In 1958, the history of military interference in the politics ofPakistandid not start that long and uncomfortably. Its origins lie even further, in a scandal that is still little read about, though of far-reaching consequence, theRawalpindiConspiracy of 1951. A few years prior to the toppling of a civilian administration by General Ayub Khan, a coalition of disappointed army officers headed by Major General Akbar Khan was secretly planning to oust Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan.
The coup never materialised. Yet it had a meaning far deeper. It revealed the strains between the civilian government of Pakistan and the military forces of the state during the period when the nation was trying to find its balance. The initial cracks would increase in size over the decades.
The Genesis of the Rawalpindi Conspiracy
The first military coup that Pakistan attempted was the Rawalpindi Conspiracy. It was set against the strained backdrop of the 1947-1948 Kashmir unrest between India and Pakistan that had left both the nations with bruises and the partition split in half.
Major General Akbar Khan had been extensively involved in operations in the conflict. During the subsequent months, frustration had built up in sections of the military. Akbar Khan and some of his officers felt that the civilian leadership had been weak and had hastened to accept a ceasefire brokered by the United Nations.
To most in uniform, the ceasefire had frozen the conflict at a point at which they believed Pakistan was on top. The frontline that was subsequently referred to as the Line of Control, separated Kashmir and left the controversy unsolved. This was a fact that has kept influencing South Asian geopolitics.
Other officers did not only regard the move as a strategic drawback but as political cowardice. This came with resentment against what they considered as too much sensitivity to international pressure, especially that by Britain and the Commonwealth systems that continued to have influence in the early military command of Pakistan.
In some quarters of the army, particularly among the mid-level officers, there was the impression that the civilian government was not very clear, determined, and forward-looking in the long run.
An exceptional Coalition Soldier and the Political Left.
The Rawalpindi Conspiracy created an unusual alliance. It went beyond a secretive military plot and reached into Pakistan's intellectual circles.
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