THIS is with reference to the report “Barbs fly in NA over military’s ‘role’ in politics” (May 14). Although the remarks by the defence minister in the National Assembly (NA) about Ayub Khan, the first martial law administrator, may have deeply hurt his grandson, what was said was actually true. However, the minister missed mentioning the name of Justice Muhammad Munir, who allowed the abrogation of the first Constitution, and also validated the military coup.

As for Ayub Khan, he had many other feathers in his cap. In fact, it was during his regime that the concept of Basic Democracy (BD) was floated, and the subsequent elections were marred by the kind of irregularities that were truly the mother of all electoral irregularities that the nation has seen to this day.

Although there was no social media and television at the time, every single method available was used to tarnish the image of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, who contested the election against Ayub Khan. It was in these elections that the first seeds of malicious ethnic violence were sown in Karachi, led by Gohar Ayub, the army chief’s son as well as the father of the current opposition leader, who took out a victory procession through Lalu Khet (since renamed Liaquatabad), resulting in loss of life and property.

Having said that, it will be injustice not to mention the progress made during Ayub Khan’s reign at the helm. It was an era of industrial and agricultural progress, but the 1965 war and the subsequent Tashkent Declaration put a brake on all the economic growth and what followed was multifaceted turmoil. The rest is history.

Malik ul Quddoos
Karachi

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2024