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Resignation
In March 1969 burning of a private transport bus by the students of the
Polytechnic School, Rawalpindi, led by the then student rebel
rouser Shaikh Rashid was a minor incident from the present day standards,
but it made President Ayub Khan” decide to resign. Khawaja Shahabuddin –
his cabinet minister, advised him against it saying, “ Sir, just hold a
referendum and you will see that the people are with you”. “What
referendum?”, he asked, “Referendum is already on the roads
!” He addressed the nation the same evening – 25th March 1969
- on the TV and resigned saying that he could not preside over the destruction
of the nation. Such has been
the conduct of honourable men in history.
Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)
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