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The short of Benazir’s “long march”
Benazir Bhutto, co-chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party and leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, was pining for a return to power but had no prospects in the near future. And she was not willing to wait until the term of the Nawaz Sharif government was over and new elections were held.
Suddenly she got an inspiration and announced on November 10, 1992, that she would launch a “long march” towards Islamabad just eight days later. It was a surprise for everybody because there was no political unrest to justify such an agitation. Then, barely a week was not enough time to or­ganize such a big move. The COP and IJI components, dissatisfied with Nawaz Sharif, had fallen apart but the Prime Minister still had an overwhelm­ing major­ity in the National Assembly. And the way he had worked hard during the floods, visiting all affected areas, had made him quite popular.
There were indi­cations that the inspiration for the “long march” had come from power­ful quarters. Dr Maleeha Lodhi, a well-known journalist and the editor of the English daily, The News, Islamabad, was reported to be in very intimate contact with Gen. Asif Nawaz, the Chief of Army Staff. She was also very close to Benazir Bhutto.
The Punjab Chief Minister called a meeting to discuss Benazir’s call. Besides Shehbaz Sharif, Ch. Pervez Elahi, Arshad Lodhi, those who at­tended it included the Chief Secretary, I and Additional IGP, Special Branch.
To everyone the call appeared to be enigmatic. There was consensus in the meeting that the people were not in a mood for agitation. Then why a sudden call for it? On being asked for an assessment, I said, “The move ap­pears to be a result of desperation. According to my information, Bena­zir is pregnant. Her husband has been in jail for the last two years. She is feeling very awkward that she is having a baby while her husband is in jail though he was allowed to spend time with her during his visits to Islama­bad to attend the National Assembly sessions. She was sure that her hus­band would be re­leased after completing the period of two years after which it became manda­tory for the court to grant bail. But the government had changed the law. He is still in there and she does not know how to ex­plain her pregnancy to the people. I think the situation will change if her husband is released on bail.”
Everybody laughed. I said I was not joking. Wyne Sahib turned to the Chief Secretary, who said laugh­ing, “Such information is only with Ch. Sardar.” I insisted on the accuracy of my information about Benazir’s preg­nancy, “I am the IG and you have to believe me.” The meeting, however, gave little importance to my information.
After discussion on various aspects of the planned agitation, the Chief Minister decided that it should be handled in accordance with law and the cir­cumstances on the ground. Our appre­ciation of the situation was that there was little possibility of any violence. If PPP did indulge in it, the local offi­cers would take necessary action.

It’s just a procession. The next day the Prime Minister held a meet­ing in the Governor House, Lahore. The participants included the Governor and the Chief Minister, relevant offi­cers of the Punjab and Islamabad ad­mini­stra­tions, some federal minis­ters (Mian Abdul Sattar Laleka, Ch. Shuja’at Husain, Sh. Rashid Ahmad), the Director, Intelligence Bureau, and the Direc­tor General, ISI.
Brig (Retd) Imtiaz Ahmad, DIB, in his analysis, gave a very grim pic­ture, as if an invading army was about to move in. He told the meeting that the PPP crowds would come well-prepared and armed. If they were allowed to enter Islamabad, they would occupy the Presidency, the Prime Minister House, the parliament house and the television and radio stations. Lt Gen. Javed Nasir, DG, ISI, developed the siege scenario further and urged the banning of the planned public meeting at Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi, and stopping at the river bridges at Attock and Jhelum the processions coming from the NWFP and central Punjab respectively. He even went so far as to suggest that the PPP processions must be stopped at the very source in every city, without realizing how widespread conflict and trouble it would cause throughout the country. Both officers showed little understanding of political dynamics.
Nawaz Sharif, as Chief Minister, Punjab, had faced many simi­lar situa­tions in a cool manner. But the DIB and DG, ISI, had drawn such a frighten­ing scenario that I was afraid he might take a wrong decision. The Is­lama­bad administration also appeared totally terrified, as I gathered from my dis­cussion with Jahanzeb Burki, IGP, Islamabad.
So, after getting permission to speak, I started giving my views. “I think our appreciation goes wrong when the term ‘long march’ is used, conjuring up a great fear. Instead, if we call it a procession, everything will fall in place. In fact, it will be nothing but a pro­cession. Mian Sahib, since 1986 you have always allowed opposition proces­sions to spend their fury and peter out. Please treat this precession also the same way. Moreover, you cannot ban and stop such activity in a democratic set-up. It is not a martial law situation. The military plan, given by Gen. Javed Nasir Sahib, is not relevant at all. You are a politician and should take a political deci­sion. Let them go to the parliament house. If they indulge in violence, you can always use legal force against them. You can even call in the army. Any way, the move is not likely to attract popular support and could, at the most, become a show of party workers. So, please, I repeat, don’t call it a long march. It is just a pro­cession. Nothing will happen if it is allowed to reach the Parliament build­ing.”
All ministers agreed with me. Ch. Shuja’at, in a truly political man­ner, went on to suggest that the government should instead pro­vide re­freshments for the procession. But Jamshed Burki, Inte­rior Secretary, and Jahanzeb Burki, IGP Islamabad, were very fright­ened and did not want to take the slightest risk. They proposed that nobody should be allowed to enter Islama­bad at all. In fact, they wanted the entire Punjab constabulary to be placed at their disposal in Islamabad. I offered the whole of it.
Pervez Masud, Chief Secretary, went on even to propose that Is­lama­bad and the Punjab might be treated as one administration and the pro­cession might be allowed on his responsibility. He was going out of the way only to help and take the responsibility for smooth administration but Jamshed Burki interpreted it as an encroachment on his authority. Saeed Meh­di, Chief Commissioner, Islamabad, was the only one to agree with us. He offered to discuss ar­rangements with the local PPP leadership to regulate the proces­sion in case it was permitted.
The Prime Minister agreed in principle with the proposal of the Punjab gov­ern­ment to allow the public meeting at Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi, and the follow-up procession on the announced date of November 18. The final de­cision, however, would be taken in Islamabad by the Interior Minister after discussing with the Chief Minister of the NWFP, and the Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir, as the processions were to come from these two areas also. He also issued instruc­tions that the term “long march” should not be used on tele­vision and radio.

Bureaucrats overwhelm politicians. The Interior Secretary, DIB and DG, ISI, pumped up the hardliners like Ch. Nisar Ali and Malik Naeem to such an extent that we were not even listened to in the next meeting. The DIB spoke so forcefully that Ch. Shuja’at Husain, Interior Minister, raised his hands in the air and announced that he dared not take any risk as it ap­peared that Islamabad “was go­ing to be under attack.”
Similarly, the army officers, working in very vital positions as intelli­gence chiefs but with no understanding of the political dynamics, were put­ting the Prime Minister on a collision course by creating baseless fears. The para­noia of martial law days was back, thanks to their success in shaking the self-confidence of Nawaz Sharif, something that, to my knowl­edge, had never happened during the previous six years. That was the greatest harm they could cause him. I felt sorry for him when he joined the meeting and took the final decision not to allow the public meeting and the proces­sion. It did not augur well for de­mocracy.

Ghulam Haider Wyne held another meeting in Lahore and decided to handle the matter tactfully and softly. Section 144 of the Criminal Proce­dure Code was imposed in Rawalpindi and the planned public meet­ing in Liaquat Bagh was banned. Similar action was taken in a few other dis­tricts. The dis­trict administration and police were, however, advised to ignore the pro­ces­sions and re­lease the PPP workers even if they had to be arrested to maintain law and or­der.
The Islamabad administration, on the other hand, took a very tough line, bordering on clumsiness. The foreign television sta­tions showed pictures of the police charging Benazir Bhutto and Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi with lathis. It was not required at all. In spite of all efforts to stop them, they slipped into Rawalpindi, where DIG Habibulla Niazi, politely and tactfully, drove them away in their own vehi­cle to the State Guest House. The democratic gov­ernment got a bad name only because of an erroneous appreciation of the situation by unduly frightened peo­ple with no administrative experience in civilian affairs or political understanding.
By contrast, the PPP leaders were treated in the Punjab so nicely that they found it hard to believe their eyes. In Gujranwala the police had to de­tain Begum Nusrat Bhutto, Jahangir Badar, Ghulam Mustafa Khar and Aitzaz Ah­san. They were lodged comfortably in a rest house. They were looked after so well that Aitzaz could not help asking DIG Azhar Hasan Nadeem why he was so nice to them. Azhar told him that it was simply out of com­mon courtesy. But Aitzaz refused to believe that the police was doing it on its own.
“I know you people have been given the bamboo well and proper by General Asif Nawaz,” he said.
“I am not aware of any instructions from anybody,” Azhar Hasan tried to assure him. “I am doing it only as my duty.”
“No, no, it is not that at all,” Aitzaz insisted. “I know from where the instructions are coming. President Clinton has also warned you not to touch us. He and Asif Nawaz will not let any harm come to us.” Then, in the typi­cal style of PPP leaders, he warned him, “When we come into power, we shall settle all scores with officers who misbehave with us.”
Azhar Hasan did not know how to remove the misconception. But if a top PPP leader was so sure of support and sympathy coming from the army chief and the President-elect of the U.S., it was clear from where the inspira­tion for the “long march” had come.

In our jurisdiction in the Punjab, we decided to follow the law and pro­priety. Action was taken only where it was absolutely essen­tial. The police was instructed not to interfere at all in the “train march” and then the “road march.” There were some small gather­ings on the way. In fact, the police was not even deployed at most places. In my view, the move had no popular appeal and I did not want to waste time and energy of the police.
However, Ch. Nisar Ali and Jamshed Burki felt jittery. Ch. Nisar Ali con­veyed to me and Pervez Masud “the displeasure of the Prime Minister for being soft.” Both of us told him that we would talk to the Prime Minis­ter our­selves and we did at the airport. He denied that he was displeased with us. He told Pervez Masud that he had full faith in our talents and wanted us to deal with the situation according to the circumstances.

The so-called “long march” did not evoke much response. The ad­mini­stration did not mishandle it in the Punjab in spite of the pres­sures from the Interior Ministry and Ch. Nisar Ali. There was no lathi charge or use of force even when some of the processionists burnt the door of the Punjab Assembly. The Speaker, Manzoor Ah­mad Wattoo, was extremely perturbed and talked to me in great an­ger but I refused to over-react.
The organizers of the processions were denied any casualties or pro­vocations that they would have loved to have to build up their agitation. The Punjab government handled it with sagacity and tact in spite of the fu­rious disapproval of President Ghulam Ishaq, who was extremely un­happy that we did nothing to “crush them properly.”
Some in Islamabad even called Pervez Masud and me “timid” for our recti­tude. We did not bother much about it as we had been through such things throughout our careers. We were, in fact, proud that our approach caused no loss of life or limb and saved a legiti­mately elected government from being sucked into an imbroglio by the conspiracies of some of the most powerful persons.
Benazir was naturally very frustrated as her move failed to cause even a ripple and left for London “for being sick.” Asif Zardari was relea­sed on bail and joined her before the birth of a daughter. The gov­ernment of Nawaz Sharif behaved in a friendly manner and Benazir did not have to face any em­barrassment regarding pregnancy. She was worried unneces­sarily.
The “long march” turned out to be a procession of little conse­quence. The term, made famous by Mao and his followers in China, had been mis­used by the PPP for something that was neither long nor much of a march.