Ayub Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto | Comparison of policies and reforms | For CSS, PMS and other Competitive Exams

 

Ayyub Khan and Bhutto, both aimed their policies and reforms for the betterment and stability of the socioeconomic climate of Pakistan. However not only the policies differed but the way they were implemented was also very different. The comparative analysis of reform and policies in both eras of Pakistan are discussed as follows.

1.       Administrative Reforms

Ayyub Khan’s Policy

Ayub came to power as a result of the martial law imposed by Iskandar Mirza, as he ousted Mirza and declared himself the president. Coming to power as a military chief Ayub wanted stability and wanted to give an impression of democracy hence, he formed a Basic Democrat System which served as the Electoral College for the president. However, he was also under the impression that Pakistan didn’t meet the basic pre-requisite of democracy which is an aware and literate population hence it was a luxury the nation couldn’t afford. So, Ayub started with the consolidation of power.

·         Many people working under the Civil Service of Pakistan and Police Service of Pakistan were investigated, and if found guilty were persecuted.

·         Service records of civil servants were scrutinized and checked, and if there was any discrepancy they were tried in tribunals formed by retired judges of the Supreme Court.

·         Disciplinary actions such as compulsory retirement or complete dismissal or reduction in ranks were in effect.

·         Around three thousand officials were dismissed or stripped of their rank.

·         This way the bureaucracy of Pakistan was made extremely efficient and they were given a lot of powers.

·         Also ex-military generals were appointed in the civil service to oversee developmental projects.

Bhutto’s Policy

On the contrary, Bhutto came to power by winning elections, hailing the slogan of democracy. Hence he did not make any moves to ban any political party or association. However, he formed a security force called the Federal Security Force (FSF) which overlooked the acts of political parties some historians even claim that the FSF carried out activities such as espionage on local political bodies and even carry out termination of personnel on Bhutto’s orders. Bhutto however weakened the bureaucracy, he passed laws to ensure a lateral entry system under which candidates could be appointed on any grade without merit or seniority. Many people already in the civil service saw this as a system of political appointments because posts were given to people based on patronage rather than merit.

 

2.       Industrial Reforms

Both eras were well known for their industrial and economic reforms simply because of the wide-scale they were carried out on. Both leaders had different approaches toward the implementation and perspective.

 

Ayyub Khan’s Policy

To begin with Ayub’s reform, his advisors pressed on increasing the industrial base of the company.

·         Aid and loans from more developed countries like the U.S., Germany, and the U.K. catalyzed the process of industrialization as the funds came in and industries were set up.

·         To further encourage private investors and entrepreneurs Ayub’s government announced schemes such as tax holidays, exemptions, and subsidies.

·         Also Export Bonus Scheme was set up offering incentives to the industrialists who increased their exports.

·         Further on, there was a large-scale import and production of consumer goods within the economy.

·         Ayub also set up National Investment Trust and launched schemes such as prize bonds, Defense Saving Certificates, and other investment schemes to get funds from the private saving middle class.

·         Imported consumer goods had tariffs to protect the local industries.

·         Regional Cooperation for Development was set up with Turkey and Iran to spur the development of ties in trade, commerce, and secondary-level industry.

As a result, in Ayub’s era, the economy grew by seven percent, which was three times that of India. Some economists even predicted that Pakistan might be able to overcome poverty.

Bhutto’s Policy

Ayub Khan’s policies in the arenas of industry and economics were somewhat capitalist in nature. He encouraged competition and the setting up of private enterprises. This, however, increased the wealth and improved the economic indicators of Pakistan but in reality, only 22 families controlled 60 percent of the nation’s industrial wealth, and the same families-controlled 80 percent of the commerce and financial assets. Hence Bhutto came with a more socialist approach.

·         Hailing the motto of “roti, kapra, makan” Bhutto’s government is best known for its industrial reforms.

·         Bhutto played the industrial reform card in two ways, one was nationalization and the other was the welfare of the labor and working-class which he enchanted and impressed in his speeches.

·         Widespread nationalism was carried out in industries and financial institutions and in this practice, seventy major units were placed under the newly formed Ministry of Production. This was done to curtail the 25 percent inflation rate, which was unacceptably high,

·         remove economic disparity within socio-economic classes of Pakistan and increase jobs in the market.

·         This approach was also implemented to indirectly raise workers’ living standards and provide them with better housing and working standards, hence fulfilling the promise of “roti, kapra, makan”.

Negative Impact

These reforms helped in curtailing inflation to just 6 percent and proved successful in the short term, but they were doomed to fail too. These reforms created a lot of problems.

·         The first being that as the nationalization took place many able factory owners were replaced by bureaucrats who had little or no understanding of commerce.

·         Bhutto removed the merit system from civil service and appointment was made on patronage.

·         Further on as government organizations these factories were overstaffed and mostly appointed were made on connections and links with government, nepotism, or corruption. This mismanagement led to inefficiency and plunging profits.

·         In fact, the administrative and financial structure of these industries was so bad shape that it was impossible to fix them.

It is said that after the fall of Bhutto when denationalization took place, many factory owners refused to buy back their industries. Nationalization was also doomed to fail because when it was taking place there was a reduced demand for goods internationally because of an ongoing recession.

 

3.       Land and Agricultural Reforms

Ayub Khan and Zulifaqar Bhutto both implemented agricultural and land reforms realizing its need as Pakistan is an agro-based economy and a developed agricultural background was essential.

Ayyub Land Reform

·         During Ayub Khan’s time Pakistan went through a phase called the Green Revolution. Ayub started by restricting farm sizes as small subsistence farms hardly ever benefit the economy. So limited farm sizes are between 12.5 acres to 500 acres (irrigated) and 1000 (unirrigated). Also, he passed laws on the distribution of land, by restricting ownership of land to 500 acres irrigated and 1000 acres unirrigated. The resulting bigger farms ended up producing more yield more efficiently and there was a steady rise in food output.

·         Ayub also took initiatives towards the security of tenants and recognizing their rights. In Ayub’s regime, High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds were also manufactured in collaboration with international scientists. These seeds were scientifically made to yield more amount of crops than the normal ones.

·         Government brought in mechanization from the introduction of farm machinery. Farmers who couldn’t afford them, they could take them on rent or on loan too.

·         Agricultural R&D was at its peak as Pakistani scientists further researched fertilizers.

 

Negative Impact

Ayub’s regime clearly brought in mechanization and the Green Revolution. The facilities introduced back then, still help the agro-based sector of Pakistan to thrive. But what was worrying was the fact that small farmers were gaining little if nothing from all these schemes, as the increase in productivity brought about by heavy mechanization and HYV seeds cannot be afforded by them. The capping of land at 12.5 acres meant that small farmers who had their land for subsistence farming found their land redistributed. So it is quite apparent that only the big landlords were advantaged with these reforms.

Bhutto’s land reform

Bhutto’s land and agricultural reforms were based on the foundations laid by Ayub.

·         He first cut back on land ceilings to 150 acres of irrigated and 300 acres of unirrigated land because he believed that the better farming methods as a result of the Green Revolution had raised production so much that the land ceilings wouldn’t affect the income of the farmers and their yields. So the surplus land which the owners had could be sold to the smaller tenants and hence the big land owners could make more profit.

·         The second area in which Bhutto brought reform related to agriculture was the security and rights of farmers and tenants. He introduced laws that gave tenants the first right to buy the land they farmed. This means that the land owners had to sell the land to the tenants rather than a third party that might fire or sack them. This measure encouraged the tenants to work hard on the lands in hopes of buying them.

 

Drawbacks of Policy

·         However, both of the measures by Bhutto failed simply because of the influence of the landowners. They undermined the law and found a way around it. They transferred land to distant relatives or trusted friends to escape the land ceilings imposed.

·         Also, as far as tenant rights were concerned, the tenants were actually so poor that they couldn’t afford to buy the land in the first place due to the high prices set by the landowner. They also tenants didn’t have enough resources to fight a legal case for their rights.

·         In many cases, the land owners simply used measures such as bribery or their influence to buy the loyalty of officers employed by the government and persuade them to record their land as “owner cultivated” to escape the law. Hence it is safe to say that Bhutto’s land reform even though were ambitious and had good intentions, they were not followed and did little for the people (tenants) they were meant for.

 

4.       Social and Education

Ayyub Khan’s Policy

Ayub Khan was one of the spearheads of social reforms even though they were extremely controversial. His laws mostly targeted population planning, marriage laws, housing, education, and the rights of women.

·         Ayub set up a legal commission to review and recommend family laws. Ayub Khan went through the report presented by the commission. He regulated marriage through a registration process of marriages, as there was a written contract in black and white. Similarly, a divorce had to be registered too so a person wishing for a divorce had to go through a proper channel of official documentation for the divorce to be accepted legally under the law. This eventually put end to the innovational and verbal forms of divorce. He also fixed the minimum age for marriage.

·         Ayub also alleviated the status of women in society by encouraging them to join the workforce.

·         He also launched campaigns towards family planning and birth control. The people behind this campaign assumed that the general public was mostly unaware of the implications of having large families, methods to prevent them, and why birth control was needed in society.

·         With the aid of western countries, mostly the U.S., the government set up family planning centers to provide people with medical facilities, and contraceptives and give them advice on family planning.

·         Literature related to family planning was also published in form of publicly available pamphlets, leaflets, roadside posters, billboards, and messages on radios and in cinemas. The family planning movement was undertaken on a relatively large scale, however, its success was limited simply due to the narrow and conservative mindset of religious scholars.

·         Also shelter homes were built for the homeless and refugees from India.

·         General Azam Khan was appointed to take over the rehabilitation process. He built model towns and settlements near Karachi to help the ones without any roofs and hence many people were able to get shelter.

·         Ayub’s government also undertook some serious reforms to increase the education standards in Pakistan. His advisors realized that for a modern society educated population should be there and it is good for the nation’s prosperity. Hence, Ayub built schools and colleges all over the country. His advisors revised and drew up a whole new curriculum, suggesting new and updated textbooks.

·         Ayub also introduced military defense training as a mandatory part of the educational system. Also gaining basic technical knowledge was made compulsory. He also increased degree programs to 3 years which were previously 2 years.

 

Bhutto’s Policy

·         Bhutto also undertook some serious reforms in the fields of education and social well-being of the society. During his time literacy rate was just 25 percent. So Bhutto allocated only 13 percent of the budget to education. Many schools were nationalized and education was made free all over the country. This also meant that even textbooks and notebooks were provided free of cost. Curricula also got revised to meet the demands of modern times. But however, these reforms had a minimal impact on raising the literacy rate. They mainly failed simply because they were overambitious and the budget allocated was very little. Also, education standards declined as newly nationalized schools were not able to cater to the needs of the increased number of students. Also, there was a shortage of additional staff to teach and administrate the schools. Perhaps the main reason for the failure of these reforms was the fact that many rural and poor families couldn’t let their children join schools even though education was free of cost because that would mean loss of earnings if the child had gone to work.

·         In the social sector, Bhutto introduced a lot of health reforms. Training facilities were opened to train nurses and doctors. The colleges were expected to enroll students on a pure merit basis and once they graduated they were posted by the government in rural areas and were expected to work there for a tenure. Also, Rural Health Centers (RHC) in rural areas and Basic Health Units (BHUs) in urban areas were established to provide better healthcare. Further on Bhutto banned the sale of medicines under brand names, this allowed a certain company to manufacture a medicine under a patented name while banning other companies to manufacture it under its medical name. This allowed lower and more standardized prices of drugs. Drugs were also available without and prescription. However, the setback of this reform was that major pharmaceutical multinational companies left Pakistan as they were making lower profits.

Critical Analysis

Now, my point of view is that Ayub Khan’s period was much more progressive than that of Bhutto’s because the economy actually started to show positive indicators. However many would argue that income disparity increased and I agree with that. But we should remember that income disparity is a trait possessed by almost all growing and developing capitalist economies in the world. Only after the economy has reached a high level only then the government can use the funds heavily for the social welfare of society. For example, policies such as progressive taxing and removal of subsidies and tax holidays once the economy has matured would have bridged the gap. Bhutto’s era was plagued by inefficient nationalized firms because it is the psyche of Pakistani citizens that a government job is secure and hence they could get along easily with their laid-back attitude without being accountable. Also, Ayub Khan’s reforms regarding birth control and family planning are exactly what Pakistan needs to this date. We still have a rapidly rising population and depleting resources. There are more mouths than one can feed. Hence if those reforms were allowed to be continued with optimism and a broad mindset, today's demographic structure of Pakistan would have been different.