a huge margin from both seats. The PNA rejected the election results as rigged and launched a Nationwide agitation against the results. Asghar Khan resigned from both National Assembly seats as a mark of protest against massive rigging in the elections. While Z.A. Bhutto and his inner circle were pondering over the possibility of holding mid-term polls, they forgot the role of Asghar Khan, a former air force chief. Many in his team considered Asghar a politician without any direction, which was a wrong assessment. They forgot that when Bhutto was working for the ouster of Ayub Khan in the late 1960s, Asghar was weighing the options of entering politics after he came to the end of his career in the air force. After retirement from Pakistan Air Force in 1965, Asghar Khan was made president of Pakistan International Airlines, a position he held till 1968.[4] In 1970, when Yahya Khan was pursuing his heedless approach of settling the East Pakistan issue and Bhutto was preparing to get into the scrimmage, the former commander of the air force entered politics. Very few people could imagine the future of his political flight; a strict disciplinarian, the air fighter expressed his will to undo injustices through politics. Such were his political beliefs that most of the politicians thought that he would probably disappear after a few bouts. Some even called him “a leader in search of followers”. While Ayub Khan was trying to solve the East Pakistan issue with his army action plan, Asghar Khan visited Dhaka and on his return announced joining politics. He opposed Ayub Khan’s plan for army action in the eastern wing. He also differed with Yahya Khan on that point and bitterly criticised Bhutto for not allowing Shaikh Mujib to form a government. When Bhutto was in jail during the last days of Ayub Khan, Asghar Khan led the people which Bhutto did not like; perhaps he feared that the vacuum might be filled by Asghar Khan. He began with forming the Justice Party which later became the forerunner to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Istaqlal. He led his party from Karachi more than his native constituency,Abbottabad. After the takeover by the PPP, Asghar had a hard time establishing himself as a politician but he fought through. Bhutto took him as a centrist secular leader who could not get enough support in the elections, or could pose a potential threat for him. He, therefore, did not consider Asghar Khan while chalking out plans for the possible election. From the time Bhutto held a meeting with his inner cabinet after celebrating Youm-i-Tashakur on September 15, 1974 after declaring Ahmadis as non-Muslims, he had been thinking about ways to win the polls. He forgot that after taking over the government he had lost contact with the people — his only constituency. He was misled by the sycophants and flatterers into believing that his popularity graph had risen and it would take only a few days of meeting the people before going to the polls. No doubt the opposition had yet to come up with a unified platform or even organise themselves to contest polls to oust Bhutto, yet the PPP was also in disarray. It had to establish its own credibility. However, when in the beginning of 1976 Bhutto decided on his own to hold snap polls, he forgot that he had come to power by the man in the street. Deviating from his style, and following the drawing-room style he asked the ministers concerned to compile the reports of their achievements during the past five years. This did not meet with the approval of PPP loyalists who wanted to rebuild a credibility bridge with the people through the PPP workers — not through media propaganda. Despite many efforts Bhutto was not prepared to accept the idea; he had been so surrounded by the opportunists that he could hardly think otherwise. The “permit, plot, luring jobs” circle had painted a rosy picture of the party position before Bhutto, convincing him that the party had already won and the holding of elections was a mere formality. Since Bhutto had been away from the people for quite some time, he had no other way to believe, his greatest folly. Maulana Kausar Niazi, a member of Bhutto’s inner circle and his trusted man, headed the ministry of information and broadcasting — the sharpest weapon any government could have during those days. Despite an unending stream of false reports, Maulana Niazi used to take liberties with Bhutto and tell him some harsh facts no one else would dare to. Before finally deciding to hold mid-term polls, Niazi told him frankly regarding what to do and what not — with partial disagreement. Yet the fact was that the Maulana had to stage the show, not forgetting that new stars like Asghar Khan had risen on the political horizon and the situation was much different from that of 1970. Supporting the Martial law While imprisoned, Asghar Khan wrote a much criticized letter to the leadership of Defence Forces, asking them to renounce their support for the "Illegal regime of Bhutto", and asked the military leadership "differentiate between a "lawful and an unlawful" command... and save Pakistan.". This letter is considered by the historians as instrumental in encouraging the advent of the far-right Zia regime. However in television show, Asghar Khan strongly defended his letter as according to him "nowhere in the letter had he asked for the military to take over", and he had written it in response to a news story that he had read in which a Major had shot a civilian showing him the "V sign". After the overthrow of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's government by the Army in the summer of 1978, Asghar Khan was offered a cabinet post by General Zia-ul-Haq, Asghar Khan refused to join the cabinet and also withdrew from the PNA after a growing split between the various parties. Asghar Khan remained a vital player against the democratic government of prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Asghar Khan is also thought to be the main actors behind the mass movement which culminated in the hanging of Pakistan Peoples Party founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Asghar Khan was one of the top leader and leading advocate calling for Bhutto's death sentence. He is also accused of writing a letter to the leadership of Pakistan Armed Forces for staging the coup against Bhutto and urged the military leadership for announcing the death sentence of Bhutto. After successfully calling for Bhutto's "judicial murder", Asghar Khan decided to take on the far-right regime of General Zia-ul-Haq who announced to hold the general elections in 1979. The Independence Movement became the most favorite party and benefited with large number of high profile civilian political figures including Navaz Sharif, Khurshid Kasur, Aitzaz Ahsan, Rashid Ahmad, Javed Hashmi, Akbar Bugti, Mushahid Hussain, Nadir Pervez, Gohar Ayub Khan, Zafar Ali Shah, Ahmed Raza Kasuri, Sher Afgan Niazi, Manzoor Wattoo, Syeda Abida Hussain, Syed Fakhar Imam and many others. All of these members left Asghar Khan under Navaz Sharif who founded the largest conservative party, the Pakistan Muslim League (N). However, at the last moment, General Zia-ul-Haq indefinitely postponed the elections, ordering the arrests of Asghar Khan who remained under house arrest for more than five years. In 1983, Asghar Khan decided to join the left-wing alliance, the Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD) led by Benazir Bhutto but he was detained by the government. He was kept under house arrest at his Abbotabad residence from 16 October 1979 to 2 October 1984 and was named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.[5] In 1986, Asghar Khan left the MRD, as a result of which many of the Tehrik's members resigned in protest. Asghar Khan boycotted the non-partisan elections held in 1985. However, Asghar Khan and his party took full participation in 1988 parliamentary elections. But during this time, the true nature of his personality was exposed by Pakistan Peoples Party charging him with calling for Bhutto's death sentence and the martial law, which Asghar Khan himself failed to justify his actions. His party members disintegrated and allied witn conservative Nawaz Sharif in 1988 elections, a major set back for his career. Asghar Khan public rating plummeted and faced a complete annihilation and defeat in 1988 elections.[15] He conceded his defeat but again contested in 1990 parliamentary elections from Lahore, Asghar Khan once again faced defeat. Briefly retiring from active politics in the late 1990s his party faced another one of its many splits. Since 1990, Asghar Khan has not held a significant position in politics. Mr. Clean of Pakistan Politics Also known as the “Mr. Clean” of Pakistani politics, he publicly called for the ISI’s disbanding terming it the biggest destabilizer in Pakistan. He strongly opposed the government’s decision to detonate nuclear devices, fearing it would give a serious blow to the country’s already weak economy. A strong advocate for the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue, Asghar Khan has consistently pleaded for better relations with India. He recently visited India to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of the Rashtriya Indian Military College in Dehra Dun of which he is an alumnus. This soldier turned politician is a prolific writer, who wrote many books We’ve Learnt Nothing from History, Pakistan at the Cross Road, Generals in Politics and Islam Politics, and the State and the Pakistan Experience, a commentary and in-depth critical evaluation of the political history of Pakistan. He renounced the awards of Hilal-i-Pakistan and Hilal-i-Quaid-i-Azam in January 1969 as a mark of protest against the government’s policy of suppression. Air Marshal (r) Asghar Khan holds Pakistani leaders responsible for several major mistakes since independence. The first in his opinion was the decision to give up Hyderabad and concentrate on Kashmir alone. Speaking at the launch of his book We Have Learnt Nothing From History, Pakistan, Politics and Military Power, he said that the policy was pursued in hope that Pakistan would get both states but ended up with nothing. Mr. Asghar Khan described the policies adopted during the East Pakistan crisis as stupid. He said that the East Pakistanis were politically much more mature than the West Pakistanis and were not ready to take the injustices meted out to them. He said that persistent military intervention had caused irreparable damage to the democratic process in the country.[6] Merging With Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) As he grew older, he then handed over small party to his equally capable son Omar Asghar Khan, who for a while joined the military government of General Pervaiz Musharraf, and became minister of Ministry of Environment (MoE). After his son's resignation from the cabinet, his son took over Independence Movement and subsequently merged it with assorted other Non-governmental organization and formed a new party called National Democratic Party, an event which caused another split in the party. Both Independence Movement and National Democratic Party suffered major shock and setback when Omar Asghar Khan was murdered in Karachi on 25 June 2001 prior to the elections. An inquiry into his death was ordered by the Sindh High Court and in spite of repeated requests, it was never started. In a historic press conference on 12 December 2011, Asghar Khan announced his full support to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Imran Khan. He praised Imran Khan for his struggle and endorsed him as the only hope left for the survival of Pakistan. This endorsement came at a crucial time for Imran Khan, when many tainted politicians were joining his party. After announcing his party's support for PTI, Asghar Khan resigned as President of Tehreek-e-Istiqlal and left the future of his party in the hands of his workers. As A Peace Activist Besides political activism, Asghar Khan has been engaged in peace activism. On various occasion, Asghar Khan called for normalization of Indo-Pakistan relations. Asghar Khan also renounced the nuclear tests operations conducted by Pakistan, targeting Prime minister Nawaz Sharif move for making that move. In 2011 Asghar Khan maintained that: ‘’In the last over 60 years, India has never attacked Pakistan, as it cannot afford it. Indians know well, if Pakistan is destroyed, they will be the next target... It was made our problem that one day India would invade us. But we did so four times and the first attack was on Kashmir, where Maharaja was not prepared to accede to India for he wanted to join Pakistan and waited for this for 21 days. Indian forces came to East-Pakistan when people were being slaughtered there. Moreover, again at Kargil, Indian never mounted an assault...’’[7] Asghar Khan also blamed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for Balochistan conflict and the East-Pakistan war, terming it "inflexible attitude" of Bhutto. Commenting of his politicla collapse, Asghar Khan accused the civil society for his failure, and marked that: " the majority in Pakistan voted for the (corrupt) politicians, as they also wanted their job done by "hook or by crook". Was Asghar Khan Tipped as a Premier? When the accord between the (PNA) and the PPP was reached on July 4, 1977 and only the signatures were to be put, Asghar Khan rejected the accord and asked other members of the alliance to refuse to sign, too. He pledged with complete confidence that he would bring martial law in the country followed by general elections within 90 days. At that time, a vague question was raised: on what grounds did he give such assurance and asked the alliance to reject the accord? After the promulgation of martial law and arrest of Bhutto, his role became markedly important. On Oct 28, 1977, he left on a visit to Iran, Libya and the United Arab Emirates. On Oct 29, he called on Shah of Iran Mohammad Raza Pahalvi and again had a meeting with the Shah the next day. At Tehran, addressing a press conference he said that elections could be held in seven or eight months, and praised Gen Zia as being honest in his pledges. The most noticeable point was his assertion that Bhutto would not return to power. He also said that his party, Tehreek-i-Istaqlal, was thinking of leaving the alliance because it joined the PNA for ousting Bhutto from power and since the objective had been achieved, it was a good time to leave the alliance. Perhaps he remembered the pledge made by Gen Zia that after the polls he would be asked to take over as prime minister. Perhaps he thought that his PNA colleagues might demand a share.From Iran, he proceeded to Libya and the UAE. Many observers ponder over the logic of visiting friendly countries when his own country was faced with many issues. Rao Rashid, special secretary to Z.A. Bhutto as prime minister, in his work, Jo mien ne dekha, wrote that Asghar Khan was sent by Gen Zia who had previously tipped him as the next prime minister if Bhutto was removed from the scene. According to the author, there were some elements in the army who wanted to bring Asghar Khan because they thought that Bhutto was responsible for the fall of Dhaka. Rashid also said that the army could not rule the country and so Asghar Khan could be the ‘best choice’. After Bhutto’s hanging, Asghar Khan felt satisfied as Gen Zia had put the election team in full gear and it appeared that elections were around the corner. Like many other political aspirants who were getting new sherwanis tailored, the former air chief also got some new suits made — suitable for a prime minister. Rao mentions that at one press conference when Mahmood Ali Kasuri said that “… when we will come to power…” Asghar Khan became angry and immediately snubbed him by asking “what do you mean by saying ‘when we came to power’.” In fact, Asghar Khan had developed a feeling that he could replace Bhutto. Much before the promulgation of martial law on July 5, 1977 Asghar Khan had shown little interest in the PNA movement. However, when it gained some momentum, he became overactive. His insistence on failing to reach an accord with the PPP was a clear indication of who he was working for. Some quarters were of the opinion that he had been in agreement with a faction of the army. He was under the impression that after the promulgation of martial law, he would contest the elections as Zia promised and would become the next prime minister. His visit to the three Islamic countries was also apparently part of the scheme and aimed at showing to the heads of the friendly states the person who would be the next prime minister of Pakistan, latently also seeking their approval. In his close circles it was generally believed that he was the next prime minister.[8] When Begum Nusrat Bhutto’s petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court (Nov 10, 1977) Asghar Khan felt dejected with the PNA and announced the separation of his party from the alliance. In this regard, he sent a letter to PNA chief Mufti Mahmood, in which he criticised the alliance’s policies by saying that these were part of the ambiguous programme and termed it a reactionary group with an unclear plan incompatible with the 20th century situation. The letter said that the component parties had suffered from internal contradictions and some parties even had regional interests. At the same time it was not capable of evolving a well-coordinated programme to run a government. He also wrote that the PNA did not contradict some revelations made in the Supreme Court. He also complained that the secretary of the alliance had raised objection to his going abroad. Narrating some unimportant events he said he was quitting the PNA. Two days later, the alliance called a meeting of the central committee to discuss the letter. As Asghar Khan broke with the alliance, some other parties such as the Pakistan Democratic Party of Sardar Sherbaz Mazari and Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan of Maulana Noorani were also thinking of parting ways. On the day Asghar Khan severed ties with the PNA, the CMLA issued a martial law regulation banning all student unions and professional organisations; the punishment for violation was jail and lashes.[9] Supreme Court’s Verdict in favour of Asghar khan O R D E R IFTIKHAR MUHAMMAD CHAUDHRY, CJ.– The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan commands that it is the will of the people of Pakistan to establish an order wherein the State shall exercise its powers and authority through the chosen representatives of the people, wherein the principles of democracy, freedom, equality, etc., shall be fully observed, so that the people of Pakistan may prosper and attain their rightful and honoured place amongst the nations of the world, and make their full contribution towards international peace and progress and happiness of humanity. People ofPakistan had been struggling to establish a parliamentary and democratic order since long within the framework of the Constitution and now they foresee a strong system which is established by the passage of time without any threat and which is subject to the constitution and rule of law. 2. The essence of this Human Rights case is based on the fundamental right of citizens enshrined in Article 17 of the Constitution. It raises an important question of public importance to enforce the fundamental rights, inter alia, noted herein above, therefore, in accordance with the provisions of Article 184(3) of the Constitution, jurisdiction has been assumed and exercised to declare, for the reasons to be recorded later, as under:- (1) That citizens of Pakistan as a matter of right are free to elect their representatives in an election process being conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law. (2) The general election held in the year 1990 was subjected to corruption and corrupt practices as in view of the overwhelming material produced by the parties during hearing it has been established that an “Election Cell” had been created in the Presidency, which was functioning to provide financial assistance to the favoured candidates, or a group of political parties to achieve desired result by polluting election process and to deprive the people of Pakistan from being represented by their chosen representatives. (3) A President of Pakistan, in Parliamentary system of government, being head of the State represents the unity of the Republic under Article 41 of the Constitution. And as per the oath of his office in all circumstances, he will do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will. Thus, holder of office of President of Pakistan, violates the Constitution, if he fails to treat all manner of people equally and without favouring any set, according to law, and as such, creates/provides an occasion which may lead to an action against him under the Constitution and the Law. (4) The President of Pakistan, Chief of Army Staff, DG ISI or their subordinates certainly are not supposed to create an Election Cell or to support a political party/ group of political parties, because if they do so, the citizens would fail to elect their representatives in an honest, fair and free process of election, and their actions would negate the constitutional mandate on the subject. (5) However, in the instant case it has been established that in the general elections of 1990 an Election Cell was established in the Presidency to influence the elections and was aided by General (R) Mirza Aslam Baig who was the Chief of Army Staff and by General (R) Asad Durrani, the then Director General ISI and they participated in the unlawful activities of the Election Cell in violation of the responsibilities of the Army and ISI as institutions which is an act of individuals but not of institutions represented by them respectively, noted herein above. (6) ISI or MI may perform their duties as per the laws to safeguard the borders of Pakistan or to provide civil aid to the Federal Government, but such organizations have no role to play in the political activities/politics, for formulation or destabilization of political Governments, nor can they facilitate or show favour to a political party or group of political parties or politicians individually, in any manner, which may lead in his or their success. (7) It has also been established that late Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the then President of Pakistan with the support of General (R) Aslam Baig, General (R) Asad Durrani and others, who were serving in M.I and now either have passed away or have retired, were supporting the functioning of the ‘Election Cell’, established illegally. (8) Mr. M. Younas A. Habib, the then Chief Executive of Habib Bank Ltd. at the direction and behest of above noted functionaries, arranged/provided Rs.140 million belonging to public exchequer, out of which an amount of Rs.60 million was distributed to politicians, whose incomplete details have been furnished by General (R) Asad Durrani, however, without a thorough probe no adverse order can be passed against them in these proceedings. (9) The Armed Forces of Pakistan, under the directions of Federal Government, defend Pakistan against external aggression or threat of war and, subject to law, are to act in aid of civil power when called upon to do so under Article 245 of the Constitution, thus, any extra-constitutional act, calls for action in accordance with the Constitution of Pakistan and the law against the officers/officials of Armed Forces without any discrimination. (10) The Armed Forces have always sacrificed their lives for the country to defend any external or internal aggression for which it being an institution is deeply respected by the nation. (11) The Armed Forces, in discharge of their functions, seek intelligence and support from ISI, MI, etc., and on account of security threats to the country on its frontiers or to control internal situations in aid of civil power when called upon to do so. However, ISI, MI or any other Agency like IB have no role to play in the political affairs of the country such as formation or destabilization of government, or interfere in the holding of honest, free and fair elections by Election Commission of Pakistan. Involvement of the officers/members of secret agencies i.e.ISI,MI, IB, etc. in unlawful activities, individually or collectively calls for strict action being, violative of oath of their offices, and if involved, they are liable to be dealt with under the Constitution and the Law. (12) Any Election Cell/Political Cell in Presidency or ISI or MI or within their formations shall be abolished immediately and any letter/notification to the extent of creating any such Cell/Department (by any name whatsoever, explained herein, shall stand cancelled forthwith. (13) Late Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the then President of Pakistan, General (R) Aslam Baig and General (R) Asad Durrani acted in violation of the Constitution by facilitating a group of politicians and political parties, etc., to ensure their success against the rival candidates in the general election of 1990, for which they secured funds from Mr. Younas Habib. Their acts have brought a bad name toPakistanand its Armed Forces as well as secret agencies in the eyes of the nation, therefore, notwithstanding that they may have retired from service, the Federal Government shall take necessary steps under the Constitution and Law against them. (14) Similarly, legal proceedings shall be initiated against the politicians, who allegedly have received donations to spend on election campaigns in the general election of 1990, therefore, transparent investigation on the criminal side shall be initiated by the FIA against all of them and if sufficient evidence is collected, they shall be sent up to face the trial, according to law. Mr. Younas Habib shall also be dealt with in the same manner. (15) Proceedings shall also be launched against the persons specified hereinabove for affecting the recovery of sums received by them with profit thereon by initiating civil proceedings, according to law. (16) An amount of Rs.80 million, statedly, has been deposited in Account No. 313 titled Survey and Construction Group Karachi, maintained by MI, therefore, this amount with profit shall be transferred to Habib Bank Ltd. if the liability of HBL has not been adjusted so far, otherwise, the same may be deposited in the treasury account of Government of Pakistan. Chief Justice Judge Judge Islamabad, the 19th October, 2012 References: [1]Khan, M. Asghar (23 August 2010). "My political struggle". The News International. Retrieved 14 March 2012. [2] Masood Hasan (23 October 2011). "The promise". The News International, Sunday, 23 October 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2012. [3] Saeed Shafqat, PhD (1997). Civil-military relations in Pakistan. Peshawar, Pakistan: Boulder: West View Press. pp. 283 pages. [4] Talbot, Ian (1998). Pakistan A Modern History. United States.: St. Martin's Press. pp. 181–200. [5] Asghar Khan, Mohammed, Generals in Politics: Pakistan 1958-1982, Vikas Publishing House PVT LTD, New Delhi (1983) page 47 [6] "Asghar Khan backs Imran’s PTI". Dawn Newspapers, 14 March 2012. [7] Alvi, Mumtaz (21 October 2011). "Asghar Khan claims Pakistan attacked India four times since 1947". The News International, October 2011 [8] Press Release (12 December 2011). "Air Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan to join PTI". Pakistan Tribune. [9] Hyman, Anthony (1989). Pakistan: Zia and After. New Delhi India: Abhinav Publications, 1989. p. 122. [10] Asghar Khan case short order: Full text, Express Tribune, Lahore, Oct 19,2012.