History of Pakistan

From the era of British rule, Pakistan inherited a backward economy. And it included more economically backward areas of the former British India. In the division of 1947, Pakistan accounted for only about 9.6% of the total number of industrial enterprises, 5.3% of the installed capacity of power plants, and 6.5% of industrial workers. Moreover, because of the economic dislocation caused by the division, mass migration of the population, the disruption of the existing production and commercial relations, financial difficulties in the first years of independence, industrial enterprises usually could not work at full capacity. At the same time, although 90% of the population of Pakistan lived in the village and it included the Punjab areas, formerly the breadbasket of British India, the stagnation of agriculture, created by the domination of the semi-feudal relations in the village, caused a shortage of a number of important agricultural products, gave rise to an acute food problem . Already in 1953-1957 years. Net imports of food grains amounted to an impressive figure - an average of 607 thousand tons per year, but it did not save the majority of the country's population from the half-starved conditions of existence. The economic difficulties, the plight of the masses and, as a result, the growth of their discontent, finally, the contradictions and the power struggle between the various groups of the ruling classes left a heavy imprint on the whole course of Pakistan's internal political evolution after winning independence.

In this evolution, four periods can be distinguished. The first of them (August 1947-October 1958) is characterized by particularly strong vestiges of the country's colonial past in both the economy and politics. Despite the proclamation of Pakistan 's independence , the positions of British imperialism here continued to be very impressive. This was facilitated by the economic weakness and backwardness of Pakistan, as well as the traditional views of its political elite. Until 1954, the political league of Pakistan was dominated by the Muslim League, which held power in the center and in all provinces. Its leadership acted in the interests of land magnates and a large Muslim bourgeoisie. This manifested itself in a wide variety of spheres: tax policy and public expenditure, the all-out support of the upper classes of the ruling classes, especially the big landowners, and the inability to fulfill promises to improve the living conditions of the majority of the country's population, and so on.

History of Pakistan