The Field Marshal’s testament

ield Marshal Ayub Khan's diaries, written between 1966 and 1972, cover 600 pages. On the face of it, they appear to have been competently edited by former US diplomat Craig Baxter. I say "appear to have been" because unless one has viewed the original manuscript, one cannot know what has been edited out or excised. A Pakistani editor – they do exist, let me assure Capt Gauhar Ayub Khan – would have been preferable because he would have had a more informed perspective on what is described. The Field Marshal had bequeathed all his papers to Altaf Gauhar; but for reasons that need not be gone into here, his wish that his highly trusted aide deal with them as he thought best could not be honoured. I do not find fault with Baxter's effort; on the other hand, we should be grateful for the publication of the diaries because they do lift the curtain on several things, although they leave it dangling over many others. But that is the way it always is, be it with daily journals or autobiographies.

There are two questions whose answers one would hope to find in these diaries but one does not. The first is, why was the 1965 war fought and why was Operation Gibraltar launched? Ayub offers no explanation. In fact, in more than one place, he holds India responsible for the conflict. However, the fact is that, had the ill-fated and poorly planned and executed Operation Gibraltar not been launched, there would have been no war a month later. While it is true that the Pakistani soldiers fought with great gallantry and the officers brought honour to their calling, there were no winners. The second question that Ayub does not answer is why he violated his own 1962 constitution by handing over the reins of the state to Gen Yahya Khan, his commander-in-chief. Or maybe the ending was logical. Ayub had come to power through unconstitutional means and he exited power by the same route.

Ayub Khan comes across as a thinking man who tried to do his best for Pakistan. He worked hard and his outlook was progressive and enlightened. He had the ability to go further than he did, but what distance he did cover will always do him credit. In his dealings with kings, presidents and prime ministers, you can see the man holding his own and dealing with them as equals. It was not possible to pull rank on him. He was a confident leader who did much good for Pakistan – despite his shortcomings, which every strong ruler (even one most benevolent, which he was) bears. He was not a democrat, but he was a man of reason and he was tolerant. Unlike most military rulers, he was not cruel. While it is true that he let his firstborn go into business, Ayub was honest. All that he left behind was his retirement home in Islamabad – regrettably sold for profit by his sons to the Great Hotelier – and his farm and orchards in his beloved Hazara. Compared to what even the lowliest of the low have done since with public money and state lands, Ayub Khan's conduct in power remains angelic.

Ayub did not like Bhutto, who is dealt with in the bitterest of tones throughout; and he did not like communists, with whom he felt certain quarters were infested, such as the Progressive Papers Ltd. He writes that he took over the PPL because he wanted to purge the communists working there. Ayub's observations on men and matters are often a delight to read. Of Ghaffar Khan he says, "He is trying to persuade the Afghans to allow him to set up a provisional government of Pakhtoonistan. He is supposed to have told a friend, ‘The King of Afghanistan calls me uncle and so does the President of Pakistan, but the trouble is that my nephews don't listen to me.' Who can listen to such a man!" In 1966, Charles de Gaulle asked Ayub if India would not disintegrate were Kashmir to be settled. Ayub replied, "If India was so fragile, then what is the good of attempting to hold it together?" Ayub told his finance minister N. M. Uqaili in 1967 that there were three jobs he would never like to have. To be a bearer, a cook or a finance minister, because whatever you do, you can never please your master. Our present rulers may perhaps like to follow Ayub's example when he handed over a Trident aircraft bought for his use to the PIA, saying, "It would have hurt me to see this expensive aircraft just tied up for my sake."

It was Dr Abdus Salam who advised Ayub to develop the nuclear option. An entry recorded in August 1967 reads, "Dr Salam, my scientific adviser, came to see me. He pleaded that now we are setting up a nuclear power plant, we must invest in a plutonium separation plant. It will help us to produce our own nuclear fuel and also give us a nuclear option." Ayub was an enlightened man. The following entry sums up his understanding of Islam. "It is necessary to educate our young people in the ideology of Islam, similarly, it is necessary to acquaint them with Islamic history and Islamic traditions. At high levels of education there should be adequate opportunities for students to specialise in theology. However, all this has to be done in the context of present-day realities and contemporary requirements. The object should be to enable the people to imbibe the spirit of Islam and to move with the times in the full consciousness of Islamic values." An entry in 1968, when Dr Fazlur Rehman had to resign because all the mullahdom of Pakistan had risen against him, reads, "It is quite clear that any form of research on Islam which inevitably leads to new interpretations has no chance of acceptance in this priest-ridden and ignorant society. These people will not allow Islam to become a vehicle of progress. What will be the future of such an Islam in the age of reason and science is not difficult to predict."

Of Altaf Hussain, editor of Dawn , who had joined his cabinet, Ayub writes, "As the editor of Dawn, he used to criticise and admonish the whole world, but since he has become the minister, he has turned into a dead mouse. He just does not open his mouth in public." The Queen of England told Ayub when Tito's name came up, "For a brigand, he has done remarkably well." There is a priceless 1967entry on Sharifuddin Prizada, "I am getting concerned about Mr Pirzada, our foreign minister. He has not proved much of a success. He is on the run in foreign countries most of the time and often purposelessly. Very suspicious by nature. Has hardly any communication with the staff. Chases small things most of the time and is frightened of taking a definite stand on any issue. There is also some suspicion that he is not above telling a lie. So I am in a fix as to what to do with him." For the next 40 years, Pirzada did quite well, something Ayub would have found inexplicable

And of the Pir of Dewal Sharif, who in those days was said to be "Ayub's pir," the Field Marshal writes, "After usual pleasantries, which is the normal technique of softening a person, he made several requests. Some mullahs operating against his leadership should be dealt with. I should provide the money for an institute that he wants to run and that I should build a mosque in his village. The Auqaf Department of West Pakistan, Mr Masood (Khaddarposh) should be removed from his job, and he is not helping his party people. There is no dearth of my ‘well wishers.' The only trouble is that they happen to be very expensive."

With that, I award game, set and match to the Field Marshal, Teri yaad aayee teray janay ke baad.