Combined Opposition Parties

The exact number of parties in the coalition is not exactly known but studies claim it consisted of the 5, 6 or 13 leading opposition parties. The party members included the socialist National Awami Party led by Maulana Bashani, and its northwestern faction, the National Awami Party (Wali) led by Abdul Wali Khan, the Islamist party, the Jamaat-e-Islami led by the popular Abul A'la Maududi, the anti-Ayub Council Muslim League led by Khawaja Nazimuddin, the lesser-known Niazam-e-Islam Party of Chaudhry Mohammad Ali and the East Pakistani Awami League led by Mujibur Rehman. The fact that many of these party members' ideologies were contradictory, demonstrated that Ayub Khan's policies were extremely unpopular. == History ==

Foundation Khawaja Nazimuddin, president of the Council Muslim League, traveled Pakistan, and met with the leaders of various political groups, he talked about the political state of affairs as the presidential election of January 1965 was getting closer. Talks began between major political movements and parties throughout the country for a united front in politics. As a result, on July 21, 1964, in Dhaka, the opposition parties united to form the Combined Opposition Parties (COP). Party leadership As a coalition the COP did not have one exclusive leader, as it was made up of several different parties with independent leaders. In 1964, the COP considered nominating Azam Khan to run against President Ayub Khan on their behalf in the 1965 Pakistani presidential election, due to Azam's widespread popularity. However, Maulana Bhashani, a founding member of the Awami League, convinced the opposition to nominate Fatima Jinnah instead. Some speculate that Bhashani believed Fatima would be a weaker candidate and suggested her candidacy to ensure Ayub Khan's victory, as he was favoured by the Chinese. Due to disagreements between left-wing and right-wing parties, it was contested who should have run for President of Pakistan on behalf of the COP against Ayub Khan, causing neither side to reach a clear candidate. Khawaja Nazimuddin was considered for the role but his elderly condition hindered any idea of party leadership. Earlier, when the COP agreed to unite behind a single candidate, they required that the candidate must have unanimous support from all member parties. Bhashani reportedly added another condition: that no one associated with the Martial Law administration, would be acceptable. Several sources indicate that Ayub Khan's foreign minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, orchestrated the entire strategy to block Azam Khan's candidacy. He did so through Masihur Rahman, a mutual friend of both Bhutto and Bhashani, by providing Masihur Rahman with 500,000 rupees to pass on to Bhashani, all in an effort to ensure Ayub’s victory by having a weaker opponent, Fatima Jinnah, run against him. Days before the election, Bhashani and his group withdrew their support for Fatima. Nevertheless, Azam supported Fatima Jinnah and actively campaigned for her and was noted as having contributed to her success in East Pakistan." Fatima was also chosen due to her being the brother of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Campaign The COP faced challenges and crackdowns by Ayub Khan's government. Ayub accused Miss Jinnah of being a weak leader and claimed that she was being exploited by the COP's power hungry, corrupt leaders. Her campaign was plagued with unfair and unequal election campaign, poor finances, and indirect elections through the democratic system were some of the primary problems she faced. However, she had overwhelming support among the public. == Ideology ==

The Combined Opposition parties laid out their nine points as an official manifesto and ideological principle in 1964. Chaudhry Muhammad Ali unveiled the following points for the parties ideology: Other than the nine official points, the party was strictly Anti-Ayub Khan, accusing him of founding a military dictatorship. The COP advocated for an establishment of a parliamentary democracy in the country where the Constituent Assembly was re-empowered, the party also held Islamic tendencies, due to membership by the Jamaat-e-Islami and Maududi. Ayub Khan responded to the nine-point manifesto by establishing his own manifesto of industrial growth, secularism, and the self-determination guarantee to Kashmiris. == Decline ==

1965 election results The election results came in favor of the incumbent President Ayub Khan, who, despite losing the popular vote, won 62.43% of the Electoral vote. Fatima Jinnah won 35.86% of the electoral college votes. Jinnah was however extremely successful in some areas of the country. She had swept across major urban centres such as Karachi and Dhaka. Ayub also faced disappointing results in East Pakistan. However, Ayub had decisively triumphed in rural Pakistan. As majority of the Electoral College consisted of representatives from the rural setup, Ayub was able to win a clear majority. Dissolution The COP discussed in sessions following the presidential election to determine the course of action for the next national and provincial assembly elections. The leaders of this session discussed boycotting the elections as being unrealistic. The coalition was extremely disappointed with the results of the presidential elections which resulted in a victory for Ayub Khan. However, the defeat of the COP in the presidential and subsequent national and provincial assembles elections did not render the organization useless. The COP, thereafter lost its strength and unity as the Council Muslim League made efforts to dominate it. Miss Jinnah though the unanimous candidate of all the component parties of the alliance showed her sympathies for the League and advised other parties of the COP to merge into Council Muslim League and fight against 'undemocratic force' with unity and discipline. The parties focused on their respective political agendas respectively and the alliance became ineffective and politically useless. The alliance splintered and dissolved, as the remaining leadership merged with the Council Muslim League. == Notes ==