As president, Khan controversially appointedGeneral Musa Khan to replace him as commander-in-chief, superseding decorated senior officers such as Generals Adam Khan,Sher Ali Khan Pataudi and M.A. Latif Khan.[4][5] Healigned Pakistan with the United States, and allowed American access to air bases inside Pakistan, most notably theairbase outside ofPeshawar, from whichspy missions over theSoviet Union were launched.Relations with neighboring China were strengthened, but his alignment with the US worsened relations with theSoviet Union in 1962. He launchedOperation Gibraltar against India in 1965, leading to anall-out war. It resulted in a stalemate, and peace was restored via theTashkent Declaration. Domestically, Ayub subscribed to thelaissez-faire policy of Western-aligned nations at the time. Khanprivatised state-owned industries and liberalised the economy generally. Large inflows offoreign aid and investment led to the fastest-growing economy in South Asia. His tenure was also distinguished by the completion ofhydroelectric stations,dams, and reservoirs. Under General Ayub Khan, Pakistan'sspace program was established, and the country launched its first uncrewed space mission by 1962. However, the failure ofland reforms and a weak taxation system meant that most of this growth landed in the hands of the elite. In 1965, General Ayub Khan entered thepresidential race as theConvention Muslim League's candidate to counter the opposition candidateFatima Jinnah. Ayub Khan won the elections and was re-elected for a second term. In 1967, disapproval ofprice hikes of food prompted demonstrations across the country led byZulfikar Ali Bhutto. Due to the Mass Uprisingprotests in East Pakistan, finding no way, frightened General Ayub Khan resigned on 25 March 1969 and appointedGeneral Yahya Khan as his successor. Later, fighting a brief illness, he died in 1974.[6]
He was the first child of the second wife of Mir Dad Khan, aRisaldar-Major (an armoured corpsJCO which was then known asVCO) in the9th Hodson's Horse which was a cavalry regiment of theBritish Indian Army.[12] For his basic education, he was enrolled in a school inSarai Saleh, which was about 4 miles from his village. He used to go to school on amule's back and was shifted to a school inHaripur, where he started living with his grandmother.[11]
He went on to study atAligarh Muslim University (AMU)[3] and while pursuing his college education, he was accepted into theRoyal Military College, Sandhurst on the recommendation of GeneralAndrew Skeen; he trained first in India and then departed for Great Britain.[13] Ayub Khan was fluent in Urdu, Pashto, English, and his native Hindko language.[14]
Ayub Khan was admitted to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in 1926.[3][15] He wascommissioned as asecond lieutenant on 2 February 1928 in the1st Battalion of the14th Punjab Regiment (better known as 1/14th Punjab Regiment) of theBritish Indian Army – before this he was attached to theRoyal Fusiliers.[15][16] Amongst those who passed out with him wasJoyanto Nath Chaudhuri, who served asChief of the Army Staff of India from 1962 to 1966 while Ayub was the president of Pakistan.[17] After the standard probationary period of service in theBritish Army, he was appointed to the British Indian Army on 10 April 1929, joining the 1/14th Punjab RegimentSherdils, now known as the 5th Punjab Regiment.[18]
He was promoted to lieutenant on 2 May 1930 and tocaptain on 2 February 1937.[19][20] DuringWorld War II, he was promoted to the temporary rank oflieutenant-colonel in 1942 and was posted in Burma to participate in thefirst phase of theBurma Campaign in 1942–43. He was promoted to the permanent rank of major on 2 February 1945.[21] Later that year, he was promoted to temporarycolonel and assumed the command of his own regiment in which he was commissioned to direct operations in thesecond phase of the Burma Campaign.
When the United Kingdomannounced thePartition of British India into India and Pakistan, he was one of the most senior serving officers in the British Indian Army whoopted for Pakistan in 1947.[15] At the time of his joining, he was the tenth ranking officer in terms of seniority withservice number PA-010.[22]
In the early part of 1948, he was given the command of the 14th Infantry Division in the rank of acting major-general stationed inDacca,East Pakistan.[23] In 1949, he was decorated with theHilal-i-Jurat (HJ) by Prime MinisterLiaquat Ali Khan for non-combatant service and called back toGeneral Headquarters as theAdjutant General of the army on November of the same year.
That year, Gracey approached Akbar Khan to succeed him. However, Akbar declined, citing that the position was beyond his competence. The next candidate in line was Akbar's younger brother, Iftikhar Khan. However, Iftikhar died in an air crash in December 1949 before he could take office, resulting in Gracey's extension. On 23 January 1951, General Ayub Khan succeeded him.[1][31]
Defence SecretaryIskandar Mirza at that time played a crucial role in lobbying for the army post selection, by presenting convincing arguments to Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan to promote the most junior major-general, Ayub Khan (commissioned in 1928), to the post despite the fact that his name was not included in the nomination list. Ayub's papers of promotion were approved, and he was appointed the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army on 17 January 1951 by Prime Minister Ali Khan.[32] This ended the transitional role of British military officers.[33] Although thePakistani government announced the appointment of the navy's nativecommander in chief in 1951, it was Ayub Khan who helped Vice-AdmiralHMS Choudri to be appointed as the first native navy commander in chief, also in 1953.[24][34] The events surrounding Ayub's appointment set the precedent for a native general being promoted out of turn, ostensibly because he was the least ambitious of the generals in the line of promotion and the most loyal to civil government at that time.[35]
In 1953, Ayub visited Turkey, his first foreign visit as an army commander-in-chief, and was said to have been impressed withTurkish military tradition; he met only with the Turkish defence minister during his visit. Thereafter, he went to the United States and visited theUS State Department andPentagon to lobby for forgingmilitary relations.[36] He termed this visit as a "medical visit" but made a strong plea for military aid which was not considered due to India's opposition.[37]
On 24 February 1954, Ayub signed theCentral Treaty Organization (CENTO) pact for Pakistan and his role in national politics, along with that of Defense Minister Mirza, began to grow[38]
In 1954, Prime MinisterMuhammad Ali Bogra's relations with the military and Governor-GeneralGhulam Muhammad deteriorated on issues of the economy.[39] Pressure built up to reconstruct thecabinet which eventually witnessed General Ayub Khan becoming thedefence minister andIskander Mirza ashome minister in October 1954.[40][41] Ayub Khan disdained civilian politicians, whose factional infighting had for years prevented the adoption of a constitution. He wrote that he reluctantly joined the cabinet as defence minister with "two clear objectives: to save the armed forces from the interference of the politicians, and to unify the provinces of West Pakistan into one unit."[42]
The controversialOne Unit Scheme integrated thefour western provinces into one political entity,West Pakistan, as a counterbalance against the numerically superior population ofEast Bengal, which was renamed East Pakistan. The province of Punjab supported the project, but all the other provinces protested against it and its centralisation of power. Opposition was particularly strong in East Bengal, where it was seen as an attack on the democratic principle ofpolitical egalitarianism.[43]
In 1955, Prime Minister Bogra was dismissed by Governor-General Malik Ghulam Muhammad, and he was succeeded by the new Prime MinisterChaudhry Muhammad Ali as the Defence Minister.[44]
After the1954 provincial elections in East Pakistan, theAwami League formed the government there while West Pakistan was governed by the PML, but the PML government collapsed in 1956.[45] He was called on to join the Cabinet as Defence Minister by Prime MinisterH.S. Suhrawardy and maintained closer relations with Iskander Mirza, who had now become thefirstPresident of the country after the successful promulgation of theConstitution in 1956. In 1957, President Mirza promoted him from acting full general to the substantive rank of full general.[46][47]
He reportedly complained about AdmiralHMS Choudri to President Mirza and criticized Admiral Choudri for "neither having the brain, imagination, or depth of thought to understand such (defence) problems nor the vision or the ability to make any contribution."[50] The impasse was broken with Admiral Choudri resigning from the navy in protest as a result of having differences with the navy's plans of expansion and modernization.[51][52]
Suhrawardy and Feroz began campaigning to become prime minister and president in the upcoming general elections. Meanwhile, the conservativePakistan Muslim League, led by its PresidentAbdul Qayyum Khan, was threatening to engage in civil disobedience.[53] These events were against President Mirza hence he was willing to dissolve even Pakistan's One Unit for his advantage.[29]
On 13 October, General Ayub Khan assigned Lt. GeneralWajid Ali Khan Burki the task of improving the efficiency of hospitals and health agencies. Within days, Karachi hospitals showed significant improvement, and the medical services took on a new outlook.[54][55]
Two weeks later, on 27 October 1958, Ayub Khan carried outhis own coup d'état against Mirza.[3] Most of the country's politicians only became aware of the coup the next morning;[56] only U.S. Ambassador to PakistanJames M. Langley was kept fully informed of political developments in the country.[53][57]
Ayub justified his part by declaring that: "History would never have forgiven us if the present chaotic conditions were allowed to go on any further," and that his goal was to restore a democracy that the "people can understand and work", not to rule indefinitely.[58] When the publicwas informed, public reactions were mixed. The immediate crackdown on smuggling, corruption, and trafficking won Ayub plenty of support from the commoners. The middle-class and the upper-middle class were more apprehensive.
President Mirza himself was apprehensive, though for a different reason. He had been contemplating replacing Ayub Khan, and it seems that Ayub knew. Immediately after the Supreme Court's ChiefJustice Munir justified the coup under thedoctrine of necessity, Ayub sent the military into the presidential palace and exiled Mirza to England.[59] This was largely done with the support of:Admiral A. R. Khan, GeneralAzam Khan, Nawab of KalabaghAmir Khan, GeneralDr. Wajid Khan, General K. M. Sheikh, and General Sher Bahadur. Air Vice MarshalAsghar Khan was asked byGeneral Ayub Khan to join the Generals to demand Mirza's resignation, but Asghar Khan declined the request, stating that he "found the whole exercise distasteful."[60]
The regime came to power with the intent of instituting widespread reform and 'to bring the country back to sanity'.[3] Like Mirza, Ayub advocated for greater centralization of power, and his ruling style was more American than British. He "vowed to give people access to speedier justice, curb the crippling birth rate, and take appropriate steps, including land reforms and technological innovation, to develop agriculture so that the country could feed itself."[58]
Ayub finally "restored civil administration", although he maintained the Presidency and relied on an intricate web of spy agencies to maintain supremacy over the bureaucracy, including calling upon civilian intelligence agencies.
In 1960, a referendum,[3] that functioned as theElectoral College, was held that asked thegeneral public:"Do you have confidence in Muhammad Ayub Khan?" Thevoter turnout was recorded at 95.6% and such confirmation was used as impetus to formalise the new system – apresidential system.[61] Ayub Khan was elected president for the next five years and decided to pay his firststate visit to the United States with his wife and also daughter Begum Naseem Aurangzeb in July 1961.[61] Highlights of his visit included a state dinner atMount Vernon, a visit to theIslamic Center of Washington, and a ticker tape parade in New York City.[62]
A constitutional commission was set-up under theSupreme Court to implement the work on theconstitution that was led byChief JusticeMuhammad Shahabuddin andSupreme Court justices. The commission reported in 1961 with its recommendations, but President Ayub remained unsatisfied; he eventually altered the constitution so that it was entirely different from the one recommended by the Shahabuddin Commission. The constitution reflected his personal views on politicians and the restriction on using religion in politics. His presidency restored thewrit of government through the promulgated constitution and restored political freedom by lifting the martial law enforced since 1958.[63][64]
The new constitution respectedIslam, but did not declare Islam as thestate religion and was viewed as a liberal constitution.[64] It also provided for election of the president by 80,000 (later raised to 120,000) Basic Democrats who could theoretically make their own choice but who were essentially under his control. He justified this as analogous to theAmerican Electoral College and citedThomas Jefferson as his inspiration.[65] The Ayub administration "guided" theprint newspapers through his takeover of key opposition papers and, while Ayub Khan permitted a National Assembly, it had only limited powers.[66]
In 1961, he promulgated the "Muslim Family Law Ordinance."[67] Through this ordinance, unmitigatedpolygamy was abolished. Consent of the current wife was made mandatory for a second marriage, and brakes were placed on the practice of instant divorce under Islamic tradition, where men could divorce women by saying: "I divorce you" three times.
The Arbitration Councils were set up under the law in the urban and rural areas to deal with cases of: (a) grant of sanction to a person to contract a second marriage during the subsistence of a marriage; (b) reconciliation of a dispute between a husband and a wife; (c) grant of a maintenance allowance to the wife and children.[68]
Industrialization and rural development through constructing modernnational freeways are considered his greatest achievements, and his era is remembered for successful industrialization in the impoverished country. Strong emphasis on capitalism andforeign direct investment (FDI) in the industry is often regarded as the "Great Decade" in the history of the country (botheconomical andpolitical history).[63]
The "Decade of Development" was celebrated, which highlighted the development plans executed during the years of Ayub's rule, the private consortium companies and industries, and is credited with creating an environment where the private sector was encouraged to establish medium and small-scale industries in Pakistan.[63] This opened up avenues for new job opportunities and thus the economic graph of the country started rising.[69] He oversaw the development and completion of mega projects such ashydroelectric dams,power stations, andbarrages all over the country.[70] During 1960–66, the annual GDP growth was recorded at 6.8%.[71]
Several hydroelectric projects were completed, including theMangla Dam (one of the world's largest dams), several small dams and water reservoirs in West Pakistan, and one dam in East Pakistan, theKaptai Dam. President Ayub authorized the planning ofnuclear power plants.[72] Dr.Abdus Salam, supported by the President, personally approved the project in Karachi while the project in East Pakistan never materialized.[73]
Extensive education reforms were supposedly carried out, and 'scientific development efforts' were also supposedly made during his years. These policies could not be sustained after 1965, when the economy collapsed and leading to economic declines that he was unable to control.[74]
Ayub introduced new curricula and textbooks for universities and schools. Many public-sector universities and schools were built during his era.[75] He also introducedagricultural reforms preventing anyone from occupying more than 500 acres of irrigated and 1000 acres of unirrigated land. His administration redistributed approximately 23 percent of the country'sfarmland to onetime tenant farmers.[76] InKarachi, around 100,000 refugees displaced by thepartition of India were moved fromslums to new housing colonies.[76] His administration also eliminated the need for bribes, known as "tea money" in Pakistan, to access government officials, contributing to a reduction in corruption within Pakistan's government relative to other Asian nations during his tenure.[76]
Anoil refinery was established in Karachi. These reforms led to 15%GNP growth of the country, which was three times greater than that of India. Despite the increase in theGNP growth, the profit and revenue was gained by the famous 22 families of the time that controlled 66% of theindustries and land of the country and 80% of thebanking andinsurance companies of Pakistan.[77]
During the Ayub era, the navy was able to introduce submarines and slowly modified itself by acquiring warships.[24] However, Ayub drastically reduced funding of the military in the 1950s and de-prioritizednuclear weapons in the 1960s.[72][78] The military relied on donations from the United States for major weapons procurements.[79] Major funding was made available for military acquisitions and procurement towardsconventional weaponry forconventional defence. In the 1960s, the Pakistani military acquired American‑produced conventional weapons such asJeep CJs,M48 Patton andM24 Chaffee tanks,M16 rifles,F-86 fighter airplanes, and the submarinePNS Ghazi; all through the USForeign Military Sales program.[79] In 1961, President Ayub started the nation's full‑fledged space program in cooperation with the air force, and created theSuparco civilian space agency that launchedsounding rockets throughout the 1960s.[80]
Ayub Khan filled more and more civil administrative positions with army officers, increasing the military's influence over the bureaucracy. He expanded the size of the army by more than half from the early 1960s to 1969, and maintained a high level of military spending as a percentage of GDP during that period, peaking in the immediate aftermath of theIndo-Pakistani War of 1965.[82]
The main feature of Ayub Khan's foreign policy was prioritizingrelations with the United States and Europe. Foreignrelations with the Soviet Union were downplayed. He enjoyed support from PresidentDwight Eisenhower in the 1950s and, working with Prime MinisterAli Khan, forged a military alliance with the United States against regional communism. His obsession towards modernization of the armed forces in the shortest time possible saw relations with the United States as the only way to achieve his organizational and personal objectives, as he argued againstcivilian supremacy that would affect American interests in the region as a result of an election.
TheCentral Intelligence Agency leasedPeshawar Air Station in the 1950s, and spying into the Soviet Union from the air station grew immensely, with Ayub's full knowledge, during his presidency. When these activities were exposed in 1960 after a U-2 flying out of the air station wasshot down and its pilot captured by the USSR,[83] President Ayub was in the United Kingdom on a state visit. When the local CIA station chief briefed President Ayub on the incident, Ayub shrugged his shoulders and said that he had expected this would happen at some point.[84]
Soviet Secretary GeneralNikita Khrushchev threatened to bomb Peshawar if the United States continued to operate aircraft from there against the Soviet Union. Ayub Khan apologised for the incident when he visited the Soviet Union five years later.[85]
President Ayub Khan meeting Soviet PremierAlexei Kosygin in the 1960s
President Ayub directed hisForeign Office to reduce tensions with the Soviet Union by facilitating state visits by Soviet PremierAlexei Kosygin and Soviet Foreign MinisterAndrei Gromyko and agreeing to downplay relations with the United States.[85]
During 1961–65, Ayub lost much of his support from PresidentJohn F. Kennedy and PresidentLyndon Johnson as they soughtcloser relations with India. President Johnson placed an embargo on both nations during the war in 1965.[87] Relations with the Soviet Union were eventually normalized when the Soviets facilitated apeace treaty between Pakistan and India in 1965, and reached a trade treaty with Pakistan the following year.[63][88] In 1966–67, Ayub wrestled with the United States' attempt to dictate Pakistan's foreign policy, while he strengthened relations with the Soviet Union and China.[89] Despite initiatives to normalize relations with the Soviet Union, Ayub Khan remained inclined towards the United States and the western world, receiving President Johnson in Karachi in 1967.[90]
In 1961–62, Ayub paid a state visit to the United Kingdom. He attracted much attention from the British public when his involvement in theChristine Keeler affair was revealed.[91][92]
In 1959, Ayub Khan's interest in building defence forces had already diminished when he made an offer of joint defense with India during theSino-Indo clashes in October 1959 in Ladakh, in a move seen as a result of American pressure and a lack of understanding of foreign affairs[93] Upon hearing this proposal, India's Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru reportedly countered, "Defence Minister Ayub: Joint Defence on what?"[89]: 84–86 India remained uninterested in such proposals and Prime Minister Nehru decided topush his country's role in theNon-Aligned Movement.[94] In 1960, President Ayub, together with Prime Minister Nehru, signed theIndus Waters Treaty brokered by theWorld Bank.[95] In 1962, after India was defeated by China, Ayub Khan disguised a few thousand soldiers as guerillas and sent them to Indian Kashmir to incite the people to rebel.[96] In 1964, thePakistan Army engaged with theIndian Army in severalskirmishes, and clandestine operations began.
The war with India in 1965 was a turning point in his presidency, and it ended in a settlement reached by Ayub Khan at Tashkent, called theTashkent Declaration, which was facilitated by the Soviet Union. The settlement was perceived negatively by many Pakistanis and led Foreign MinisterZulfiqar Ali Bhutto to resign his post and take up opposition to Ayub Khan. According to Morrice James, "For them (Pakistanis) Ayub had betrayed the nation and had inexcusably lost face before the Indians."[97]
According toSartaj Aziz, deputy chairman of thePlanning Commission, it was Foreign Minister Bhutto who had inadvertently set Pakistan on the road to war with India. During a cabinet meeting, Bhutto had gone on a populistanti-Indian andanti-American binge and succeeded in spellbinding President Ayub into thinking he was becoming a world statesman fawned upon by the enemies of the United States. When Ayub authorizedOperation Gibraltar, the fomenting of a Kashmiri insurgency against India, Aziz famously told the President: "Sir, I hope you realize that our foreign policy and our economic requirements are not fully consistent, in fact they are rapidly falling out of line." Aziz opposed Operation Gibraltar, fearing the economical turmoil that would jolt the country's economy, but was in turn opposed by his own senior bureaucrats. In that meeting, Foreign Minister Bhutto convinced the president and the finance ministerMuhammad Shoaib that India would not attack Pakistan due toKashmir being adisputed territory, and per Bhutto's remarks: "Pakistan's incursion intoIndian-occupied Kashmir, at [A]khnoor, would not provide [India] with the justification for attacking Pakistan across the international boundary because Kashmir was a disputed territory." This theory proved wrong, when India launched a full-scale war against West Pakistan in 1965.[98]
Chief of the Army Staff GeneralMusa Khan held off launchingOperation Grand Slam, waiting for President Ayub Khan's go ahead. The operation didn't get underway until after the Indian Army had capturedHaji Pir pass in Kashmir.[99] He faced serious altercations with, and public criticism from,air chiefAir Marshal Asghar Khan for hiding the details of the war. TheAir Headquarters began fighting the president over the contingency plans, and this inter-services rivalry ended with Asghar Khan's resignation.[100]
About the 1965 war's contingency plans, Air MarshalNur Khan briefly wrote that "Rumours about an impending operation were rife but the army had not shared the plans with other forces."[100]
Ayub Khan's main sponsor, the United States, did not welcome the move, and theJohnson administration placed an economic embargo that caused Pakistan to lose US$500 million inaid and grants that had been received through consortium.[98] Ayub Khan could not politically survive in the aftermath of the 1965 war with India and fell from the presidency after surrendering presidential power to Army Commander GeneralYahya in 1969.[3]
Afghanistan
In the 1950s, partly due to the complicated bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan over theDurand Line dispute, Ayub Khan along with the Royal family of Afghanistan underKing Zahir Shah proposed theAfghanistan-Pakistan Confederation Plan to merge Afghanistan with Pakistan under a single confederation.[101] This merger was proposed on the basis of mutual distrust and fears of security threats by the Indian government and the Soviets, which wasn't able to amount to fruition due to the eventualSoviet invasion of Afghanistan and the formation of a new communist Afghan regime.[102]
In 1964, President Ayub Khan was confident in his apparent popularity and saw the deep divisions within the political opposition which ultimately led him to announce presidential elections in 1965. He earned the nomination of thePakistan Muslim League (PML) and was shocked whenFatima Jinnah was nominated by theCombined Opposition Parties.[63][103]
Ayub Khan's son,Gohar Ayub Khan, launched attacks on Fatima Jinnah supporters.[104] During this time, Ayub Khan used thePakistani intelligence community for his own advantage.Military Intelligence actively monitored politicians and political gatherings and theIntelligence Bureau taped politicians' telephone conversations.[103] This was the first departure of the intelligence community from national defence and security to direct interference withnational politics, an interference which continued in succeeding years.[105]
It was reported that the elections were widelyrigged by the state authorities and machinery under the control of Ayub Khan and it is believed that had the elections been held via direct ballot, Fatima Jinnah would have won. The Electoral College consisted of only 80,000 Basic Democrats. They were easily manipulated by President Ayub Khan, who won the bitterly contested elections with 64% of the Electoral College vote.[106] According to journalists of the time, the election did not conform to international standards; many viewed the election results with great suspicion.[103]
The controversial victory overFatima Jinnah in the1965 presidential election and the outcome of thewar with India in the same year brought devastating results for Ayub Khan's image and his presidency. Khan's foreign ministerZulfikar Ali Bhutto believed the Tashkent Declaration was a "political surrender" which turned a military victory into defeat.[107] Bhutto began criticizing Ayub Khan openly and resigned in June 1966. InKarachi, public resentment towards Ayub had been rising since the 1965 elections and his policies were widely disapproved.[108]
In 1967, Bhutto formed thePakistan People's Party (PPP) and embarked on a nationwide tour where he attacked the Ayub administration's economic, religious, and social policies. Bhutto was arrested for these activities.[109] His detention further inflamed the opposition, and demonstrations were sparked all over the country. The East Pakistani Awami League charged the Ayub administration withdiscriminatory policies towards the East. Labour unions called for strikes against Ayub Khan's administration, and dissatisfaction was widespread in the country's middle class by the end of 1968. When Ayub Khan was confronted with theSix point movement led bySheikh Mujibur Rahman and with the criticism by Bhutto's PPP, he responded by imprisoning both leaders but that made matters worse for Ayub's administration.[110]
In 1969, Ayub Khan opened negotiations with the opposition parties in what was termed as a "Round Table Conference" where he held talks with all major opposition parties. However, these discussions yielded no results and strong anti-Ayub demonstrations calling for his resignation were sparked all over the country.[110] During this time, Ayub Khan survived a near-fatal cardiac arrest that put him out of the office, and later survived aparalysis attack that put him in awheelchair.[111] Thepolice were unable to maintainLaw and order in Pakistan, especially in East Pakistan whereriots and a serious uprising were quelled. At one point,Home andDefence Minister Vice-Admiral Rahman told journalists that the "country was under the mob rule and that police were not strong enough to tackle the situation."[112]
The PPP also led very strong protests, street demonstrations, and riots against Ayub Khan's administration when the prices of food consumer products such as sugar, tea, and wheat hiked up. Disapproval of Ayub Khan was widely expressed by chanted slogans and insults referring to him.[113] On the streets of major cities of West Pakistan, massivewall chalkings that employedderogatory andpejorative terms for Ayub madeheadlines in theprint andbroadcast media.[114]
Elements in themilitary began supporting the opposition political parties; it was this that finally brought about the demise of Ayub Khan's era. On 25 March 1969, President Ayub Khan, after consulting Advocate Raja Muhammad Qalib Ali Khan (the last person to meet the president before resignation) resigned from office and invited the commander-in-chief of the army GeneralYahya Khan to take over control of the country.[115][116]
Asghar Khan andKhyber Khan were considered among the likely successors to President Ayub Khan during the collapse of his regime. Khyber was described as "a young, energetic, and popular air force officer in his early forties, who happens to look very much like a younger Ayub Khan."[117]
Ayub Khan's presidency allied Pakistan with the American-ledmilitary alliance against the Soviet Union which helped Pakistan develop its strong economic background and its long-term political and strategic relations with the United States.[27] Majoreconomic aid and trade from the United States andEuropean Communities ultimately led Pakistan's industrial sector to develop rapidly but the consequences ofcartelization included increasedinequality in thedistribution of wealth. After 1965, he became extremely concerned about the arrogance and bossiness of the US over the direction ofPakistan's foreign policy when the US publicly criticized Pakistan for buildingties with China and theSoviet Union; he authored a book over this issue known asFriends not Masters.[120][121]
Ayub Khan began his diary in September 1966 and ended his recordings in October 1972 due to his failing health. The diary covers events such as his resignation from office, the assumption of power byYahya Khan, the independence of Bangladesh, and the replacement of Yahya by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. After he died in 1974, the diary was not released to the public for thirty years due to opinions that would have been detrimental to the reputation of powerful individuals at the time. Ayub Khan wanted his diary to be edited by his close associateAltaf Gauhar, but after Ayub Khan's death, the six-year-long diary was entrusted to Oxford University Press (OUP) to edit and publish. At OUP,Diaries of Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan, 1966–1972 was edited and annotated by American historianCraig Baxter.[122]
The federal capital was relocated under the Ayub administration from the port city of Karachi to the new and carefully planned city of Islamabad in the mountains in 1965.[63] Facilitated by the World Bank, the Ayub administration became a party to the Indus Waters Treaty with archrival India to resolve disputes regarding the sharing of the waters of the six rivers in thePunjab Doab that flow between the two countries. Khan's administration also built a major network of irrigation canals, high-water dams, and thermal and hydroelectric power stations.[123]
Modernization of agriculture and industrialization
He subsidized fertilizers and modernized agriculture through irrigation development and spurred industrial growth with liberal tax benefits.[27] In the decade of his rule, theGNP rose by 45% and manufactured goods began to overtake such traditional exports as jute and cotton.[121] However, the economists in thePlanning Commission alleged that his policies were tailored to reward the elite families and major landowners in the country. In 1968, his administration celebrated the so-called "Decade of Development" when the mass protests erupted all over the country due to an increasingly greater divide between the rich and the poor.[121][74][124]
After 1965, thecorruption in government,nepotism, and suppression offree speech,thought, andpress increased unrest and turmoil in the country against the Ayub administration.[63] The1965 presidential election, where Ayub Khan was opposed by Fatima Jinnah, was allegedly rigged. In 2003, the nephew of theQuaid-i-Azam, Akbar Pirbhai, re-ignited the controversy by suggesting thatFatima Jinnah's death in 1967 was an assassination by the Ayub Khan establishment.[128]Sherbaz Khan Mazari criticised Gohar Ayub Khan for leading a victory parade after the 1965 election into the heart of opposition territory in Karachi, despite the prohibition, underSection 144, of holding processions there. Fierce clashes ensued, resulting in many deaths.[129] He was faced with allegations of widespread intentionalvote riggings, organizing political murders in Karachi. His peace with India was considered by many Pakistanis an embarrassing compromise.
Gohar Ayub Khan also faced criticisms during that time on questions of family corruption and cronyism through his business links with his father-in-law, retired Lieutenant GeneralHabibullah Khan Khattak. One Western commentator in 1969 estimated Gohar Ayub's personal wealth at the time at $4 million, while his family's wealth was put in the range of $10–20 million.[130] Public criticism of Gohar's personal wealth and that of the President increased. All these criticisms harmed President Ayub Khan's image.
He is also blamed for not doing enough to tackle the significant economic disparity between East and West Pakistan. Whilst he was aware of the acute grievances of East Pakistan, he did try to address the situation. However, the Ayub Khan regime was so highly centralized that, in the absence of democratic institutions, densely populated and politicized East Pakistan province continued to feel it was being slighted.[131]
On 13 May 2024,Minister of DefenceKhawaja Asif delivered a speech on the floor of theNational Assembly of Pakistan in which he stated that Ayub was the first dictator who violated theConstitution of Pakistan and overthrew a democratically elected government; hence, Ayub was the root cause of all the confusion and chaos which ensued.[132] Minister Asif supported the demand(s) for Article 6 proceedings against violators of theConstitution of Pakistan.[133] Consequently, Minister Asif called for the corpse of dictator Ayub to be dug out of his grave and be hung for the offence of high treason in accordance with Article 6 of theConstitution of Pakistan.[134][135]
After his death, his descendants became active innational politics in the 1990s until the present; however, these family members have been controversial. His son Gohar was an active member of the conservativePML(N) and was theForeign Minister in theSharif ministry in the 1990s but was removed due to his controversial and unauthorized statements about India.[136] Ayub's daughter Nasim did not enter politics and marriedMiangul Aurangzeb, theWali of Swat.[136]
His son Shaukat was a successful businessman and had four children: three sons and one daughter. All three sons went into business and politics, withAkbar,Arshad, and Yousaf Ayub Khan becoming successful members of the provincial and national assemblies.[29]
His grandson,Omar, served in theAziz ministry as aFinance Minister in the 2000s but joined thePML(N) in 2010; he was declared ineligible for the2013 general election after allegations ofvote rigging were proved. In 2018, he joinedPTI. Another grandson,Yousaf, who is a party worker of thePTI, was also declared ineligible for submitting fake documents to the Election Commission.
^Ayub retired from active service in 1958; however, he made himself field marshal in 1959. See "Military Ruler Gets Himself Elevated",[2]{{blockquotePresident Ayub made Field MarshalGeneral Mohammad Ayub Khan was conferred the rank of Field Marshal by the presidential cabinet. The communique said that the conferment of this rank will serve to demonstrate to the world in a humble way the high esteem in which he is held by his people and how grateful the nation is to its saviour. The rank of Field Marshal is the highest rank of armies built on the patron of the British Army. The press communique added that by a peaceful revolution last year, the President had not only defended the territorial integrity of Pakistan but had also saved the very existence of the nation.[2]}}
^Ayub never had an active regular military appointment of the rank of field marshal, his last military appointment was the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army in the rank of full general.
^abAnkit, Rakesh (January 2010),"The Defiant Douglas",Epilogue, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 46–47,Deeply concerned about shepherding the Pakistan army through its early years, General Douglas Gracey wanted to continue till 1953 but had to relinquish his post two years earlier on 23 January 1951 bowing down to the rising chorus for 'nationalisation' of the army to which the Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, had to acquiesce.
^Amir, Intikhab (23 April 2013)."Where pragmatism holds sway (Haripur District politics and Tareen clan)".Dawn newspaper. Archived fromthe original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved13 January 2025.When it comes to Haripur's significance to the national political scene, one can't help but refer to the country's first military dictator, Field Marshal Ayub Khan. A member of the politically significant Tareen clan of Haripur, General Ayub's heirs are known for not shying away from changing loyalties in their pursuit of a prolonged stay in the corridors of power.
^Sir Olaf Caroe, "The Pathans, With An Epilogue On Russia (Oxford in Asia Historical Reprints) 550 B.C.-A.D. 1957".Oxford University PressISBN978-0-19-577221-0. Retrieved 3 May 2023. p.453: NOTES "13a. President Ayub is one of these Tarins."
^abJaffrelot, Christophe (2004).A history of Pakistan and its origins. Anthem Press. p. 69.ISBN978-1-84331-149-2. Retrieved5 April 2023. p. 69:Ayub Khan, who had been army commander-in-chief since 1951, embodied this military institution better than anyone. His ethnic origin was Pashtun; he was born in the Punjab--like Ghulam Muhammad--and he believed in a centralized state dominated by the Punjab, to which he was keen to rally members of his community.
^Malik, Iftikhar Haider (2008).The History of Pakistan. Greenwood Press. p. 146.ISBN978-0-313-34137-3.
^Rizvi, Gowher (1985). "Riding the Tiger: Institutionalising the Military Regimes in Pakistan and Bangladesh". InClapham, Christopher S.; Philip, George D. E. (eds.).The Political Dilemmas of Military Regimes. Croom Helm. p. 203.ISBN978-0-7099-3416-5.
^abcKassim, Husain (2006)."Ayub Khan, Muhammad". In Leonard, Thomas M. (ed.).Encyclopedia of the Developing World. Vol. 1. Routledge. p. 125.ISBN978-1-57958-388-0. Retrieved8 December 2023.
^abJalal, Ayesha (2014).The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics. Belknap Press. pp. 98–100.ISBN978-0-674-05289-5.
^Jalal, Ayesha (2014).The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics. Belknap Press. p. 101.ISBN978-0-674-05289-5.The joint authority of president and commander-in-chief was untenable and did not last more than a few weeks. Even before the coup, Mirza had been conspiring to replace Ayub as commander-in-chief. By appearing to go along with the president, Ayub bought precious time. Once the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Munir, dignified the coup as a revolutionary necessity, Ayub sprang into action to establish himself as the undisputed leader of Pakistan. With the backing of his top military commanders, he packed off Mirza to permanent exile.
^Shah, Sayed Wiqar Ali (2004). "Pakistan People's Party: The Twin Legacies of Socialism and Dynastic Rule". In Mitra, Subrata K.; Enskat, Mike; Spiess, Clement (eds.).Political Parties in South Asia. Praeger. p. 157.ISBN0-275-96832-4.
^"Dasar-Dasar Persahabatan dan Kerdjasama Indonesia-Pakistan" [Foundations of the Friendship and Cooperation between Indonesia-Pakistan].Mimbar Penerangan (in Indonesian).11 (12). Departemen Penerangan Republik Indonesia: 796. December 1960. Retrieved11 January 2021.
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