It would not be a misreading of Pakistan’s last five years to say
that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto has given maximum attention to the consolida-
tion of his power. Although he has often spoken of the need to develop
popular political institutions, both the constitution which he gave the
country in 1973 and the PPP do far more to enhance his personal
role than to increase popular awareness and participation. The litany
of this struggle includes the arrest and/or intimidation of former con-
fidants and aides such as J.A. Rahim, Mahmood Ali Kasuri,
Mairaj Mohammad Khan, Mukhtar Rana, Hanif Ramay, Khurshid Hasan
Meer, and Mustafa Khar; the incarceration of all the principal oppo-
sition leaders and many thousands of others; and the assassination or
disappearance of numerous political and quasi-political figures. More-
over, an elaborate police bureaucracy has been created to protect
Bhutto and his closest advisors, as well as to strike out against the re-
gime’s real or imagined enemies. The Federal Security Force (FSF),
which is said to have been modeled after the notorious SEVAK in Iran,
is the most feared of these police forces
A one-time supporter, Malik Ghulam Jilani, recently
summed up the situation in his country in the following manner:
Justice is no longer a matter of right, It is a matter of accident
notwithstanding the elaborate judicial farce.
All your rights are suspended, and there is no hope that the rulers
are likely ever to revive them.
All laws are meant only for the convenience of the rulers and to
mislead the world. Any law which a citizen can invoke in his
defense or for his protection is quickly changed.
The so called constitution finds itself amended and mutilated the
moment any court of law appears likely to grant relief to a citizen
under its provisions, and the courts accept amendments with
obvious satisfaction.
The press works as an elaborate device for
circulating the printed word. Expression is stifled and dissent is
frowned upon. The press dances to the music of its chains.
…his security forces arrested thousands of persons, in-
cluding the principal leaders of the Pakistan National Alliance. Martial
law was imposed in a number of cities, while curfews and shoot-to-kill
orders were announced in many more…
Pakistan: The Vision and the Reality
Lawrence Ziring
Asian Affairs
Vol. 4, No. 6 (Jul. - Aug., 1977), pp. 385-407
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and there are volumes upon volumes of academic material not produced by JI about how purges and extra-judicial punishments were the favorite pass-time of our dear democratic chief martial law administrator and emergency overlord.
You cannot really shy away from history.