Problems of Federalism and Provincial Autonomy in Pakistan under the Rule of Pakistan Peoples Party (1971-1977)

Abstract

Various scholars agree that after the dismemberment of Pakistan in 1971, the remaining Pakistan was once again at the starting point rather somewhat behind the starting point (of 1947) since the country still had to face numerous challenges to survive and was being ruled under martial law without a regular constitution. It goes without saying that although the post-1971 Pakistan comprised of contiguous zones and enjoyed somewhat more territorial coherence, nevertheless, the building blocks of statehood and nationhood were still remarkably diverse in its cultural, linguistic and racial composition coupled with the asymmetric demographic and territorial demarcation of the constituting units of the federation. Furthermore, these administrative zones possessed different experience of administration and varied in their exposure toward political and economic modernization and development. In that Pakistan, the Bhutto regime enjoyed unhindered executive power at the centre; it had been viewed as a continuation of a strong unitary form of government which attempted to establish one-party system in the length and breadth of the country while suppressing the opposition political parties in general and political elite from the smaller provinces of Balochistan and North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) in particular. As a natural consequence of this recurrent denial of regional autonomy to the different subnational groups of Pakistan, the civilian rule again failed to deliver and Martial Law was imposed in the country in 1977. In that background, the present research work reviews significant political developments in Pakistan with respect to the functioning of federalism and the problem of regional autonomy during the PPP rule (1971-1977) and finds that the unwarranted concentration of political power within very few hands and the enforcement of unilateral decision on the provincial governments from the centre led to the spread of chaos and unrest within the smaller units of Pakistan whose impacts are evenly visible over the political system of the contemporary Pakistan.