GOVERNMENT & THE OPPOSITION RELATIONS IN THE PUNJAB ASSEMBLY 1972-77

UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB

DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND PAKISTAN STUDIES

By: Taufeeq Ahmed

Supervised By: Prof. Dr. Mahboob Hussain

Academic Level: MPhil

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Abstract

This research is an attempt to unearth the government’s attitude towards the opposition members of the Punjab Assembly during 1972-77. The first ever general elections of Pakistan in 1970 enabled the Pakistan People’s Party to form the government in the center and in the largest province, Punjab. It was expected that after the sad demise of East Pakistan, a truly republic and democratic system, democratic norms and traditions will be followed in true sense, but in the Punjab the PPP government could not measure up the standards of the democratic values and traditions. This study aims at analyzing the newly elected government’s relationship with the opposition both inside the assembly and outside the house. The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab comprised the truly elected representatives of the masses of the province and had to face many obstacles for procuring the basic rights of the people and eradicate
the undemocratic and dictatorial attitude of the government-treasury benches. The Government of the Punjab, under the patronage of Mr. Z.A Bhutto, took wrong decisions and misbehaved with the opposition leaders both at the national and provincial level. Moreover, this is an attempt to trace the true nature of the relations between the ruling party and the opposition parties. This study also encompasses how the opposition had been victimized, tortured and maltreated by the government in and
outside the provincial assembly

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