The National Assembly had come into being on non-party basis and no political activity or creation of political blocs was supposed to take place. However, after the election of Mohammed Khan Junejo as prime minister, it was being felt that the Muslim League was the ruling party. It was reported that as many as 40 members of the National Assembly joined the Muslim League to show support for the prime minister.

This was not acceptable to General Ziaul Haq who had, in his first address to the National Assembly, pressed the MNAs not to join any party and retain their independent identity. Some members such as Abdul Hamid Jatoi wanted to remain neutral; on the other hand since a treasury bench had been formed some members wanted to create an opposition bench, led by Jamaat-i-Islami which wanted to be officially assigned the role of opposition.

In the midst of this activity Dr Sher Afgan Niazi sent a reference to the Speaker to seek verdict regarding the members including Prime Minister Junejo, who had by then joined Muslim League led by Pir sahib Pagara. The Speaker sent the reference to the Chief Election Commissioner for his decision. Dr Sher Afgan, a medical doctor by profession and a simple man by nature perhaps did not weigh the significance of the reference which could have led to the disqualification of the members including Prime Minister Junejo. When Junejo came to know of this he informed Gen Zia who was already against the Speaker, Fakhr Imam. The general assured the prime minister that he would thwart any action by the CEC.

In order to exert his authority, prime minister Junejo takes certain actions that shock Gen Zia

Unhappy with the Speaker’s action, Junejo decided to replace him; in this regard he had Gen Zia’s support. At the same time Junejo was aware that Dr Mahboobul Haq, the finance minister, Iqbal Ahmad Khan, minister for law and parliamentary affairs, Mir Zafarullah Jamali and Aslam Khatak were ‘general’s men’ who would not support him at any cost, so he decided to relieve them as well.

Dr Mahboobul Haq was the first to go. He was a key person in the cabinet and at that time was pushing for normalisation of ties with India on equal terms. When Gen Zia visited India in December 1985 he was in favour of normalisation of ties with India as he thought it would boost Pakistan’s trade and economy, but India took a hard stand and placed its own agenda on the table. Dr Mahboobul Haq was also for closer ties but did not insist on the terms of agenda, which meant normalisation without touching the core issue of Kashmir. Prime Minister Junejo asked India that instead of treating Pakistan like a junior partner, it should treat it equally. He even got a resolution passed by the National Assembly in support of Kashmir. Dr Haq’s removal shocked Gen Zia.

Junejo also refused to grant extension in service to Vice Chief of Staff General K.M. Arif and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Rahimuddin. Though Gen Arif himself did not desire an extension, Gen Zia wanted him to stay as he trusted him the most; after all he was the master executioner of the July 5, 1977 coup. During his service Gen Arif had received quick promotions and had soon become a four-star general and now wanted to lead a quiet life focussing on his poetry.

Given Junejo’s background, his current actions created a storm. Soft-spoken Junejo was known for his calm temperament and non-violent nature, and had a clean political life. Hailing from the small town of Sindhri in eastern Sindh, Junejo had stepped into politics at a young age. During the Ayub Khan era he was elected as member of the National Assembly and held various positions including minister of health, local government, communications and railways. From the days of his railways ministry, his spiritual leader Pir Sahib Pagara used to call Junejo Railway Babu.

Supported by his spiritual leader, he thought of bringing decency in politics and restoring democracy in the country. It was a challenging task due to the constitutional amendments brought in by Gen Zia which had reduced the power of the prime minister. Junejo had set his mind to seek powers for an elected prime minister, though it finally cost him his government and dissolution of the five assemblies.

During his visit to the United States in July 1986 he was extended full support by the US. Reassured, on his return he removed many army and civilian officers who had been placed by Gen Zia at important positions. This came as a shock to Gen Zia, especially the removal of Secretary Information Ministry General Mujeebur Rahman.

Another serious shock suffered by Gen Zia was the removal of Sahibzada Yaqub Ali Khan as foreign minister, whom he had convinced to join the foreign ministry after the departure of Agha Shahi.

On Dec 31, 1985 Gen Zia lifted martial law and allowed political parties to function, but it made no change as Gen Zia had already dug deep and through various amendments made such constitutional changes that Junejo could hardly make any effect.

shaikhaziz38@gmail.com.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, September 13th, 2015

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