INITIAL PROBLEM OF PAKISTAN

The date of 14th august 1947 reminds us of a historical event after which one of the greatest nations of
the world born. The list of Pakistan’s early problems after independence is huge. Most of the initial
problems of Pakistan after independence were created intentionally to destabilize the newborn state.
Partition was not the only problem, but establishing the new government with many hostile borders was
difficult. In short, the independence and the establishment of Pakistan were not a piece of cake and
were achieved by sacrificing hundreds of thousands of people

Problem of Pakistan
From its very inception, Pakistan faced a large number of problems. Some of the initial difficulties were:

Choice of Capital and Establishment of Government

The first problem that Pakistan had to face was to choose a capital to form a Government and to
establish a secretariat, Karachi was chosen as the capital of Pakistan. Quaid-e-Azam took the office of the
Governor General, Liaqat Ali Khan was appointed as Prime Minister and a Cabinet of experienced
persons was selected. Arrangements were to be made to bring the officials who had opted for Pakistan
from Delhi to Karachi. One of Pakistan’s biggest and list problems after independence was that it did not
have many developed cities like India. So Pakistani leaders have only a few choices of cities as capital.
Karachi was chosen as the capital, and the officers and officials came from Delhi to Karachi to set up the
government capital. There was a lack of records, offices, furniture. Some of the government offices were
also established in military barracks during that hard time. Later precisely, after 20 years of partition, on
14th august 1967, Islamabad became the second capital of Pakistan under the rule of Ayub khan

Unfair boundary by Cyril Radcliffe

A commission was established to divide some provinces into Pakistan and India. As most of the British
officers were against the partition, so they tried to harm Pakistan in all ways. Viceroy Mountbatten was
also inclined towards India. A boundary commission was set up under a British Chairman, Sir Cyril
Redcliff.He misused his powers and handed over Muslim majority areas like
Gurdaspur,Ferozpur,Jullander to India hence providing them a gateway to Kashmir. Quaid-e-Azam called
it:

“An unjust, incomprehensible and even perverse award."

Due to this, Pakistan lost many Muslim Majority areas, including Ferozpor, Gordaspor, parts of Kashmir,
and Jalandhar.

EAST PAKISTAN & WEST PAKISTAN

Comprised of most of Bengal (but not Calcutta) and the district of slyest, this voted in a referendum to
join Pakistan.

West Pakistan comprised of West Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and the North West Frontier province. The
princely states of Dir, Swat, Chitral Amb, Hunza, Gilgit and Bahawalpur also joined Pakistan. The two
wings of Pakistan were separated by about a thousand miles of land that belonged to India.

The vast distance between them also meant that there were significant differences and outlook between
the people of the two different regions. Bengal and the West Punjab, for example, were both largely
Muslim areas, but they had little else in common.

MILITARY ASSETS OF PAKISTAN

Pakistan also needed armed forces and military equipment to ensure its security. The British were, at
first, reluctant to divide the armed forces but eventually it was agreed that they should be split 36% to
44% between Pakistan and India.

The armed forces personal were given freedom to opt for whichever country they wanted. Muslims
regiments went to Pakistan and non-Muslims to India. It was agreed to split the army along religious
lines as

Armored Division: Pakistan was given 6 and India 14.

Artillery divisions: Pakistan was given 8 and India 40.

Infantry Divisions: Pakistan was given 8 and India 21.

One of the major issues involved in partitioning the old British India was how to divide up the assets of
the country. They now belonged to two countries, not one and there had to be an agreement on how it
should be shared. It was agreed that the assets were to be divided on the ratio of 17 to India and 5 to
Pakistan. This reflected the relative size and population of the two countries.

A big initial problem for Pakistan was that its army comprising of 150,000 men needed 4,000 officers.
There were only 2500 trained Muslim officers, as the British Indian army had favored Hindu officers.
While it was possible to train some men up from ordinary soldiers, Jinnah was forced to take 500 British
officers temporarily. These were mostly at the highest rank, for this was where no Muslims officers were
at all

The military supplies which India agreed to hand over did not arrive at times, or when they did, they
were often old ,worn, damaged and obsolete. The result of the division of military assets in 1947 was
that Pakistan started its existence with a seriously under-resourced military force.

Defense of boundaries
As soon as Pakistan became independent, it became concerned about defending its borders as there
were problems on the eastern and western borders. In the West, Afghanistan refused to recognize
Pakistan and was the only country to oppose Pakistan’s membership in the United Nations. The situation
with India in the East was also not good for a few reasons. There was also a lack of modern military
equipment. So defending the boundaries of Pakistan became a big problem at that time.

ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF PAKISTAN

When Pakistan became independent, India refused to give Pakistan a fair share of national wealth. Also,
the areas coming under the Pakistan section were mostly agricultural areas with very few industries. Due
to which Pakistan faced a lot of economic problems. Pakistan was made up of states that were mostly
underdeveloped, with very little Industry. Although Karachi was a modern port with substantial trading
and business activity, much of Pakistan (e.g. the North West Frontier Province) was on the borders of the
subcontinent and had not been linked to the Industrialization that had taken place in Central India.
Pakistan mostly consisted of economically backward and underdeveloped area after existence. The
agricultural system was obsolete and outdated which added to the economic backwardness of the areas
forming part of Pakistan. Before partition the Hindus, with the blessings of the British Government, had
acquired complete monopoly in trade and commerce. The entire capital was in the hands of the Indians.
Moreover, the banks and other financial institutions were located in Indian Territory. The major
industries were also in those areas which were part of India. Besides these factors the technical experts
and laborers, who operated the industries, were all Hindus because the Muslims extremely lagged
behind in education and financial capabilities. The un-secured system of transportation and
communication also made its adverse effect on economic development of the country. The railway
system and river transportation in East Pakistan was in depleted condition. The roads were in shabby and
irreparable condition. The communication and transportation system in West Pakistan, comparatively,
was in better position economic problems of Pakistan

Around 90% of the people lived in country and there were only 8 towns with a population of more than
10,000 (Karachi, Lahore, Dhaka , Hyderabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sialkot and Peshawar) . Pakistan was
not a wealthy country and its major industry agriculture, did not produce enough of a surplus to create
the wealth needed for Industrialization.

The exception to this was in the production of Jute, where in 1947 East Pakistan produced nearly 70 % of
the world’s crop. Jute export produced in the major source of foreign exchange earnings for Pakistan for
many years. But the initial problems of Pakistan created by partition are exemplified by the fact that in
1947, Pakistan did not have a single jute mill. All the jute mills were in the new India. Division of the
subcontinent’s assets, Pakistan did not do well. The percentage of Economic assets in Pakistan after
Partition.

Industrial Enterprises 10%

Industrial Workers 6.5%

Electrical Capacity 5%

Mineral Deposits 10%

GEOGRAPHICAL PROBLEMS OF PAKISTAN
On 14 August, 1947 Pakistan finally gained its long-fought for independence, but it immediately faced
very serious initial problems. Most countries have natural borders, such as rivers, mountains or the sea.
These are clear and agree indicators of where one country’s territory ends and another country’s
territory begins. This was not the case with Pakistan in 1947. Indeed the country was split into two
separate parts almost a thousand miles apart.

Canal Water Dispute

Most of the river flowing in Pakistan has their origin in India. Pakistan started facing water when on the
morning of 1st April 1948; India closed the headworks of the rivers of Pakistan. This caused significant
damage to crops in Punjab. India started demanding money for the water that Pakistan uses. For the
permanent solution to this problem, Pakistan took the help of the United Nations, and a treaty called the
“Indus Waters Treaty” was signed on 19th September 1960 in Karachi.

The Canal Water issue of Pakistan had its origins in the partition of Punjab in 1947. West Pakistan is a
fertile country but has a hot and dry climate. Rainfall is not plentiful and so it relies upon irrigation from
a series of canals which draw water from the three main rivers in the area, the Indus, the Jhelum and the
Chenab. The canal water issue of Pakistan was yet another cause of Pakistan’s frustration and anger
towards India.

The partition of the subcontinent cut across many rivers and canals. The problem for Pakistan was that
the flow of water through the canals and rivers was controlled at a series of “headworks”, most of which
lay in the part of Punjab that was now in India.

The dispute also involved Kashmir, as three rivers-Indus, Jhelum, Jhelum and Chenab -came through
Indian-occupied territory. In the end, some water supplies were reinstated in May 1948.

However, new Indian dams and canals frequently restricted supplies. In 1958 a temporary agreement
was reached between the two countries and the World Bank, and finally, in September 1959, the Indus
water treaty was signed and the problem resolved.

Electricity Problem
Due to transfer of Muslim majority areas to Bharat and unfair demarcation, electricity system of West
Punjab was disrupted, because all power stations were at Mundia predominantly Muslim majority area,
gifted to Bharat.

The issue of refugees

Muslims Of the sub-continent were happy on the establishment of Pakistan. They had now a Muslim
State of Such nature where they were free politically, socially economically and in their religious matters
After establishment of Pakistan many riots started in the sub-continent. Punjab, Delhi, Bengal and Bihar
were worst affected areas. About one and a half million Muslims were killed. Muslim Ladies were
kidnapped. More than one billion Muslim were bound to migrate from India. Their Properties were set
on fire. These riots were preplanned. Hindus were attacking on the foundations of Pakistan. They were of
the opinion that after doing all these bad deeds Pakistan would not stand and it will collapse soon. The
Millions of refugees reached Pakistan in very bad condition Provision of residence, food & other
necessities for them was a great problem for newly born state. The sources of government were much
limited but government helped them and established a department to solve the problems of the
refugees.

Karachi alone received nearly two million refugees in 1947. Not surprisingly, it was extremely difficult for
these people to be accommodated. Pakistan in particular, as a new and not wealthy country, did not
have the necessary facilities to house millions of new citizens

According to sources, almost 65 lac people migrated toward Pakistan. Among which, 52 lac people
migrated to Punjab. It was not an easy task for Pakistan’s government to make permanent arrangements
for the resettlement of so many people. Despite limited resources, Pakistan set up refugee camps for the
migrants and provided them with food and healthcare.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF PAKISTAN

Pakistan was mainly made up of five different regions. Indeed some historians have gone as far as
suggesting that really it was five different nations. Certainly there were five different population
groupings.

The Pakhtun’s in the West.

The Baloch’s in the West.

The Sindhi’s in the South.

The Punjabis in the North-East

In the East Bengal

These people had different traditions, cultures, languages and lifestyle. The British system of government
had given these diverse people very little opportunity to participate in government. In 1947 some of
them, particularly Balochistan and the Bengal, were not completely sure they now wanted to transfer
allegiance to a new “Pakistan”, where once again the official language Urdu, would not be the one they
spoke. Pakistan was not compromised of a single united people and there was much work to do in
convincing every one of the wisdom of joining the new state.

Language Problem
At the time of independence, more than 70 languages were spoken in Pakistan. But in the 1956
constitution, only Urdu was given the status of the national language. This sparked hatred in the hearts
of Bengalis living in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), which resulted in many riots and, in the end, the
formation of Bangladesh. The leaders mishandled the whole situation, and the riots resulted in deaths.

Constitution-making
When Pakistan Establish the Government of India Act 1935 became the working constitution of Pakistan
with certain adaptions. But the need of a constitution framed by the elected representatives of the
people was necessary for free people. So the first constituent assembly was formed and was given the
task to frame the constitution for the country. But the constituent assembly failed to frame a
constitution even in eight years. Lack of a permanent constitution created chances of corrupt
interference in democratic progress of Pakistan. On the other hand, the constituent assembly conferred
extra ordinary powers on Governor General which afterwards led to future constitutional Issues One of
the most severe problems faced by the initial Pakistani people was the lack of a constitution. Therefore,
some amendments were temporarily done in the

Administrative problem
The country came into existence in very worst conditions. The Government of Pakistan could not get
enough time to set up workable administrative machinery because of the great difficulties created by
Congress. The Indian Government adopted delaying tactics in transferring the Government servants and
official record which aggravated the situation.

Due to this the immediate task before the nation was to establish a workable administrative and
Government machinery to run the affairs of the newly born state. The major administrative problem
facing Pakistan was the acute shortage of competent and experienced personnel in the Central and
Provincial Governments. Moreover, there weren’t enough chairs, tables or even stationary and paper
pins for administrative purposes. However, Quaid-e-Azam paid his immediate attention towards setting
up of administrative machinery and took a number of steps to overcome the administrative problems of
the new state.

Kashmir Dispute
Kashmir dispute is the most important and unsolved problem. Kashmir is the natural part of Pakistan
because at the time of partition 85% of the Kashmir's total population was Muslim. The Hindu DBJogra
rule, which was secretly with the Government of India declared Kashmir as a part of India. Pakistan has
continuously insisted that Kashmir must get their right of self-determination but due to non-cooperation
of India, Kashmir issue still remain unsolved.

Death of Quaid E Azam and Liaqat Ali Khan

Quaid-e-Azam died almost one year after Pakistan’s independence, and Nawab Zada Liaqat Ali Khan was
also assassinated in Company Bagh Rawalpindi in 1951 while addressing a crowd of more than 1 lac
people. Due to these two leaders’ unfortunate death, Pakistan experienced a lack of leaders that were
sincere to the country. The country went into chaos at the hand of bureaucracy and insincere leaders.
Experts believe that Pakistan deviated away from the path to become a welfare state due to the early
death of Quaid and Liaquat Ali khan

POLITICAL ISSUES IN PAKISTAN

In 1947 it had been decided that old British India should be divided into two new countries, Pakistan and
India. But Pakistan was to face many more problems.

India inherited government buildings, furnishings, even officials from the British. Pakistan had none of
these. India had officials, member of the Indian National Congress, with political influence under the
British and they had experience both of the election process and of holding political office. In Pakistan,
the Constituent Assembly members were mostly wealthy landowners with little political experience. The
Muslim League drew most of its support from the rural areas and lacked support from the urban areas.
The geographical distance between East and West Pakistan made it difficult to govern as one country.
This was made worse by the fact that while over half of the population of Pakistan lived in East Pakistan,
the majority of the government and army leaders came from West Pakistan. Pakistan lacked both the
administrative and the government machinery to run the affairs of a new country. The Quaid-e-Azam
would need to find a capital, a government and officials to ensure the efficient government of the new
state.

Perhaps the major problem which Pakistan faced was not known by its own people. For some years the
Quaid-e-Azam had suffered from tuberculosis. He knew that he had little time to live, and so was
resolved to make sure the new nation survived. The office of governor-General was supposed to be a
ceremonial one, but Jinnah ignored this. It was his ceaseless work and great leadership skills that
ensured that Pakistan not only survived, but flourished.

Quaid-e-Azam said:

"If we are to exist as a nation ,we will have to face the problems with determination and force."

CONCLUSION
Pakistan came into being as a free Muslim state in quite unfavorable circumstances .It had no
resources ,it had no resources, it had to build up its administrative machinery from a scratch. But
Supreme efforts were made by the Quaid-e-Azam and his collogues to grapple with the situation .His
golden principles "Unity " "Faith" and "Discipline" gave way to Pakistan for a bright future of a strong
and well developed country .In his last message to the nation on 14th August 1948,he told the nation:

"The foundation of your state have been laid and it is now for you to build and build as quickly and as
you can."