As Z.A. Bhutto ended his opening remarks during the meeting with the army commanders, Maulana Kausar Niazi and Hafeez Pirzada — who were assisting the prime minister — appeared very keen to hear from Gen Ziaul Haq, who spoke in a low voice. Fifteen years later in his book, Aur Line Kat Gaee, the Maulana recalled Ziaul Haq as saying to Bhutto: “Sir, you are the one who has done the most for the army. The army is in no way a third party [to the conflict between the government and the PNA]; we have no such intention. You’ve seen that we have earned a bad name in the opposition camp. That goes to our credit. It proves that we are with the government.”

Gen Zia’s assertion did not have any commendable effect on Bhutto who had heard such affirmations by him a number of times. He looked towards the Lahore corps commander General Iqbal who said, “The army is praying for the success of the negotiations. The agitation has stopped for the time being, but if the negotiations fail it will start again. There’ll be bomb blasts and firing. The Democratic Youth Force is getting instructions from Asghar Khan. It will be impossible to deploy the army in Lahore again as the people won’t accept that. There is a risk of external threats as well; the Indian army can cross our borders while our units are busy in the cities. There’ll be cracks in the army if we ask it to shoot [at civilians]. It may also lead to mutual tension. The opposition has been working in this direction for a long time. Retired military officers are taking part in the agitation as well as relatives of the soldiers. The election campaign has also had its effect on the junior ranks. There is no [concept of] ‘fire in the air’ in the army, and yet it was resorted to despite orders. As such we wish with all our heart that the negotiations should succeed.”

He was followed by Karachi corps commander General Arbab Jehanzeb who thought that there was no problem with the senior officers as they want a political solution but the juniors were not under their control; the juniors would obey the orders but unwillingly. He also opposed the release of Hyderabad Tribunal leaders as, according to him, they were anti-Pakistan elements. He said that if rural Sindh joined the agitation, there would be a lot of problems. He also asserted that negotiations should succeed.

General Ghulam Hussain also expressed a similar opinion. He said that prolonged involvement will not be in favour of the army’s integrity. He was of the opinion that if the agitation starts again it will be more serious, while there is also external threat.

Bhutto listened to them quietly and then said: “So, it is clear that you want an accord. I am hopeful we’ll find a political solution. You also pray (for it).”

The meeting with the PNA was to be held the same day (June 14) in the evening. The talks, as usual, began on an optimistic note. Once again the proposal of forming a coalition government till new elections were held was brought up but the PNA rejected it without any detailed discussion. However, there was an agreement on holding new elections; the only dispute was on the date of the election and on the powers of the Implementation Council. Leaving other factors aside, Mufti Mahmood was very particular about holding the elections before Aug 14. As the talks concluded for the day, Mufti Mahmood said that the next day should be the final day for the talks as there was no point in continuing in that manner.

At the end of the talks the next day (June 15) it was revealed that all matters had been agreed on. Later a press briefing was held at the PM House auditorium where Prof Ghafoor Ahmad and Maulana Kausar Niazi answered the media’s questions. Explaining the salient features of the accord the newsmen were told that the elections would be held in October, the special tribunals including the Hyderabad Tribunal would be abolished, emergency would be lifted, army would be withdrawn from Balochistan, press would be accorded freedom and all detainees would be released. According to the agreement, both Hafeez Pirzada and Prof Ghafoor would be assisted by four legal experts each to sort out the details which would lead to the final signing of the accord.

Everybody involved in the talks procedure appeared relieved and looked forward to creating a peaceful atmosphere. However, Asghar Khan did not like it and immediately called it worthless until the details were available. The Saudi envoy, Riazul Khatib, expressed his pleasure by saying that it was good news as both the parties had reposed confidence in the good wishes of King Khalid.

At the end of the talks Bhutto told the leaders that he was tired and wanted to go to Larkana for a few days. The PNA team advised him to postpone the visit for the time being and let the subcommittee work out the final agreement. But Bhutto appeared reluctant to accept that.

Next week: Bhutto flies out to visit some Muslim countries, creating another deadlock

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