National Awami Party

The National Awami Party (NAP) was the major progressive political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan, by Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Yar Mohammad Khan, through the merger of various leftist and progressive political groups in Pakistan. Commonly known as the NAP, it was a major opposition party to Pakistani military regimes for much of the late 1950s and mid 1960s. In 1967 the party split into two factions, one in East Pakistan and another in West Pakistan.

Led by Bhashani and other influential progressive leaders, NAP played an instrumental role in the secession of East Pakistan and the independence of Bangladesh. After the death of Bhashani in 1976, the party lost much of its prominence on the Bangladeshi political scene. Many of its leaders became members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Today, the liberal and progressive faction within the BNP is led by former NAP leaders.

After the 1971 war, the Pakistani faction of NAP became the principal opposition party to the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto-led government of the Pakistan People's Party. It was forced into political wilderness during the regime of General Zia-ul-Haq.

The NAP was founded in Dhaka in erstwhile East Pakistan by 1957.

The constituent parties in 1957 and their areas of influence were:

The party President was Maulana Bhashani and the Secretary General was Mahmudul Huq Usmani. Mirza Mehdy Ispahani (aka Sadri Ispahani) was the treasurer. Afzal Bangash was the NAP's General Secretary in NWFP.

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