A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF CIVIL AND POLITICAL AGITATION AGAINST ZIA-UL-HAQ'S POLICIES

Abstract

The political history of Pakistan is filled with much instability and has remained very turbulent since 1947. It has remained oscillated from democratic government to a military dictatorship. First military government in Pakistan was set up by General Ayub Khan in 1958 which was extended by General Yahya Khan till 1971 and in 1977 country was once again under Martial Law government of General Zia-ul-Haq. He implemented Martial Law because of the then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s autocratic nature and his wish to cling the power. He could not satisfy his political opponents regarding the results of 1977’s general election and pushed country into the unending political and constitutional crisis. General Zia-ul-Haq considered it the golden opportunity to fulfill his ultimate goals of ruling over Pakistan. None the less, general public, political parties and other welfare organizations started to resist against the rule and policies of General Zia-ul-Haq who scrubbed all the activities which were against his Government by force or by law. This paper is an effort to uncover the significance of the resistance of political parties and public regarding their efforts to restore of democratic Government. Moreover, the issue of women rights had also gained the importance of high level as many women and NGOs were submitting their protests regarding the laws of Hudood Ordinance. Therefore, this article critically analyzes the role of public and political leaders for the restoration of democracy and women rights issues in Pakistan. In this article the role of those famous poets is also discussed who criticized the rule of Zia-ul-Haq through their poetry.