National Awami Party

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The National Awami Party (NAP) was leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded in Dhaka in erstwhile East Pakistan in July 1957 through the merger of several leftist and progressive groups.[1]

Contents

[edit] Political ideology

The NAP set the following as its main aims: 1 Defence of the sovereignty, integrity and independence of Pakistan. 2 Non-aligned, independent foreign policy. 3 Ending of exploitation of Pakistan externally and its people internally. 4 Abolition of One Unit and reorganisation of provinces on linguistic basis. 5 Right of adult franchise.[2]

In July 1965, as the manifesto was amended after the party's re-emergence, the NAP declared that the system of government in the country should be based on the concept of people's sovereignty. The Party advocated the maximum provincial autonomy in a federal structure. Only Defence, Foreign Affairs and Currency were to be left with the Federal government, while other powers were to rest with the autonomous units..[3] One-Unit in West Pakistan had to be replaced by a "regional Federation where no province could dominate the other on the basis of its population". In foreign affairs the Manifesto asked for non-alignment and withdrawal from the military pacts SEATO and CENTO.[4]

[edit] Party formation and history

The NAP was along with the Awami League expected to easily win the 1959 planned general elections. Its primary target was the disbanding of the One Unit scheme in West Pakistan and a fair deal for the increasingly discontented people of East Pakistan.

After military dictator Ayub Khan, political parties were banned and the NAP faced a harsh crackdown from the Pro US Ayub Khan government. The NAP was regarded by some as a front organization of the Communist Party of Pakistan, Hasan Nasir, the NAP Office Secretary, a card-carrying member of the Communist Party, was tortured to death in custody.

Mirza Mehdy Ispahani (a.k.a) Sadri Ispahani was the treasurer of National Awami Party.

[edit] Constituent parties

The constituent parties in 1957 and their areas of influence were:

  • Sindh Hari Committee led by Haider Bakhsh Jatoi.
  • Wrore Pukhtun (Pukhtun Brotherhood) a Balochistan-based party led by Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai and Hashim Khan Ghilzai.
  • Ganatantri Dal an East Bengali party led by Mahmud Ali of Sylhet.

The party President was Maulana Bhashani and the Secretary General Mahmudul Huq Osmani.

[edit] Party Split

In 1958 and all political parties were banned. When Ayub allowed political parties again in 1962, the NAP was revived with all of its old components except the G.M. Sayed group and Ganatantri Dal.[5]

At the end of 1967 the NAP split between Bhashani and Wali Khan factions, After a growing rift developed over, allegedly, Maulana Bhashani allegedly told his supporters to support Ayub Khan in the 1964 elections against the joint opposition nomineeFatima Jinnah.[6]

n return he was supposed to have received payoffs and favours, a fact which he never contradicted. After the council session of the party held at Rangpur on 30 November 1967, NAP split into two factions branding themselves as pro-Chinese and pro-Moscow groups. In 1967 NAP formally split into the pro-Chinese National Awami Party (Bhashani) and the pro-Soviet National Awami Party (Wali).[7], while the peasant wing of the party in the NWFP, led by Afzal Bangash, formed a separate Mazdoor Kissan Party (MKP).

[edit] References

  1. ^ The National Awami Party of Pakistan: Leftist Politics in Crisis M. Rashiduzzaman Pacific Affairs, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Autumn, 1970), pp. 394-409 Published by: Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia
  2. ^ Balochistan Nationalism and it's origins
  3. ^ The National Awami Party of Pakistan: Leftist Politics in Crisis M. Rashiduzzaman Pacific Affairs, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Autumn, 1970), pp. 394-409 Published by: Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia
  4. ^ National Awami Party (NAP), The Manifesto of National Awami Party of Pakistan. Karachi: Anjuman Press, nd, p. 5.
  5. ^ Progressive Movements in Pakistan collection
  6. ^ [National Awami Party http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/pakistan/pashtunistan.htm#nap]
  7. ^ The National Awami Party of Pakistan: Leftist Politics in Crisis M. Rashiduzzaman Pacific Affairs, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Autumn, 1970), pp. 394-409

[edit] See also

[edit] External links