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TheJam Saqi trial (orJam Saqi case), was a political and judicial program in thehistory of Pakistan marked by a rise of widespread fear of expansion ofcommunism and thesocialism.[1][2] There were series of federal investigations led by theFIA and federal prosecution trials conducted by the specializedmilitary courts in which the leaders of thecommunist andsocialist parties were accused of plotting to overthrow themilitary government in order to install asocialist system.[3]
During this period, thousands of Pakistani political workers and dissidents were accused of being communists, and hatching a plot against themartial law which was in effect since 1977. The first trial implicated in 1980 and all trials were conducted at the special sessions held at theKarachi Central Jail.[4] Primarily, the leaders of thecommunist party were convicted whilstsocialists were acquitted from the trial in the mid 1980s.[5]
The historical judicial period that has come to be known as "Jam Saqi case" began well before the trial was launched in the 1980s. Many factors contributed to this inquiry, some of them extending back to the year 1950 with thefirst case, further amplified byCommunism's emergence as a recognizedpolitical force. After thegeneral elections held in 1977, themilitary imposedmartial law throughout the land to ease the social unrest in the country. ThePakistan Peoples Party (PPP),Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP), and other leftist political parties condemned the act.[3] Unofficially, thePPP government destroyed the ban on theCPP; as a result, the presence of communist literature in Pakistan became stronger.[5]
On the other hand, the right-wing groups further consolidated in opposition to thesocialist influence in the country. The extremism on both sides grew as did support for a statutory prohibition of such activities in the 1980s.[6] TheUSSR'sinvasion ofAfghanistan gavePresidentZia-ul-Haq an opportunity to legitimatize his regime in the country with theWestern support.
In 1978, theFIA arrestedcommunist leader,Jam Saqi, and raided two houses inKarachi.[7] Saqi was booked for atrial set up by themilitary government in 1980 . In addition, theFIAdirectorAzam Qazi ordered his agents to begin gathering information on the leftist groups uniting under acommon platform; all wereacquitted in the trial by the federal prosecutors. This marked the second case against theCommunist Party of Pakistan; the first was theRawalpindi Conspiracy case instituted in the 1950s.
Under this program, a few of the more notable people who were blacklisted or suffered some other persecution are listed here:
Primarily, the investigations and inquiry focused on theCommunist Party'sSecretary-General,Jam Saqi. Although, the inquiries were expanded to theleft-wing parties of the country, whereasBenazir Bhutto repeatedly appeared in themilitary courts sessions led byColonel Atiq Hussain.[10] She was inquired from 27 March until 29 March 1983, after being cleared by Colonel Atiq.[11] At one point,Benazir Bhutto, in the defense of Saqi, declared that "she did not accept the military courts."[12] She further testified that "Jam Saqi is a patriotic citizen of the state" and demanded his release.[12] Other accuses wereKarachi University's professor Jamal Naqvi, Amar Lal, journalistsSohail Sangi,Badar Abro,Kamal Warsi and Shabbir Shar. Jam Saqi was arrested on 10 December 1978 but was implicated in this case which was lodged about two years later. Naqvi, Abbasi, Warsi and Shar were arrested on 30 July 1980, while Sangi was arrested on 31 July 1980.
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