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Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's dictatorship after assuming the position of sixth president of Pakistan began on 16 September 1978 and ended with his death in an aircraft crash on 17 August 1988. Zia came to power after a coup, overthrowing prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and imposing martial law in 1977.
 Zia-ul-Haq during his presidency in 1982. | |
| Presidency of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq 16 September 1978 – 17 August 1988 | |
| Party | Pakistan Army |
|---|---|
| Seat | Aiwan-e-Sadr |
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During his reign, there was significant political and military repression in Pakistan. Among the complaints against the Muhammad Zia ul-Haq administration were its repression of press and journalists, oppression of rape victims imprisoned for zina (extra-marital sex) under its Hudood Ordinances, and its repression of protestors. Zia's government repressed communists and protestors violently during the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy campaign.
Zia-ul-Haq came to power as a result of a coup, overthrowing Pakistan's first popularly elected Prime Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Though the coup itself was bloodless, civilian opposition in parts of the country was substantial. Martial law was declared, senior civilian politicians opposing Zia were imprisoned, and less well known figures in opposition student groups, trade and journalist unions and political parties were "made an example of" with public floggings.[1]
International geopolitics played a significant role in the state of human rights in Pakistan during this time.[2] About two years after the coup, the Soviet Union invaded Pakistan's neighbor Afghanistan, transforming Pakistan and Zia's government into a key Cold War ally of the United States, and giving Zia latitude to ignore internationally accepted human rights norms.[3]
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1978: First presidential cabinet
In July 1978, first presidential cabinet was sworn-in under the presidency of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.[4]
Federal ministers
| Name | Portfolio | Period |
|---|---|---|
| A. K. Brohi | Law, Parliamentary Affairs, Religious Affairs, and Minorities Affairs | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Faiz Ali Chishti | 1. Establishment, Federal Inspection Commission 2. Kashmir Affairs & Northern Areas |
5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Fida Mohammad Khan | Housing and Works | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Mustafa K. Gokal | Shipping and Ports and Export Promotion | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Habibullah Khan Khattak | Industries and Production | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Mahmoud Haroon | Interior | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Ghulam Hassan Khan | Petroleum & Natural Resources | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Ghulam Ishaq Khan | Finance, Planning, and Provincial Coordination | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Jamal Said Mian | States and Frontier Regions | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Gul Mohammad Khan Jogezai | Water and Power | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Muhammad Junejo | Railways | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Mohammad Ali Khan Hoti | Education, Culture, and Tourism | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Mohyuddin Ahmedzai Baloch | Communications | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Sharifuddin Pirzada | Attorney General for Pakistan | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Khawaja Muhammad Safdar | Food and Agriculture, Cooperatives, and Livestock | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Mian Zahid Sarfraz | Commerce | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi | Labour, Manpower, and Local Government and Rural Development | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
Ministers of state
| Name | Portfolio | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Hamid D. Habib | Export Promotion (Minister of State) | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Javed Hashmi | Youth and Students Affairs (Minister of State) | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Mahmud Ali | Health, Population and Social Welfare, and National Council of Social Welfare (Minister of State) | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Agha Shahi | Foreign Affairs (Minister of State) | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
| Viqar-un-Nisa Noon | Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (Minister of State) | 5 July 1978 to 23 August 1978 |
1978–1979: Second presidential cabinet
In August 1978, second presidential cabinet was sworn-in under the presidency of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.[5]
Federal ministers
| Name | Portfolio | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq | Cabinet Division, CMLA's Secretariat, Establishment Division, Federal Inspection Commission, Youth & Students Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Atomic Energy Commission, Industries, Petroleum & Natural Resources, Shipping, Ports & Export Promotion, Re-designated as Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs Division | 23 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Ali Ahmad Talpur | Defence | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| A. K. Brohi | Law & Parliamentary Affairs | 27 August 1978 to 22 April 1979 |
| Rehmat Elahi | Water & Power, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi | Labour & Manpower, Re-designated as Ministry of Labour, Manpower & Overseas Pakistanis | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Haji Faqir Mohammad Khan | States & Frontier Regions, Northern Areas and Kashmir Affairs | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Fida Mohammad Khan | Housing & Works | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Ghafoor Ahmad | Production Industries | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Ghulam Ishaq Khan | Finance & Planning, Re-designated as Minister for Finance & Coordination | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Iftikhar Ahmad Khan Ansari | Religious Affairs & Minorities Affairs | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Khawaja Muhammad Safdar | Food, Agriculture and Cooperative | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Mahmood Azam Faroqui | Information & Broadcasting | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Mahmoud Haroon | Interior | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Mian Zahid Sarfraz | Commerce | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Subuh Sadiq Khan Khoso | Health & Production | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Mohammad Arshad Chaudhri | Science & Technology | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Mohammad Ali Khan Hoti | Education, Culture and Tourism, Re-designated as Minister for Education | 27 August 1978 to 2 May 1979 |
| Mohyuddin Baluch | Communications | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Muhammad Junejo | Railways | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Mohammad Zaman Khan Achakzai | Local Government & Rural Development | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Mustafa K. Gokal | Shipping, Ports & Export Promotion | 27 August 1978 to 23 January 1979 |
| Sharifuddin Pirzada | Attorney General for Pakistan | 27 August 1978 to 31 May 1979 |
| Khurshid Ahmad | - | 30 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
Ministers of state
| Name | Portfolio | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Hamid D. Habib | Statistics, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Export Promotion Bureau | 30 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Javed Hashmi | Youth & Students Affairs, Re-designated as Minister of State for Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
| Mahmud Ali | National Council of Social Welfare | 27 August 1978 to 21 April 1979 |
1979–1981: Third presidential cabinet
In 1979, second presidential cabinet was sworn-in under the presidency of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.[6]
Federal ministers
| Name | Portfolio | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq | Cabinet Division, CMLA's Secretariat, Establishment Division, Federal Inspection Commission, Youth & Students Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Atomic Energy Commission, Industries, Petroleum and Natural Resources, Shipping, Ports & Export Promotion, Culture and Tourism, Health, Social Welfare and Population, Science and Technology, States and Frontier Regions, Railways, Local Government and Rural Development | 21 April 1979 to 9 March 1981 |
| Ali Ahmad Talpur | Defence | 21 April 1979 to 9 March 1981 |
| Faiz Ali Chishti | Labour and Manpower, Northern Areas and Kashmir Affairs, Petroleum and Natural Resources | 21 April 1979 to 31 March 1980 |
| Gul Hassan Khan | Production Industries | 21 April 1979 to 9 March 1981 |
| Ghulam Ishaq Khan | Finance and Economic Affairs, Planning and Development, Statistics, Commerce, Coordination | 21 April 1979 to 9 March 1981 |
| Inamul Haque Khan | Housing and Works, Water and Power | 21 April 1979 to 9 March 1981 |
| Jamal Said Mian | Railways, Local Government and Rural Development | 21 April 1979 to 31 March 1980 |
| Javed Hashmi | Culture and Tourism | 21 April 1979 to 30 June 1979 |
| Mahmoud Haroon | Interior, Religious Affairs & Minorities Affairs, Political Affairs | 21 April 1979 to 9 March 1981 |
| Mohammad Ali Khan Hoti | Education, Culture, Sports and Tourism | 2 May 1979 to 9 March 1981 |
| Mohammad Fazil Janjua | Food, Agriculture and Cooperatives | 21 April 1979 to 9 March 1981 |
| Mohyuddin Baluch | Communications | 21 May 1979 to 9 March 1981 |
| Shahid Hamid | Information & Broadcasting, Culture, Sports and Tourism | 21 April 1979 to 3 July 1980 (Information & Broadcasting) 3 July 1980 to 9 March 1981 (Culture, Sports and Tourism) |
| Sharifuddin Pirzada | Attorney General for Pakistan, Law & Parliamentary Affairs | 31 May 1979 to 9 March 1981 |
| Agha Shahi | Foreign Affairs | 29 May 1980 to 9 March 1981 |
Ministers of state
| Name | Portfolio | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Hamid D. Habib | Export Promotion Bureau (Minister of State) | 21 April 1979 to 9 March 1981 |
| Mahmud Ali | National Council of Social Welfare (Minister of State) | 21 May 1979 to 9 March 1981 |
1981–1985: fourth presidential cabinet
In 1981, a new cabinet took oath under the presidency of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.[7]
Federal ministers
| Name | Portfolio | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq | Cabinet Division, Establishment Division, O & M Division, Women's Division, Commerce, Planning & Development Division, Population Division, Statistics Division, Railways, Religious Affairs & Minorities Affairs, Science and Technology, States & Frontier Regions Divisions, Defence, Health, Special Education & Social Welfare, Information & Broadcasting | 9 March 1981 to 24 March 1985 |
| Mohyuddin Baluch | Communications | 9 March 1981 to 26 February 1985 |
| Niaz Mohammad Arbab | Culture, Sports and Tourism | 9 March 1981 to 26 February 1985 |
| Ali Ahmed Talpur | Defence | 9 March 1981 to 26 February 1985 |
| Mohammad Ali Khan Hoti | Education | 9 March 1981 to 5 March 1983 |
| Ghulam Ishaq Khan | Finance and Economic Affairs, Commerce, Planning & Development, Water & Power | 9 March 1981 to 21 March 1985 |
| Mohammad Fazil Janjua | Food, Agriculture and Cooperatives, Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, Housing & Works | 9 March 1981 to 24 March 1985 |
| Agha Shahi | Foreign Affairs | 9 March 1981 to 9 March 1982 |
| Nasir Ud Din Jogezai | Health & Social Welfare, Health, Special Education & Social Welfare (Redesigned on 23 December 1982) | 9 March 1981 to 10 March 1984 |
| Inamul Haque Khan | Housing & Works | 9 March 1981 to 17 February 1983 |
| Illahi Bukhsh Soomro | Industries, Housing & Works | 9 March 1981 to 26 February 1985 |
| Raja Zafar-ul-Haq | Information & Broadcasting, Religious Affairs & Minorities Affairs | 9 March 1981 to 26 February 1985 |
| Mahmoud Haroon | Interior | 9 March 1981 to 18 November 1984 |
| Ghulam Dastgir Khan | Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, Local Government and Rural Development | 9 March 1981 to 26 February 1985 |
| Sharifuddin Pirzada | Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs (Redesignated on 17 January 1985) | 9 March 1981 to 21 December 1984 |
| Syed Fakhar Imam | Local Government and Rural Development | 9 March 1981 to 8 December 1983 |
| Rao Farman Ali | Petroleum and Natural Resources | 9 March 1981 to 10 March 1984 |
| Saeed Qadir | Production, National Logistic Board, Railways | 9 March 1981 to 24 March 1985 |
| Abbas Abbasi | Minister without Portfolio, Religious Affairs & Minorities Affairs | 9 March 1981 to 18 March 1984 |
| Jamal Dar | Kashmir Affairs and Northern Affairs | 9 March 1981 to 25 December 1982 |
| Raja Sikander Zaman | Water and Power, Kashmir Affairs & Northern Affairs | 9 March 1981 to 26 February 1985 |
| Sahabzada Yaqub Khan | Foreign Affairs | 21 March 1982 to 24 March 1985 |
| Muhammad Afzal | Education, Religious Affairs & Minorities Affairs | 5 March 1983 to 24 March 1985 |
| Jamal Said Mian | Kashmir Affairs & Northern Affairs, Local Government & Rural Development, Culture & Tourism | 5 March 1983 to 24 March 1985 |
| Abdul Ghafoor Hoti | Railways | 5 March 1983 to 26 February 1985 |
| Mahbub ul Haq | Planning & Development, Health, Special Education & Social Welfare, Industries | 14 April 1983 to 24 March 1985 |
| Zafarullah Khan Jamali | Local Government & Rural Development | 17 April 1984 to 26 February 1985 |
| F. S. Lodhi | Interior | 22 January 1985 to 24 March 1985 |
Ministers of state
| Name | Portfolio | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Zafarullah Khan Jamali | Food, Agriculture and Cooperatives | 9 March 1981 to 17 April 1984 |
| Mahmud Ali | Chairman, National Council of Social Welfare | 9 March 1981 to 26 February 1985 |
| Afifa Mamdot | Health, Special Education & Social Welfare, Women's Division | 9 March 1981 to 23 April 1984 |
| Muhammad Asad Khan | Petroleum & Natural Resources | 25 August 1983 to 24 March 1985 |
| Sartaj Aziz | Food, Agriculture & Cooperatives | 17 April 1984 to 24 March 1985 |
| Basahrat Jazbi | Health, Special Education & Social Welfare | 14 June 1984 to 26 February 1985 |
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1977 to 1979
On July 5, 1977, the forces of Pakistan army swiftly moved to arrest the Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, placing all the members of cabinet and leaders of Pakistan Peoples Party under house arrest. With entire party cadres under arrest, the regime faced little opposition until the death penalty for Bhutto was announced on 18 March 1978. His conviction was met with non-violent mass protests throughout Sindh and parts of Punjab. The protest in Nawabshah was crushed in first instance of mass murder by the regime where hundreds of protesting peasants were killed by use of combat helicopters on the orders of the provisional governor of Sindh Lieutenant-General S.M. Abbasi. This was followed by imposition of curfew in Nawabshah, Larkana, Sukkur, Hyderabad and parts of Karachi. The regime made thousands of arrests throughout Sindh and Punjab effectively banning display of the flag of Pakistan Peoples Party or its symbol. Cities throughout Sindh remained in continual state of curfew until April 4, 1979, when Bhutto was executed in secret, without a pre-announced date.[1] The execution was followed by pre-emptive curfew throughout Sindh and reactionary curfews in Multan, Bhawalpur and other parts of Punjab. More than 50 people protested in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, by self-immolation while thousands of participants and onlookers were arrested and jailed on grounds ranging from disruption of public order to sedition and high treason.
Public flogging of political prisoners was carried out by "bare-chested wrestlers" during the martial law era. Martial Law Regulation no.48 of October 1979 invoked a maximum penalty of 25 lashes for taking part in political activities.[8] All political activities being banned at that time.[9] When Islamic punishment were introduced, women were also flogged, a fact that the Pakistan Human Rights Society protested in August 1983. In Liaqatpur, Bahawalpur, a woman was lashed for Zina in front of a crowd of 5000.[8]
Movement for Restoration of Democracy
In February, 1981 a coalition of eleven, primarily leftist, political parties led by Pakistan Peoples Party formed the Movement for Restoration of Democracy. The movement was strongest in Sindh, which was not favored by prosperity or by General Zia. According to author Ian Talbot "massive repression was required" to crush the MRD agitations in Larkana, Khairpur, Jacobabad and Nawabshah.[10] The governor of Sindh was "forced to admit" that 1999 people had been arrested, 189 killed and 126 injured in the opening three weeks of the Movement's campaign.[10] The movement claimed a death toll in thousands. In Nawabshah helicopters of Pakistan military used combat helicopters to shoot masses of protesting peasants.[11] In Sukkur protestors were bulldozed on the instruction of army officer in charge when they refused orders to move and stop protesting. The human rights group Amnesty International reported that torture, imprisonment and violation of human rights increased steadily during 1981 and 6,000 political prisoners were arrested in March 1981.[12]
On September 27, 1982, General Zia issued an executive decree, the Martial Law Regulation No. 53, allowing the death sentence as the prescribed punishment for "any offense liable to cause insecurity, fear or despondency amongst the public." Crimes punishable under this measure, which superseded civil law, included "any act with intent to impair the efficiency or impede the working" of, or cause damage to, public property or the smooth functioning of government. Another was abetting "in any manner whatsoever" the commission of such an offense. The regulation also prohibited the failure to inform the police or army of the "whereabouts or any other information about such a person." It also provided that "a military court on the basis of police or any other investigation alone may, unless the contrary is proved, presume that this accused has committed the offense charged." Thus reversing the principle of justice that citizens are innocent until proven guilty. The regulation was retroactive, as it "shall be deemed to have taken effect on July 5, 1977"—the day General Zia overthrew his predecessor Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.[13]
During the 11 year regime of General Zia, international human rights groups repeatedly expressed concern over army's ruthless measures to suppress dissent. Amnesty International, in a report released on 15 May 1978 expressed that, "We are very concerned at the use of flogging in Pakistan and are disturbed that this unusual punishment is also being inflicted on political prisoners for committing acts which often appear to be no more than exercise of the right of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed in the constitution. The first public hanging took place in March, after death sentences were passed by a military court on three civilians convicted for murder. At least 16 prisoners have so far been sentenced to floggings for political activities."[14][13]
According to The Economist magazine: "Relatives, many of them teenagers, have in some cases been held temporarily as hostages until a wanted person was found. Bhutto's Attorney General, Yahya Bakhtiar was beaten up in his cell in Quetta jail this month: his family was given his bloodstained clothes for cleaning."[13][15]
The Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists citing a report by the Lahore Bar Association, charged that "systematic torture" occurred in five Lahore prisons in 1984, particularly at a jail where many political detainees were held. Military courts are used increasingly to clear the backlog of cases in ordinary courts. The survey cited reports that the military courts decide cases in minutes and refuse defendants the rights to lawyers. Special military courts that try serious offenses allow defense counsel but "the judges often obstruct the lawyers in their work," the survey said.[13][16]
On 19 November 1985, Amnesty International also accused the Zia regime of torturing and denying fair trials to political prisoners tried by special military courts. "As of September, more than 130 prisoners were serving sentences of between seven and 42 years after special military courts convicted them of political offenses or politically motivated criminal offenses. The military courts regularly use as evidence confessions extracted by torture while prisoners are hung upside down and beaten, given electric shocks, strapped to blocks of ice, deprived of food and sleep for two or three days and burned with cigarettes. Many prisoners are held in fetters and chains. People often are tried in courts held in closed session and denied the right of appeal to a higher court."[17] The number of prisoners held without trial and shot on site was estimated to be ten-fold.
In 1986 a national convention ended with a resolution calling for a commission to monitor human rights violations.[18]
International Commission of Jurists again published a report on 7 September 1987 stating that "some human rights abuses continue in Pakistan, including alleged military attacks on villagers, despite the lifting of martial law 20 months ago." The ICJ report cited reports by villagers who said their villages were raided and looted by soldiers sometimes accompanied by local police. "Some male villagers were shot to death and women beaten, in at least two cases pregnant women, who subsequently miscarried."[13] When Zia died in 1988, the reputed Paris daily Le Monde wrote, "Certainly, no defender of democracy or human rights is going to shed tears over General Zia's death."[19]
The Zia-ul-Haq military regime coincided with much of the Soviet–Afghan War (December 1979 to February 1989), which took place across its border and which Pakistan was a major participant helping the mujahideen insurgents against the Soviets. Despite the human rights situation in Pakistan being assessed as "very grim" during this era, the United States's Ronald Reagan administration—a major supporter of the Afghan mujahideen—continued to provide military and economic assistance to the Zia ul-Haq government.[20]
Women's rights
The 1979 Hudood Ordinance decreed by General Zia ul-Haq replaced parts of the secular, British-era Pakistan Penal Code, adding new criminal offenses of adultery and fornication, and new punishments of whipping, amputation, and stoning to death.[21][22] Pakistani women's rights activists and lawyers and international human rights organizations alleged that the ordinance made it exceptionally difficult and dangerous to prove an allegation of rape. Although Zia was killed in 1988, the effects of the law continued until 2006 when it was amended.
In 1979, before the ordinances went into effect there were 70 women held in Pakistani prisons, by 1988 there were 6000.[23] A 2003 report by the National Commission on Status of Women (NCSW) estimated "80% of women" were incarcerated because "they had failed to prove rape charges and were consequently convicted of adultery."[24][25][26][27] According to legal scholar Martin Lau
While it was easy to file a case against a woman accusing her of adultery, the Zina Ordinance made it very difficult for a woman to obtain bail pending trial. Worse, in actual practice, the vast majority of accused women were found guilty by the trial court only to be acquitted on appeal to the Federal Shariat Court. By then they had spent many years in jail, were ostracized by their families, and had become social outcasts.[21]
Two other decrees or proposed decrees that caused a fervor among women activists were the Diyat Ordinance (which set the "blood money" compensation for a woman victim at half that for a male),[28] and later the proposed Law of Evidence (which required two women to testify in place of one man).[28] Human Rights Watch complained the laws relegated women to "inferior legal status" to men.[29]
These were opposed by Women's groups (All Pakistan Women's Association and Women’s Action Forum (which was formed by Najma Sadeque). These rules were challenged on an Islamic basis—the opponents offered an alternative interpretation of the ayah (verse) Quranic injunction [Quran 2:282] used as the basis of the law, emphasised that in other ayat (verses) men and women are assumed to be equal, and noted the importance of the importance of the testimony of two of Muhammad's wives, (Khadija and Aisha) in early Muslim history.[28]
These pious rebuttal notwithstanding, the protesters were met with tear gas and lathi (baton) charges by police outside the High Court building.[28]
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In 1982 Zia decreed new articles 298B and 298C of the Pakistani Penal Code. They prohibited the small Ahmadiyya religious minority from saying or implying they were Muslims, to "preach or propagate by words wither spoken or written" or to use Islamic terminology or Muslim practices of worship. Human rights advocates found these laws violated the principles of freedom to profess religion, freedom of speech and equality of citizens enshrined in both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Constitution of Pakistan.[30]
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The repression of journalists started with the imposition of ban on the publication of the Daily Musawaat (Urdu: مساوات "Equity"). In response to the ban the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists came out openly against the regime. After the failure of efforts to convince the Martial Law authorities to lift the ban, the PFUJ launched a campaign of hunger strike in Karachi from December 1, 1977. The strike was a surprising success, as journalists and press workers from all over the country participated, and within eight days the government lifted the ban.[31] Unchastened the government rebounded from this setback by banning other periodicals: the daily Musawaat in Lahore, and weeklies including Al-Fatah and Meyar, all of which were critical of the Martial Law regime.[31]
After negotiations failed, journalists and press workers launched another hunger strike in Lahore from April 30 to May 30, 1978. To break the strike, hunger strikers were arrested and sentenced under Martial Law Regulations for six months to one year rigorous imprisonment. Three—Khawar Naeem, Iqbal Jaferi Hashimi and Nasir Zaidi—were flogged, while a fourth, Masoodullah Khan, was spared on the intervention of the doctor. Full publicity in official media was given to a break-away, pro-government PFUJ (created by four PFUJ members and known as the "Rashid Siddiqui Group"), who condemning the strike.[31][32]
In October 1978, along with banning all political parties and meetings, rigid censorship was established. Editors of "defamatory" publications were subject to punishment of ten lashes and 25 years of imprisonment.[33]
In January 1982, direct government censorship was ended and editors no longer had to submit stories to Government censors before publication. However, the Government continued to ban press/media coverage of political activity, "which, according to some reporters here, merely shifted the burden of responsibility to editors, making them more vulnerable and therefore more timid."[12]
Ten senior journalists and office-bearers of the PFUJ belonging to the National Press Trust newspapers—Pakistan Times, Imroze, and Mashriq—were summarily removed from service because they signed an appeal for “Peace in Sindh“ calling for an end to government repression during the 1983 MRD campaign.[31]
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