Home Journal List Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society Volume 31 Article Details

The PNA'S Movement

Abstract

It was January 7, 1977 when Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto advised President Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry to dissolve the National Assembly for holding the general elections on March 7, 1977, to be followed by elections to the four provincial assemblies on March 10, 1977, under the 1973 Constitution. 1 This was the moment which brought the whole opposition to a single platform. Nine of the parties closed ranks and announced on January 11, 1977, the formation of a combined opposition, called the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA)2 . Though the component parties had some serious difference within, they were successful in achieving an electoral unity. The more significant was their continued cooperation and coordination during the election campaign. The factors which kept the PNA united were largely related to the policies of the ruling Pakistan People’s party otherwise each of the nine parties maintains its different ideological identity.

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