The first free and fair elections were held in Pakistan in
1970, after 23 years of the independence, which rendered a verdict in East
Pakistan, which was not acceptable to the leadership of West Pakistan, which
led to the dismemberment of the country.
Before that the ruling elite of the then West Pakistan
(mainly civil and military combine) used all kinds of machinations and chicanery, which kept Bengalis out of power,
and did not allow them to develop stakes into the country/system.
If they had been allowed to develop their stakes in
Pakistan, it would not have led to their gradual disillusionment with the
country, and would not have, ultimately, forced them to render a political
verdict in 1970 elections, which was neither acceptable to West Pakistan
leadership nor manageable, according to their previous standards and practices
of these elite.
Fixation of responsibility: who was responsible for above
and why ZAB failed to stand up in favor of Mujeeb at the last moment? These
questions have divided Pakistanis ever since, down the middle; some fixing
responsibility upon ZAB and some upon the army, according to their current
political affiliations.
My opinion in terms of above discussion is that we had lost
East Pakistan before 1970 elections, and
the 70/71 elections and subsequent dismemberment were a mere formality.
Yes, Bhutto was culpable in the sense that he could not stand up to the army
and support Mujeeb and rzulenounce his claim for power; but, was he capable of
turning the tide in terms of public opinion raging in Bengal against the West
Pakistan - at that late stage- without fundamentally reversing the mistakes of
previous 23 years!
We may come up with
different opinions in terms of our current political inclinations and
sensibilities; but this does not absolve us from responsibility to take steps
to strengthen the remaining Pakistan in terms of spreading the popular stakes
in the country, throughout its length and breadth, instead of making the
previous mistake of distributing the fruits of development (read independence)
along he ethnic and regional lines, which will only strengthen the hands of
outsiders!
