How was freedom won and lost?

Now that the first generation of Pakistanis is fading away, it is time to record our journey. The present generation that was born as free citizens to parents who were citizens of an imperial colony but won freedom that has practically been lost again and that too in one generation.

For us the choice is difficult but simple; to die as slaves or free men like our parents? Before writing this article, I had to plan my passage to attend the ‘Azadi Jalsa’ being held in the ‘Cattle Market’ which is in Kahna Katcha area in the outskirts of Lahore about 35 kilometres from Minar-e-Pakistan from where the journey of freedom had started on March 23, 1940.

My father, Nazir Ahmed Malik, who was awarded the prestigious ‘Tehreek-e-Pakistan’ gold medal for his contribution in the freedom struggle was there on that auspicious day. In the year 1971 I went there with him to listen to the speech of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) when the session of the Constituent Assembly elected through the free and fair electoral contest of 1970 was about to be called.

Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman feared that the mandate of the people would be trampled resulting in a revolt by the local population. Jinnah’s Pakistan was dismembered soon thereafter. Now after about half a century later, the father of the nation has been recognized again in Dhaka (formerly Decca) the capital of Bangladesh.

Indeed, it was under his leadership the Muslims of the Indian Sub-continent had won freedom on August 14, 1947, to be taken away in October 1958 through the connivance of Iskander Mirza the President of the Republic and Ayub Khan the first Desi Sipah-e-Salar, both graduates of the Sandhurst Military Academy where the Imperial Soldiers were trained.

From Minar-e-Pakistan (Minto Park) from where the journey had started to the ‘Cattle Market’, it sums up the struggle for freedom that was lost. When Muhammad Ali Jinnah arrived in Lahore in March 1940, the city was tense. His party, the All-India Muslim League (AIML) was nowhere to be found in the land of five rivers.

While there were two Anti-Pakistan movements with headquarters here (Ichra Area) led by Allama Inyatullah Khan Mashreqi (Khaksar Tehreek), Jamaat-e-Islami led by Maulana Syed Abul Ala Maudoodi, the province was under the Unionist party Rule. Jinnah spent the night at Mamdot Villa located on Habibullah Road off Davis Road.

There was an all-night vigil by students of Muslim Students’ Federation (MSF). No roads were blocked, or workers arrested. In those days the rule to maintain order and peace was strictly followed but not any more in the land of the pure. From the first ‘Lathi Charge’ and teargas shelling in October 1968 till today we have faced it all to preserve the freedom passed on to us by our serf parents.

During my over sixty years of activation, I have never felt insulted as I was on September 21, 2024, when I went to attend the call of decoy. It was the worst site ever, not even fit for the ‘Cattle’. The only access was through the storm water opening under the ‘Ring Road’.

The road was blocked at several places, barbed wires were placed to stop people from crossing the road to descend into the dump site where the ‘Jalsa’ was being held. Reaching there was almost impossible. It reminded me of another Deputy Commissioner (DC) the ruler of the district who in the decade of the forties succeeded in organizing the visit of the Viceroy Lord Mountbatten against the wishes of the local population.

He organized ‘Chilled Water Centres’ on all roads leading to Peshawar. Instructions were to add strong laxatives (Jamal Ghotta) to disable the protestors. It was Iskander Mirza who later rose to be the first President of the Republic and then abrogated the constitution under which he was elected. Till today, the system is in control of ‘Mirzas’ unless they are weeded out of the system, we as a nation have no future. The DC of Lahore together with his team must be marked to cleanse the system.

Liaquat Ali Khan the first Prime Minister (PM) had migrated to the new land and so had Chaudhry Khaliq-uz-Zaman who managed to become the first President of Pakistan Muslim League (PML). As they lacked local support they relied on state apparatus for legitimacy. On the other hand, the leaders of the Eastern Wing had massive public support.

Heavyweights like Hussain Shaheed Suharwardy had to branch off and formed their own parties. The mandate of the people was important for them as they had public support. The freedom movement was started in Decca with the formation of the AIML in 1906. It was the abrogation of the 1956 constitution by Mirza-Ayub nexus that produced cracks in the federation. Respect for the constitution is essential for democratic order to flourish.

The 1973 version is currently under attack, which may lead to cleavage of what remains of Jinnah’s Pakistan.

Pakistan needs credible, elected civilian leadership to lead. Unfortunately, power rests with the ‘Mirzas’ of our times whose strength has always been underestimated. Those who have tried to dislodge them have suffered. Liaquat Ali was assassinated in 1951, Suharwardy was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his Beirut Hotel room in the decade of the sixties, Fatima Jinnah met a similar fate, ZAB went to the gallows, Benazir was eliminated, currently the most popular leader of the country is in prison while his followers are being forced to assemble only in ‘Cattle Markets’ and waste dumps. A democratic state draws its strength from participation not exclusion of the masses as has been the case in the land of the pure.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024