The Hoarders

The new military government of General Mohammed Ayub Khan last week sent shivers of fear through the officials of the deposed administration. Describing his rule under President Iskander Mirza as "a benign martial law to assist the civil power clean up this mess," the General offhandedly announced that the maximum penalty for concealing food stocks is death. The results were awe-inspiring. Ex-Premier Malik Firoz Khan Noon, said the government, admitted that he was holding 3,000 tons of wheat in his private warehouse. Two other ex-ministers hurriedly told the government that they had wheat hoards of 6,250 tons and 1,500 tons respectively. Former Defense Minister Mohammed Ayub Khuhro languished in jail on black-market charges, and a local magistrate refused him bail.

General Ayub Khan, who got himself titled Premier last week, also announced a mixed bag of measures, in the name of curing eleven years of impotent democracy: 1) the legal system, based on the British code, must be drastically improved to give the people "quicker justice"; 2) birth control must be introduced because Pakistanis are "breeding too fast"; 3) Pakistan must prepare itself for austerity in order to regain a sound economy.

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