Opinion April 25, 1977, Forty Years Ago: Pak Long March

Arshad Chowdhury, a member of the PNA’s national council, said, “This time, Bhutto has decided to burn his boats.” He was seeking “to set the army and the people against each other,” he said.

Prime Minister Z.A. Bhutto, Z.A. Bhutto, PNA national council, Congress, Supreme Court, Janata Party , indian express news, indian express editorial

A look at the front page of The Indian Express, published on April 25, 1977, Forty Years Ago.

By: Express News Service

April 25, 2017 12:00 AM IST First published on: Apr 25, 2017 at 12:00 AM IST

A look at the front page of The Indian Express, published on April 25, 1977, Forty Years Ago.

Bhutto, to demand that he resign. The opposition said it hoped that more than two million people would join the march. Some 240 people have died in seven weeks of a violent campaign to unseat Bhutto and major cities are under martial law. Among the arrested leaders were PNA chairman, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, secretary general, Wazir Ali, and vice-president Mohammad Jan Abbasi, who had been named the head of the mission to meet the armed forces chief of staff, Zia ul Haq. Arshad Chowdhury, a member of the PNA’s national council, said, “This time, Bhutto has decided to burn his boats.” He was seeking “to set the army and the people against each other,” he said.

Plea To President

Twenty five Congress MPs, worried over the fate of nine Congress governments, submitted a memorandum to Acting President B.D. Jatti, urging him to use his right, under Article 143 of the Constitution, and seek the Supreme Court’s advice on the question of the dissolution of the assemblies. Pending the Supreme Court’s advice, Jatti should refrain from taking recourse to Article 356, which provides for the imposition of president’s rule in the states. However, MPs could meet only the secretary to the president, who told the delegation that Jatti was indisposed and, under medical advice, could not meet his visitors, much as he would have like to.

Janata’s Invite

The ruling Janata Party threw open its doors to members of the Rajya Sabha and the state assemblies belonging to other parties. The party’s executive committee decided that RS MPs and MLAs desirous of joining the Janata Party “will be admitted without any conditions or reservations from them or from the Janata Party”.