Faiz was a well-known communist in the country and had been long associated with the [[Communist Party of Pakistan]], which he founded in 1947 along with Marxist Sajjad Zaheer and [[Jalaludin Abdur Rahim]]. Faiz had his first exposure to socialism and communism before the [[Independence of Pakistan|independence]] of [[State of Pakistan]] which he thought was consistent with his progressive thinking. Faiz had long associated ties with the Soviet Union, a friendship with atheist country that later honoured him with high award. Even after his death, the Russian government honoured him by calling him "our poet" to many Russians. However his popularity was waned in [[Bangladesh]] [[Indo-Pakistani war of 1971|after 1971]] when [[Dhaka]] did not win much support for him. Faiz and other pro-communists had no political role in the country, despite their academic brilliance. Although Faiz was a not a hardcore or far-left communist, he spent most of the 1950s and 1960s promoting the cause of communism in Pakistan. During the time when Faiz was editor of the "Pakistan Times", one of the leading newspapers of the 1950s, he lent editorial support to the party. He was also involved in the circle lending support to military personnel (e.g. [[Major General Akbar Khan]]). His involvement with the party and Major General Akbar Khan's coup plan led to his imprisonment later. Later in his life, while giving an interview with the [[List of newspapers in Pakistan|local newspaper]], Faiz was asked by the interviewer as if he was a communist. He replied with characteristic nonchalance: "No. I am not, a communist is a person who is a card carrying member of the Communist party ever made. The party is banned in our country. So how can I be a communist?...". The [[Liaquat Ali Khan]]'s government failure to capture [[Indian occupied Kashmir|Indian-administered Kashmir]] had frustrated the military leaders of the [[Pakistan Armed Forces]] in 1948, including Jinnah. A writer had argued that Jinnah had serious doubt of Ali Khan's ability to ensure the integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan. After returning from the United States, Ali Khan imposed restrictions on [[Pakistan Communist Party|Communist party]] as well as [[Pakistan Socialist Party]]. Although the [[East Pakistan Communist Party (Marxist–Leninist)|East Pakistan Communist Party]] had ultimate success in [[East Pakistan|East-Pakistan]] after staging the [[Bengali Language Movement|mass protest]] to recognise [[Bengali language]] as national language.