The period from the end of 1972 till the beginning of 1973 was marked by political inconsistency and mutual distrust. The People’s Party, overwhelmed by its majority win in the 1970 elections, was not prepared to accommodate others while the other two parties — NAP and JUI — were not ready to accommodate the PPP. It appeared that both were waiting for a chance to stage a showdown.

Though the constitutional accord was binding them all together, they were continually hounded by objections and new demands by the opposition and the permanent constitution was yet to be passed. After the passage of the constitution Bhutto wanted to extend the life of the National Assembly up to August 14, 1977 but the opposition leaders, especially Wali Khan, were not in favour of this.

In 1973, Bhutto ordered army action in Balochistan, accusing some ‘miscreants’ of leading a secessionist movement. Governor Bizenjo was accused of organising the Baloch Liberation Front for a free and greater Balochistan, linking the ‘uprising’ with armed struggle and seizure of a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the Iraq Embassy, which the federal government claimed was aimed at arming the Baloch secessionists. On that pretext Bhutto dismissed the Balochistan government on February 14, 1973. The next day Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government resigned in protest. The two governors were dismissed and subsequently Aslam Khatak, a pro-Bhutto man was appointed KP governor and Nawab Akbar Bugti as governor of Balochistan.

Despite efforts by emissaries from both sides the situation did not improve.

As March 1973 drew up, the opposition parties began feeling the heat of Bhutto’s ‘provocative’ acts, although Bhutto had many important tasks to undertake for which he needed the cooperation of every political worker, irrespective of his party affiliation.

After a week’s consultations, eight parties put their heads together on February 28, 1973 and decided to launch a united struggle for the rights of the people and promotion of democracy. The idea of forming a front had been in the air for a while but now it took firm shape. Thus the United Democratic Front (UDF) came into being. The parties included were: National Awami Party (NAP), United Pakistan Muslim League (PML under the leadership of spiritual leader of Hur Jamaat, Pir Pagaro), Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (JUP), Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI), Jamaat-i-Islamai (JI), Pakistan Democratic Party (PDP), Khaksar Tehrik and Independent Group. Although many of the component parties did not share ideological values, they agreed to work together for democracy, anti-dictatorial policies and the Islamic character of the country. On March 14, 1973, they appointed Pir Pagaro as their chief, Mufti Mahmood and Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan as vice presidents and Professor Ghafoor Ahmad as secretary. To make their agenda known they issued a 12-point Islamic declaration.

Bhutto, who kept a vigilant eye on every move that could challenge his authority and used every tactic to overpower it, was certainly disturbed by the formation of UDF, especially as it was headed by Pir Pagaro, who could undermine his Sindh vote bank and Wali Khan who had a sound following.

Initially, governor’s rule in both KP and Balochistan was proclaimed for 30 days in the hope that Aslam Khatak and Bugti would be able to muster the requisite support for PPP and create a dent in the JUI-NAP strength but that hope fizzled out; Bhutto then extended governor’s rule for another 30 days.

Simultaneously, the UDF began making demands to ensure maximum provincial autonomy in the permanent constitution; this would weaken the authority of the centre. It also demanded a debate on the draft constitution so that a clause-by-clause discussion could be carried out. Bhutto decided to use his majority and began passing the clauses of the constitution with speed, without accommodating the opposition’s viewpoint.

To press its demands, the UDF planned a public meeting at Liaquat Bagh on March 23, 1973. As the meeting began, firing started from all sides, which killed a dozen people on the spot and injured many more. The organisers immediately accused FSF, Bhutto’s special security force, of resorting to indiscriminate firing, killing innocent people, most of them NAP workers. They termed it an act of cowardice and vowed that their struggle for a free democratic system would continue, no matter what. Bhutto had no immediate comments despite the opposition’s uproar in the assembly but later he met Wali Khan, Pir Pagaro and others and pacified them. He also accepted some of their demands.

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