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Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Pakistan: Political Parties, Trades Unions and Pressure Groups Material


IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference code(s): GB 0101 PP.PK

Held at: Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Title: Pakistan: Political Parties, Trades Unions and Pressure Groups Material

Date(s): 1940-

Level of description: Collection (Fonds)

Extent: 1 box

Name of creator(s): Institute of Commonwealth Studies

CONTEXT

Administrative/Biographical history:

Pakistan gained its independence in 1947 and its political system has since been characterised by instability and frequent reversions to military rule (from 1958-1970, 1977-1988 and 1999 onwards). The political parties covered here include the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), which provided the country's early leaders and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of Zulfikar Ali and Benazir Bhutto. The failure of the latter party to form a coalition government with the Awami League of East Pakistan after the 1970 elections led to civil war and the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, but also to the resignation of the military's Yahya Khan and the promotion of Zulfikar Ali to president, the country's first non-military chielf martial law administrator, but following the 1977 elections he was deposed by General Zia and executed. In the 1990s both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif (of the PML) were removed from the prime ministership, though they did not face the same draconian fate. The majority of the materials held here orgininate from the 1950s and 1960s, during the first period of democratic government and reflecting the protests against the imposition of military rule, but there are also items dating from before partition and later materials concerned with the dispute with India over Kashmir.

CONTENT

Scope and content/abstract:

Pakistan pamphlets, leaflets, speeches, reports, conference reports, letters, newsletters, and miscellaneous materials, from 1940 onwards issued by the All Pakistan Federation of Trade Unions, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (Jammu and Kashmir, India), Jamiatiattehad-Ul-Ulma, the Muslim India Information Centre, the National Awami Party of Pakistan (London), the National Democratic Movement (Pakistan), the National Progressive League (Pakistan), the Pakistan Democratic Party, the Pakistan Muslim League, the Pakistan National Movement, and the Pakistan People's Party.

ACCESS AND USE

Language/scripts of material: Mostly English, some items in Urdu, Bengali and Sindhi

System of arrangement:

Alphabetically by organisation, and then in rough chronological order.

Conditions governing access:

Open to all for research purposes; access is free for anyone in higher education.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copies can usually be obtained - apply to library staff.

Physical characteristics:

Finding aids:

Records at item level on library catalogue (SASCAT)

Detailed catalogue

ARCHIVAL INFORMATION

Accruals:

Further accruals are expected, some in electronic form.

Archival history:

The Commonwealth Political Parties Materials collection was begun in 1960-61, with special emphasis being placed then, as now, on 'primary material such as party constitutions, policy statements, convention reports and election manifestos.' (ICS, Twelfth Annual Report 1960-1961). Since then, the main method of gathering material has been to appeal directly to political parties throughout the Commonwealth, though contributions from Institute members and staff following visits to relevant countries have been significant. More recently material has been collected by means of downloading documents from the websites of the major parties.

Immediate source of acquisition:

Institute of Commonwealth Studies

ALLIED MATERIALS

Related material:

See also Aden: Trades Unions Material (TU.AD) and Aden: Pressure Groups Material (PG.AD), as well as Political Party, Trades Unions and Pressure Group Materials for other Commonwealth countries and related material in the library's main classified sequence, all held at the ICS.

Publication note:

DESCRIPTION NOTES

Archivist's note: Description compiled by Daniel Millum, Political Archives Project Officer at the Institutes of Commonwealth and Latin American Studies.

Rules or conventions: Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions: Created 16/08/2004 AIM25


INDEX ENTRIES
Subjects
Commonwealth countries | Political systems
Interest groups | Groups
Islam | Ancient religions | Religions
Moslems | Religious groups
Political parties | Internal politics
Politics | Political science
Trade unions | Labour relations

Personal names

Corporate names

Places
Pakistan | South Asia