O Level Pakistan Studies: Nationhood, 1947–99 (Cambridge 2059)

Section 3 of Cambridge O Level Pakistan Studies 2059 Paper 1, Nationhood 1947–99, examines how Pakistan built a state after independence, why it struggled for political stability, why East Pakistan became Bangladesh, and how Pakistan conducted its foreign relations. It covers Key Questions 11 to 16. Most 14-mark questions ask “how successful” a leader or policy was, so this guide sets out each government’s successes and failures side by side.

Syllabus coverage

CAMBRIDGE O LEVEL PAKISTAN STUDIES (2059), 2026 — PAPER 1, SECTION 3

Key Question	Focus points (from the syllabus)
11. Establishing an independent nation, 1947–48	Immediate problems; success of attempts to solve them; the importance of Jinnah
12. Stability after Jinnah’s death	Achievements of ministries 1948–58; the Decade of Progress 1958–69; constitution-making 1949–73
13. East Pakistan and Bangladesh	Why the East sought independence; Sheikh Mujib and the Awami League; how independence was achieved in 1971
14. Pakistan 1971–88	Policies and overthrow of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto; policies and problems of Zia-ul-Haq
15. Governments 1988–99	Benazir Bhutto 1988–90, 1993–96; Nawaz Sharif 1990–93, 1997–99; Musharraf’s takeover in 1999
16. Pakistan in world affairs since 1947	Nuclear development; relations with Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, Iran, China, USSR/Russia, the USA, the UK, the Commonwealth and the UN

How does this section appear in the exam?

As with the rest of Paper 1, you may meet this content in the compulsory source-based question (Section A) or in Section B, where each question has 4-, 7- and 14-mark parts. Because Section 3 covers more than fifty years, build a timeline and attach each policy to the right leader.

Key Question 11: how successful was the new state in 1947–48?

Problem	What happened	Outcome
Boundaries	Radcliffe Award gave most of Gurdaspur to India	Lasting grievance; access route to Kashmir for India
Water	Headworks in India; supply to Pakistani canals cut in 1948	Solved later by the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960
Assets	Pakistan’s share of cash and military stores delayed and reduced	Weak start for the treasury and army
Princely states	Junagadh taken by India in 1947; Hyderabad annexed after Indian military action in 1948; Kashmir war 1947–48	UN ceasefire 1949; Kashmir unresolved
Refugees	Millions arrived amid violence	Huge relief effort; strain on cities
Administration	New capital at Karachi; few trained officials or offices	Government built almost from scratch
Language	Urdu declared the state language	Opposition in East Pakistan

Jinnah’s importance: he set up the machinery of government, personally appealed for refugee relief, founded the State Bank of Pakistan (1948), and urged unity and tolerance. His death in September 1948 removed the one leader accepted across the country. Judgement: the state survived, which was a real success, but key problems such as Kashmir and the language issue were left unresolved.

Key Question 12: how far did Pakistan achieve stability, 1948–71?

Successes, 1948–58: the Objectives Resolution (1949), Liaquat Ali Khan’s Liaquat–Nehru Pact on minorities (1950), the first constitution (1956). Failures, 1948–58: Liaquat’s assassination (1951); frequent changes of prime minister; dismissal of Khwaja Nazimuddin (1953) and dissolution of the Constituent Assembly (1954) by Ghulam Muhammad; One Unit (1955) resented in smaller provinces; martial law under Iskander Mirza in 1958.

Ayub Khan’s Decade of Progress (1958–69) — successes: economic growth and industrialisation, Green Revolution, land reforms (1959), the Indus Waters Treaty (1960), the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance (1961), Islamabad built as capital. Failures: wealth concentrated among a few families, neglect of East Pakistan, the restrictive Basic Democracies system, the 1965 war and Tashkent Declaration, and mass protests in 1968–69.

Constitutions and Islamic provisions:

Constitution	Key Islamic provisions
1956	Islamic Republic of Pakistan; head of state must be a Muslim; no law repugnant to Islam
1962	Presidential system; Advisory Council of Islamic Ideology; “Islamic” restored to the name in 1963
1973	Islam the state religion; President and Prime Minister must be Muslims; Council of Islamic Ideology

Key Question 13: why did Bangladesh become independent?

Causes: political domination by the West despite the East’s larger population; economic disparity; the language movement; army and civil service recruited mainly from the West; slow relief after the 1970 cyclone. The Awami League under Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman issued the Six Points (1966) for maximum provincial autonomy, rejected by the government. After the Awami League’s election victory in 1970, power was not transferred; talks between Mujib, Bhutto and Yahya Khan failed, military action began in March 1971, and India’s military intervention in December 1971 led to the surrender of Pakistani forces in Dhaka on 16 December.

Key Question 14: how successful were Bhutto and Zia?

	Successes	Failures
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, 1971–77	Simla Agreement (1972) secured the return of captured territory, with prisoners of war released after a 1973 follow-up agreement; 1973 Constitution; nuclear programme; labour and land reforms; Islamic Summit in Lahore (1974)	Nationalisation reduced private investment; Federal Security Force used against opponents; disputed 1977 election and overthrow
Zia-ul-Haq, 1977–88	Islamisation (Hudood laws, zakat, Shariat courts) welcomed by religious groups; economic growth helped by remittances and US aid after 1979	Long martial law; restrictions on political parties; criticism of laws affecting women and minorities; Eighth Amendment concentrated power in the president; refugee, drug and weapons problems linked to the Afghan war

Key Question 15: how effective were the governments of 1988–99?

• Benazir Bhutto 1988–90: first woman prime minister of a Muslim-majority country; faced conflict with Nawaz Sharif in Punjab, ethnic violence in Sindh, a no-confidence motion (1989), and a dispute with President Ghulam Ishaq Khan; dismissed 1990.
• Nawaz Sharif 1990–93: privatisation and economic liberalisation, criticised for encouraging profiteering; problems linked to the collapse of the BCCI bank; loss of US aid over the nuclear programme and strained relations after criticism of the USA voiced in Pakistan during the Gulf War; dismissed in 1993, restored by the Supreme Court, then resigned.
• Benazir Bhutto 1993–96: Kashmir tensions; rupee devaluation and IMF pressure; balance of payments problems; dismissed by President Leghari in 1996.
• Nawaz Sharif 1997–99: large majority; removed the president’s dismissal power (Thirteenth Amendment, 1997); nuclear tests (May 1998); Lahore Declaration with India (1999); Kargil conflict (1999); removed by General Musharraf in October 1999.

Key Question 16: how important has Pakistan been in world affairs?

• Nuclear power: programme established 1972; Indian test 1974; Pakistani tests 1998; refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; US sanctions.
• Alliances: SEATO (1954) and CENTO (1955) linked Pakistan to the West; it left SEATO in 1972 and CENTO in 1979, and joined the Non-Aligned Movement in 1979.
• Muslim world: active role in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, hosting the 1974 Lahore summit.
• China: close ties since the 1960s; the Karakoram Highway.
• USSR/Russia: cool relations during the Cold War, worsened by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979); closer ties after 1991; Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Moscow in 1999.
• Commonwealth: left 1972 over recognition of Bangladesh; rejoined 1989.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Pakistan’s first Prime Minister? Liaquat Ali Khan, from 1947 until his assassination in Rawalpindi in October 1951.

What did the Simla Agreement do? Signed by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Indira Gandhi in 1972, it arranged the return of territory captured in the 1971 war and committed both countries to settle disputes bilaterally.

Why did Pakistan leave SEATO and CENTO? It felt its Western allies had not supported it in its wars with India, especially in 1971.

Related pages

• Nationhood, 1947–99 revision notes
• Emergence of Pakistan study guide
• Paper 1 overview study guide

Source: Cambridge International, Cambridge O Level Pakistan Studies 2059 syllabus for examination in 2026, Version 1, Paper 1 Section 3.