Sajjad Zaheer, founder of the All-India Progressive Writers Association, from West Pakistan, was elected general-secretary.

[2] In 1951, the CPP unintentionally became involved in a failed military coup attempt led by Major-General Akbar Khan, who was disenchanted with government decisions and influenced by Kemal Atatürk's ideologies.

[2] The coup was discovered prematurely, resulting in the arrests and subsequent jailing of Zaheer and other CPP figures.

[2] The party was banned in 1954 on charges of plotting to overthrow the then government of Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan.

[2] Previously, Rawalpindi Conspiracy case was registered in 1951 against the coup plotters and crackdown was launched against its leadership throughout the country.

[2] After the incident, the CPP operated underground, using organizations like the DSF and later the National Students Federation (NSF) as fronts.

[2] Diplomatic intervention by Jawaharlal Nehru led to the most prominent CPP leaders being freed and sent back to India.

However, it was difficult to have a unified underground political organization spanning such a vast geographical territory and the East Pakistan branch was able to operate with autonomy.

In 1954, the party and its front organizations such as the National Students Federation, Progressive Writers' Movement and Railway Workers' Union were banned.