On this day 46 years ago, on October 16, 1979 (August 26, 1979), General Haq announced the postponement of general elections in Pakistan and the dissolution of political parties. On October 16, 1979, the President and Chief Military Advocate General of Pakistan, Zia-Haq, delivered a radio and television address to the nation in Rawalpindi on October 16, announcing that general elections in Pakistan would be postponed from time to time. In his speech, Zia-Haq announced: 1. Postpone general elections from time to time; 2. Immediately ban all forms of political activities throughout the country, dissolve political parties, close their institutions, and freeze their funds; 3. Ban all political gatherings and marches; 4. Close newspapers and periodicals that violate national interests and poison people's minds, and conduct comprehensive censorship of the news; 5. Reorganize the cabinet in the near future. He said that to ensure the implementation of the above measures, Pakistan will strengthen military control. Mr. Haq said that most political parties, with the exception of a few, did not plan to participate in the general election. "I have carefully studied the situation in the country from all sides and concluded that these parties are afraid of the general election, but want to transfer the responsibility for delaying the election to the government," he said. If the general election is held only for a few parties, "it will not produce a representative and stable government", he added. According to reports, Pakistan was originally scheduled to hold general elections on November 17, 1979.