August 14, 1947 marks a historic event that witnessed the birth of one of the most important countries in the world. The list of initial problems of Pakistan is too long to be discussed in a single article. Most of the initial issues were designed to destabilize the fledgling nation. Partition wasn’t the only problem; Pakistan also had to form a new government in a country with many hostile borders. This was one of the crucial initial challenges faced by Pakistan. Summary: Pakistan’s independence and establishment took a lot of effort and sacrifice from hundreds of thousands.
Pakistan’s Initial Problems
Here’s a brief list of some of the first problems Pakistan faced after its partition. Quaid-e Azam was elected Governor-General of Pakistan on August 14, 1947.
He declared,
1.Geographical Issues
Pakistan was split into two parts, each more than a thousand miles from one another. East Pakistan includes the majority of Bengal and the Sylhet area. The Sylhet region voted to join Pakistan through a referendum. West Pakistan is comprised of the provinces West Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. Pakistan also acquired the princely kingdoms Dir, Swat, and Chitral, Amb. Hunza, Gilgit and Hunza. These two wings of Pakistan were divided by approximately 1000 km by the Indian region. These two wings shared nothing except religion.
2.Politics
The British left India carrying furniture and government buildings as well as officials. These items were not available in Pakistan. India had political experience. This included members of the Indian National Congress who were charged with running the administration. The majority of the members of Pakistan’s constituent Assembly were landowners and wealthy people with little political experience. Quaid-e Azam would have to identify capital and a government. This was because Pakistan did not have the administrative and government apparatus needed to manage the affairs of a new nation. It was not surprising that Quaid-e Azzam had TB.
3.Economic Issues
Pakistan’s economic problems stemmed from its lack of industrial development and underdevelopment. Only Karachi was connected to central Indian industrialization, while the rest of Pakistan did not have a modern port. The majority of residents lived in rural areas, with the exception of 10% who were residing in cities. Pakistan’s agriculture did not produce enough surplus to support industrialization. Pakistan’s foreign exchange earnings were dominated by jute exports. However, the problems caused by partition can be seen in Pakistan’s failure to have any jute mills for 4 years. All of the jute mills were owned by the new India.
As a percentage of Pakistan’s GDP after partition, Pakistan’s economic assets:
The industrial sector was home to many businesses.10%
About 80% of industrial workers are employed in the manufacturing industry.6.5% of the workforce
Electricity capacity5%
Mineral deposits are accounted for10%The total
4.Electricity issues
Due to India’s transfer of Muslim majority areas to India, the West Punjab energy system was disrupted. This was also due to unjust demarcation as all power stations were located in Mundi, an area with a predominantly Muslim population that India donated to India. Quaid-Azam stated:
WE MUST CONFRONT WITH TENACITY & POWER IN ORDER TO SURVIVE A NATION.
5.Social Problems
Pakistan was divided into five areas with its own social issues. It was actually five countries, according to some historians. It was clear that there were five distinct demographic groups.
Pakhtuns in North
Balochs in West
Sindhis in South
North East Punjabis
Bengalis in East
These individuals had different traditions, lifestyles, languages, and customs. Baluchistan, Bengal, and Urdu were not able to decide in 1947 whether they wanted to transfer their loyalty to Pakistan.
6.The Accession to The Princely States
Lord Mountbatten offered 462 princely states the choice between India or Pakistan. Their geography and faith made it easy. In 1947, the northern Pakistani provinces of Dir and Swat, Chitral, and Amb joined Pakistan. Both Sylhet in the East and Bahawalpur in the West joined Pakistan via referendum.
Hyderabad
Hyderabad, with a population of 160 million, was the most populous princely realm. It was prosperous with an income of 160 million rupees. Nizam had wanted to join Pakistan but was prevented from entering India by India’s non-Muslim population. In August, he filed a complaint to UNO. But, the Indian armies took Hyderabad long before the complaint could be heard.
Junagarh
Junagarh was a small state 300 miles south of Karachi, on the coast. Although its ruler was Muslim, the majority of its population was not. Prince declared his intention to join Pakistan in 1947. Lord Mountbatten, however, told Pakistan that Junagarh’s admission was a violation of Indian sovereignty and territory. The Indian army eventually surrounded the state and seized control. The Pakistani government has filed a protest against the unlawful occupation with the United Nations, but this issue is still being resolved.
The Kashmir Problem
The state of Jammu and Kashmir was the source of the most serious dispute between India and Pakistan. Its strategic significance stemmed from its borders to Russia, China, Afghanistan, and Tibet. The majority of Kashmir’s 4,000,000 inhabitants were Muslims. However, the Maharaja was Hindu. In September 1947, he began to expel many Muslims from Kashmir. More than 200,000 people fled to Pakistan and eventually revolted against the Muslims. To defeat the Muslims, Maharaja Hari Singh was forced to seek help from India. Maharaja Hari Singh agreed to join India with Indian assistance. Pakistan also sent soldiers to help in the Kashmir conflict (Muslims). Both sides were unable to wage a long battle. In January 1948, the United Nations received the matter. A cease-fire was reached on January 1, 1949, and Kashmir was divided between India and Pakistan. India controls most of Kashmir, including Srinagar. After the situation had stabilized, the Indian Prime Minister Nehru called for a plebiscite to determine the aspirations of the Kashmiris. The referendum has yet to take place.
7.The Partition of Financial and Military Assets
The assets were to be divided 17:5 between India & Pakistan. This was a proportional split of the country’s population and size. It was decided that Pakistan would receive 750 million rupees out of the 4 billion rupees. India refused to pay the remaining 200 million rupees, saying that Pakistan would only use it to purchase weapons to fight India. Gandhi insisted that assets be distributed fairly and made repeated attempts to get India to pay him the money. Gandhi persuaded India to pay 500 million rupees more and threatened to go on a hunger strike. India and Pakistan shared 36% and 64% of the military equipment and armed forces, respectively.
The option was available for military personnel to serve in any country they chose. Non-Muslim troops were sent to India, while Muslim troops were sent to Pakistan. Pakistan’s 150,000-strong army had only 2500 Muslim officers. It needed 4000 officers and Jinnah had to temporarily acquire 500 British officers. India owned all 16 ordnance factories and refused to give any. Pakistan did not have a military-industrial complex. India agreed to pay 60 million rupees for the ordnance plant. India agreed to give over its military supplies, which were often old, worn, and broken.
8.Canal Water Dispute
The history of the canal water problem dates back to 1947 when Punjab was divided. West Pakistan is irrigated with a network of canals that draw water from the three main rivers in the region: Jhelum (Indus), Chenab (Chenab). Pakistan faced a problem because the water flow was controlled by numerous headworks in India’s East Punjab region. India and Pakistan soon find themselves in a water war. Pakistan demanded an international court to hear the case, but India declined. In May 1948, India finally allowed water from East Punjab to flow into West Punjab temporarily.
9. The Refugee Crisis and Housing Shortages
In the years preceding the partition, violence was frequent between Muslims and non-Muslims in India. There were several deaths in riots that occurred during summer 1947. After the Boundary Award in August 1947, things got worse. Millions of people were wrongly moved to the wrong country and became victims of violence within their communities. This year witnessed some of the most horrific communal violence and the most extraordinary migration in history. Around 20 million people had moved from India to Pakistan by January 1948. Many Muslim historians believe that Hindus and Sikhs conspired in order to kill Muslim migrants. Due to the violence and hardship of the voyage, a million people, including children, died. Nearly ten million people have been forced to flee their homes. Over 2 million migrants arrived in Karachi just in 1947. Pakistan would not have been able to host such a large population. In September 1947, the authorities in Delhi had to declare martial law after non-Muslims began killing native Muslims. India and Pakistan were so worried about sectarian violence, they began working together to end it.
10. 10.
Pakistan’s greatest post-independence concern was its lack of developed cities compared to India. Pakistani politicians only have a handful of options for capital cities. Karachi was designated as the government capital, and officers and officials from Delhi traveled to Karachi to set up shop. There were not enough records, offices or furnishings. Many government offices were located in military barracks during this difficult period. After 20 years of division, Islamabad became the second capital of Pakistan on August 14, 1967, under the administration of Ayub Khan.
11. Language issues
At independence, Pakistan was home to more than 70 languages. In 1956, however, Urdu was the only official language. This created animosity among the Bengalis of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), which led to riots that eventually led to the founding of Bangladesh. The leaders were negligent and the situation resulted in many deaths.
12. 12.
Nawab Zada Liaqat Ali Khan, almost one year after Pakistan’s independence, was shot to death at Company Bagh Rawalpindi in 1951. He was addressing more than 1 million people. Pakistan is now without leaders who truly care about the country, due to the deaths of both presidents. Instead, the country was brought to its knees by bureaucracy as well as disingenuous leaders.
13. 13.
One of the greatest problems faced by the early Pakistanis was the lack of a constitution. As a result, many revisions to the Indian Act of 1934 were made and then approved temporarily as an interim constitution.
14. 14.
Pakistan became anxious about protecting its borders after it was independent due to both eastern and western frontier concerns. Afghanistan refused to acknowledge Pakistan in the West and was the only country to reject Pakistan’s UN membership. The situation with India in East Asia was also not favorable. Additionally, the supply of modern military hardware was limited. Securing Pakistan’s borders was a major concern at that time.
Conclusion
This article was about Pakistan’s early problems. Although Pakistan was faced with many difficulties and hardships after independence, Pakistan fought back bravely and survived.