Adil Najam
The obvious and logical followup to our last ATP Poll is to now ask the question: which of our leaders did the most harm to Pakistan? A number of readers suggested, and we agree, that such a poll should be conducted. We ask only that you please respond to the question with the same care with which it has been structured.
As we had done in the last poll, we have structured the question carefully to focus only the harm that these leaders might have caused (all leaders do bad things as well as good, some more and some less).
Please focus on the negative actions these leaders were themselves responsible for, and not as much on things that might have been out of their own control.
The Question: Focusing primarily on what you consider ‘negative’ actions taken by them during their stint(s) in power, who, amongst the following, do you think did the most ‘harm’ to Pakistan?
As others have suggested, it is not at all necessary that those who got the most votes for doing ‘good’ will automatically get least votes for doing ‘harm.’ Since we have been asking people to focus only on one or the other, it is not entirely impossible that the same person is deemed to have done a lot of good as well as a lot of harm; albeit by a different set of voters – in a society as divided as Pakistan this is not just possible, but even likely.
As in the last poll, the current leadership is not included (although we did conduct a poll grading them recently) and only those whose tenure is now behind us are included, from Ayub Khan onwards. As before, for Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif consider the combined impact of two stints they each had in power. Do also please tell us which of their actions you think had the most harmful and lasting impacts on Pakistan’s well-being as a nation.
We eagerly await your views on this, in the poll as well as in the comments.
I have voted for Nawaz sharief, honestly, I have not lived in time of Ayub, ZAB or Zia so cant judge their actions. I started learning about Pakistan’s politics the day Zia died. Nawaz was creation of Zia, since then I have seen his 2 govs, 3 oppositions 2 decades as a party leader and I have only seen him doing dirty politics, acting in his personal interest and not of the country.
Without a doubt Zulfiqar Bhutto did the greatest harm to Jinnah’s Pakistan. An egotistical feudal lord and democratic fraud, he was part and parcel of the Ayub Khan regime and one of the main culprits in the breakup of Jinnah’s Pakistan.
In the Leftover Pakistan, Bhutto disregarded the Constitution and laws, destroyed education and the economy with his poorly thought policies of nationalization, and most egregious of all, legalized the discrimination and injustice against Ahmadis, who remain half-citizens of Pakistan to this day.
The two lobbies who most opposed Jinnah’s Pakistan, the mullah and the feudal, later teamed up to completely smash the country and society to pieces.
Ghulam Mohd (GM) started the disgraceful practice of dismissing Prime Ministers and Iskander Mirza was the first military ruler of Pakistan. Within the given list, Z.A Bhutto did the most damage to Pakistan. Zial-ul-Haque who seems to be #1 so far was a by-product of Bhutto’s rule. If Bhutto had used his power and popularity wisely for the good of Pakistan we wouldnt have seen Zia and the horrible after effects of his dictatorship.
>> I voted for (against) Ayub because he is the one who started
>> the rot of military rule which then led to one military
>> coup after the other.
I certainly agree.
Good poll, good question, good followup to last poll.
I voted for (against) Ayub because he is the one who started the rot of military rule which then led to one military coup after the other.