Word: ayub
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President Ayub Khan had evidently seriously misjudged the mood of Pakistan. Three weeks ago, in an effort to calm the country's increasingly troubled political scene, the President ordered the arrest of left-leaning Opposition Leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. But the un rest continued, and last week, in one of Pakistan's most turbulent periods since independence in 1947, thousands of angry citizens, mostly students, surged through the streets virtually every day in protest against Ayub's rule...
Their demands were varied: the release of Bhutto, improvements in education, better living conditions, press freedom, an end to emergency laws and to Ayub's presidential system, which is based on a narrow electoral college of 120,000 privileged people. Demonstrations, some peaceful, some unruly, hit at least three dozen towns and cities in both West and East Pakistan...
...police were generally restrained, but occasionally used tear gas and let fly with their lathis, or steel-tipped bamboo poles. In Rawalpindi, 20,000 students marched for seven hours, shouting "Death to Ayub!" and "Bhutto zin-dabad!" (Long live Bhutto.) It was the largest protest in the capital since Ayub came to power ten years ago. The crowd was peaceful at first, but then attacked two pro-government newspaper offices...
Though unable to unite Pakistan's fractious opposition parties, Bhutto stumped the country, drawing bigger crowds than Ayub. His militant nationalism and fiery rhetoric made him a popular figure in the universities. For his part, Bhutto hinted privately that he was counting on popular unrest to give him a boost in next year's elections. The riots upset that timing...
...lowering of the passing mark from 50% to 45%. Later goondas, or hooligans, joined in, and the demonstrators turned violent, burning buses and cars. By last week, the riots had spread through West Pakistan, causing four deaths and 70 arrests. The protesters echoed Bhutto's charges that Ayub's government is undemocratic and corrupt. Bhutto in turn helped fuel the riots. In the midst of the demonstrations, he set out on a whistle-stop tour from Peshawar to Lahore, declaring that "we do not want bloodshed, but we are not afraid of bloodshed. I am with the students...