How Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Six Points Came to the Fore

The Tashkent Declaration became an important turning point in Pakistan’s political history, further widening differences between the government and opposition forces.

The United States and the Soviet Union had shown a keen interest in promoting peace between Pakistan and India following the 1965 war. Soviet Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin invited President Ayub Khan and Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri to Tashkent for peace talks. The negotiations resulted in the signing of the Tashkent Declaration on January 10, 1966.

Under the agreement, Pakistan and India agreed to withdraw their forces from territories captured during the war and restore the pre-war position. However, the agreement failed to gain widespread public support in Pakistan. Foreign Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto openly opposed the declaration and eventually resigned from the cabinet on July 8, 1966.

The Tashkent agreement also provided the opposition with an opportunity to intensify criticism of the Ayub Khan government. In February 1966, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan convened a conference of opposition parties in Lahore. It was at this gathering that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman presented his famous Six Points for the first time, calling for extensive regional autonomy for East Pakistan.

Mujib’s demands created divisions among opposition parties. As a result, the proposed movement against the government for the restoration of democracy was pushed into the background, while the question of greater autonomy for East Pakistan became increasingly central to political debate.

Several opposition leaders, including Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, were subsequently arrested under emergency regulations.

Who Was Behind the Six Points?

There have long been differing accounts about the origins of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Six Points and who actually drafted them.

Some critics argued that Mujibur Rahman could not have independently formulated a programme of such political and constitutional complexity. Former East Pakistani leader Nurul Amin suggested that a foreign power may have been involved. Other accounts claimed that a group of East Pakistan-based CSP officers had prepared the proposals in consultation with a banker.

According to one account attributed to witness Rafiq Hussain, journalist and civil servant Altaf Gauhar was alleged to have been involved in preparing the Six Points and that the document was conveyed to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman through a banker. Another version of the story claimed that the initiative had been undertaken with Ayub Khan’s knowledge in an attempt to use Mujib to disrupt the opposition conference called by Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan.

Altaf Gauhar, however, rejected the allegation and denied having any role in drafting the Six Points.

Rafiq Hussain reportedly became aware of the document shortly before the conference began, when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman handed a copy of the proposals to Manik Mian, editor of Ittefaq, who was also associated with the Awami League.

Whatever the truth behind the competing accounts, the Six Points had emerged as a major political programme by the time the Lahore conference took place. They would subsequently become one of the defining demands of East Pakistan’s autonomy movement.

Growing Political Discontent Under Ayub Khan

Political tensions were also aggravated by the conduct of provincial administrations following the introduction of the new constitutional system.

Nawab of Kalabagh was appointed governor of West Pakistan, while Abdul Monem Khan became governor of East Pakistan. Both governors faced criticism for their political approach and the use of administrative powers.

Political opponents were arrested, newspapers faced restrictions and press facilities were reportedly subjected to government pressure. Such measures did little to ease the growing political dissatisfaction and instead contributed to an increasingly tense atmosphere.

Another factor that damaged the credibility of the Ayub Khan government was the growing public criticism over the role of the president’s sons in national affairs. They were accused of interfering in government and economic matters and of using their position to advance personal interests.

One of Ayub Khan’s sons, after entering the National Assembly, also emerged as a major industrialist under the patronage of his father. These developments further strengthened perceptions that political and economic power was becoming concentrated within a small circle around the ruling establishment.

The combination of political repression, growing regional grievances, opposition to the Tashkent Declaration and increasing allegations of elite privilege gradually weakened the political foundations of the Ayub Khan era .