Pakistan Studies Zia
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In November 1982, General Zia traveled to the Soviet Union to attend the funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, then-General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Soviet President Andrei Gromyko and the new Secretary-General Yuri Andropov met with Zia where a brief
meeting took place at the Kremlin. The Soviet Union and the new Secretary General Yuri Andropov were angry at Pakistan's covert involvement in the support of Afghan resistance against the Soviet Union and her satellite state, Soviet Afghanistan, and expressed his indignation to the General. Then General Zia took his hand and told him that, "Mr. Secretary General... Believe me, Pakistan wants nothing but good and healthy relations with the Soviet Union".According to Andrei Gromyko, Zia's sincerity had caught off guards and in the meeting, everyone believed him but sadly found out that his words were not followed by his actions. While there, Indira Gandhi compared the personality of Zia to Bhutto's while she summed up that Bhutto was intelligent, caring, and global experience that would reflect in his face. But with Zia, the tyranny could easily been seen on his face.
conomic reform Under Zia, the previous ruler Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's nationalisation policies were slowly reversed and gradual privatisation took place Zia greatly favoured egalitarianism and industrialisation. Between 1977 and 1986, the country experienced an average annual growth in the GNP of 6.8%, one of the highest in the world at that time.
Consoidation of atomic bomb rogramme One of the earliest initiative took by General Zia in 1977, was to militarized the integrated atomic energy programme which was founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1972.During the first stages, the programme was under the control of Bhutto and the Directorate for Science, under Science Advisor Dr. Mubashir Hassan, was heading the civilian committee that supervised the construction of the facilities and laboratories. This atomic bomb project had no boundaries with Munir Khan and Abdul Qadeer Khan leading their efforts separately whom they had report to Bhutto and his science adviser dr. Mubashir Hassan who had little interest in this atomic bomb project. Major-General Zahid Ali Akbar, an engineering officer, had little role in the atomic project; General Zia responded by taking over the programme under the military control and disbanded the civilian directorate when he ordered the arrest of dr. Mubashir Hassan. This whole giant nuclear energy project was transferred into the complete administrative hands of MajorGeneral Akbar who was soon made the Lieutenant-General and Engineer-in-Chief of Corps of Engineers to deal with the authorities whose cooperation was required. General Akbar consolidated the entire project by placing the scientific research under the military control, setting boundaries and goals. General Akbar proved to be an extremely capable officer in the matters of science and technology when he aggressively led the development of nuclear weapons under Munir Ahmad Khan and Abdul Qadeer Khan in matters of five years. By the time, Zia assumed the control, research facilities fully became functional and the 90% of the work on atom bomb project was completed.Both the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) had ingeniously built the extensive research infrastructure initiated by Bhutto. General Akbar's office was soon shifted at the Army Combatant Generals Headquarter (GHQ) and guided General Zia on key matters of nuclear science and the atomic bomb production, and was the first engineering officer to have $
acknowledge General Zia about the success of this energy project into the fully matured programme. On the recommendation of Akbar, Zia approved the appointment of Munir Ahmad Khan as the scientific director of the atomic bomb project, as Zia was convinced by Akbar that civilian scientists under Munir Khan's directorship were at their best to counter the international pressure. This was proved when the PAEC conducted the cold-fission test of a fission device, codename ñ on March 11, 1983 at the Weapon-Testing Laboratories-I, under the leadership of weapon-testing laboratory's director dr. Ishfaq Ahmad. Lieutenant-General Zahid Akbar went to GHQ and notified General Zia about the success of the this test.[ ] The PAEC responded by conducting several cold-tests throughout the 1980s, a policy also continued by Benazir Bhutto in 1990s.
N cear diomacy Unlike Bhutto who faced rogue criticism and faced a heated diplomatic war with the United States throughout the 1970s, General Zia took different diplomatic approaches to counter the international pressure. årom 1979 to 1983, the country was made a subject of attack by international organization for not signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT); General Zia deftly neutralized international pressure by tagging Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme to the nuclear designs of neighboring Indian nuclear programme. General Zia, with the help of Munir Ahmad Khan and Agha Shahi, åoreign Minister, drew a five-point proposal as a practical rejoinder to world pressure on Pakistan to sign the NPT; the points including the renouncing of the use of nuclear weapons. åollowing the success of × × ö an Israeli Air åorce strike to sabotage the Iraqi nuclear programme in 1981ö amid suspicion grew in Pakistan that Indian Air åorce had similar plans for Pakistan. In private meeting with General Anvär Schamiem, then-Chief of Air Staff, General Zia had notified General Schamiem that Indian Air åorce had plans to infiltrate in Pakistan's nuclear energy project, citing the solid evidences. Due to weak Air åorce, General Shamim felt that the air force was unable to divert such attacks, therefore, General Shamim advised General Zia to use diplomacy through Munir Ahmad Khan to divert the attacks.[45] At Vienna, Munir Ahmad Khan met with Raja Ramanna notified his counter-part that such attack would provoked a nuclear war between two countries. In meantime, General Shamim decided to start the program to acquire the advanced åå and å jets for Pakistan Air åorce. General Shamim launched the × - a counter operation that thwarted the Israeli Air åorce attempt to sabotage Pakistan's nuclear energy projectö forced Indian Premier Indira Gandhi to held talks with Pakistan on nuclear issues and directed a high delegation to Pakistan where both countries pledged not to assist or attack each others facilities. In 1985, following the induction of åå and å , General Shamim commissioned the Air åorce Strategic Command to protect and battle the weapons of mass destruction.
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N cear roiferation Soon after the coup, the clandestine nuclear energy project was no longer a secret to the outside world. Part of his strategy was to promotion of nuclear proliferation in anti-western states (such as North Korea, Iran, and communist China) to aid in their own nuclear ambition, in order to divert the international attention which was difficult. In 1981, General Zia contracted with China when he sent the sensitive weapon-grade uranium to China and also built the centrifuge laboratory which increasingly enchanced the Chinese nuclear programme. This act encouraged Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan who allegedly tried to aidin Libyan nuclear program but because the ties were strained, Khan was warned of serious consequences. This policy was envisaged that this would deflect international pressure on these countries and Pakistan would be spared the international community's wrath. After General Zia's death, his successor General Mirza Aslam Beg, as Chief of Army Staff, encouraged Khan and gave him a free hand to work with some like-minded nations like North Korea, Iran and Libya who also wanted to pursue their nuclear ambitions for a variety of reasons. In 2004, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan's dismissal from the nuclear weapons programme was considered a face saving exercise by the Pakistan Armed åorces and political establishment under the then Chief of Army Staff and President General Pervez Musharraf.Zia's nuclear proliferation policy had deep impact on the world, especially anti-western states, most nominally North Korea and Iran. In 2000s, North Korea soon would followed the same suit after it was targeted by international community for its on-going nuclear program. In 2000s, North Korea attempted to aid in Syrian and Iranian nuclear program in 1990s. The North Korean connection to Syrian nuclear program was exposed in 2007 by Israel in its successful strategic operation, × , which resulted in sabotaging the Syrian nuclear program as well as death of 10 senior North-Korean scientists who were aiding to build the nuclear program.
ansion Even though General Zia had removed the Bhutto sentiment in the nuclear energy project, General Zia did not completely disband Bhutto's policy on nuclear weapons. After the retirement of General Akbar, General Zia transferred the control of the nuclear weapons program to Bhutto's close aide Munir Ahmad Khan, Chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. Soon, General Zia promoted Khan as the technical director of the entire programme as well as returned to post of Science Adviser by appointing Munir Ahmad Khan as his adviser. With the support of handpicked civilian Prime minister Muhammad Juneijo, General Zia sanctioned the launch of the 50MW heavy water plutonium production reactor, known as ñ, at Khushab in 1985. General Zia also took initiatives to launched the space projects as spin-off to nuclear project. Zia appointed nuclear engineer Salim Mehmud as the Administrator of the Space Research Commission. Zia also launched the work on country's first satellite, , a military satellite. In 1987, General Zia launched the clandestine aerospace project, Integrated Missile Research Programme General Anwar Shamim in 1985 and later under LieutenantGeneral Talat Masood in 1987.
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Internationa standing enancement and res mtion of aid Zia's international standing greatly rose after his declaration to fight the Soviet invaders. Pakistan ± United States relations took a much more positive turn. U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance, cut off U.S. aid to Pakistan on the grounds that Pakistan had not made sufficient progress on the nuclear issue. Then, on December 25, 1979, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, and Carter offered Pakistan $325 million in aid over three years. Zia rejected this as "peanuts." Carter also signed the finding in 1980 that allowed less than $50 million a year to go to the Mujahideen. After Ronald Reagan came to office, defeating Carter for the US Presidency in 1980, all this changed, due to President Reagan's new priorities and the unlikely and remarkably effective effort by Congressman Charles Wilson (D-TX), aided by Joanne Herring, and CIA Afghan Desk Chief Gust Avrakotos to increase the funding for Operation Cyclone. Aid to the Afghan resistance, and to Pakistan, increased substantially, finally reaching $1 billion. The United States, faced with a rival superpower looking as if it were to create another Communist bloc, now engaged Zia to fight a US-aided war by proxy in Afghanistan against the Soviets.
åigting te war by roy Zia now found himself in a position to demand billions of dollars in aid for the Mujahideen from the Western states, famously dismissing a United States proposed $325 million aid package as "peanuts". Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and Special Service Group now became actively involved in the conflict, and in cooperation with the Central Intelligence Agency and the United States Army Special åorces supported the armed struggle against the Soviets. In 1981, Ronald Reagan succeeded Jimmy Carter as President of the United States. Reagan was completely against the Soviet Union and its Communist satellites, dubbing it "the evil empire". Reagan now increased financial aid heading for Pakistan. In 1981, the Reagan Administration sent the first of 40 å-16 jet fighters to the Pakistanis. But the Soviets kept control of the Afghan skies until the Mujahideen received Stinger missiles in 1986. årom that moment on, the Mujahideen's strategic position steadily improved. The Soviets declared a policy of national reconciliation. In January they announced that a Soviet withdrawal was no longer linked to the makeup of the Afghan government remaining behind. Pakistan, with the massive extra-governmental and covert backing from the largest operation ever mounted by the CIA and financial support of Saudi Arabia, therefore, played a large part in the eventual withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1988.
Te war egacy The war left deep scars to the Pakistan's society with the menace of Kalashnikov (AK-47 assault rifle) culture spreading all over the country. It is estimated that there are currently 20 million firearms in Pakistan, which has a population of about 175 million (as of July 2010) i.e., almost every ninth person has a firearm, most likely an automatic one. The rise of the illicit drug trade and its spread through Pakistan to the rest of the world increased tremendously during the
Soviet-Afghan war. Afghanistan's drug industry began to take off after the Soviet invasion in 1979. Desperate for cash with which to buy weapons, various elements in the anti-Communist resistance turned to the drug trade. This was tolerated if not condoned by their American sponsors such as the ñ. It was thought by some leading ññ officials then assisting Mujaheedin led war that converting raw opium to heroin is a technology which was not known to illiterate Afghans and was taught by ñ or some others with advanced technology as later was easy to smuggle and earn cash for resistance. Two Afghan Mujahideen groups later morphed into Jihadist outfits in the shape of Taliban and Al-Qaeda in the early 1990s. The Pakistan and United States trained Arab and Afghan fighters later in 2001 initiated a against United States in 2001 and against Pakistan in 2004. The links of the spectacular and deadly events of September 11 were deeply rooted in the SovietAfghan war. Osama bin Laden invested his inherited money into the Soviet-Afghan war to fight the 'infidel communist power' and was abetted by ñ, ññ, US and Pakistani military establishments for over 10 years.åor its turn in Pakistan, the war in West Pakistan, hampered the Pakistan's economy, dismantle the civil society, and as well as resulted 3,000 deaths for Pakistan's Armed åorces. General Zia's morphed furthered destabilized the country's strong branches, and country faced a wave of suicide bombing from the period 2007 to 2011, resulting in more than 30,000 civilian deaths in Pakistan.
'Isamisation' of akistan On December 2, 1978, on the occasion of the first day of the Hijra to enforce the Islamic system in Pakistan in a nationwide address, Zia accused politicians of exploiting the name of Islam: Ë? ñ !Ë After assuming power, the government began a program of public commitment to enforce " ? (Islamic System), a significant turn from Pakistan's predominantly Anglo-Saxon law, inherited from the British. As a preliminary measure to establish an Islamic society in Pakistan, Zia announced the establishment of Sharia Benches. To many secular and communist forces, Zia cynically manipulated ñ for the survival of his own regime. In 1983, Nusrat Bhutto reasoned General Zia's policies as she puts it: )?'/) = + , ) (('(4-: )?',!""= "!&) + &!&! !+, ) ) ,' + , ) !+ '(4 1)(1")(4@ 6!', +A ))4()>C)+) " ! !+' +)".') , )Dñ D,()+'), )'&!& " (4 !'(:+)*! ) B' , ,,(>4( )9!',; .(4 6!', +>
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Isamic Ordinances The hybridization of Pakistan penal code with Islamic laws was not an easy work. Two very different logics lay underneath both. PPC was kingly law, is a religious and community-based law. Under the Offenses Against Property (Hudood Ordinance) Ordinance 1979, the punishment of imprisonment or fine, or both, as provided in the existing Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for theft, was substituted by the amputation of the right hand of the offender from the joint of the wrist by a surgeon. åor robbery, the right hand of the offender from the wrist and his left foot from the ankle should be amputated by a surgeon. (Ω ϭΪ Σ, also transliterated , ; plural for , Ϊ Σ, limit, or restriction) is the word often used in Islamic social and legal literature for the bounds of acceptable behaviour. Although the punishments were imposed, the due process, witnesses and prosecution system remained un-Islamic Anglo-Saxon. As in Islamic law Hudud can only be given if four witnesses saw the crime happen, in reality hardly anyone can be punished by Islamic Hud laws as very rarely can the conditions for punishment be met. Under the Zina Ordinance, the provisions relating to adultery were replaced so that the women and the man guilty will be flogged, each of them, with one hundred lashes, if unmarried. And if they are married they shall be stoned to death provided the proof required for hadd is met. That is four Muslim adult male witnesses of good repute to the act of penetration or a voluntary confession in a competent court of law. The Zina Ordinance is fraught with legal ambiguities and the major flaw in this law is the fact that no distinction is made between adultery and rape. Rape is considered no more heinous a crime than zina. The demarcation line between the two offences is so thin in practice, that when a woman comes into the court with a case of rape, she risks being convicted of zina herself, if she cannot prove the rape.[8] The onus of providing proof in a rape case rests with the woman herself. If she is unable to prove her allegation, bringing the case to court is considered equivalent to a confession of sexual intercourse without lawful marriage. Thus this ordinance has been criticized by human rights and women's rights activists, lawyers and politicians over the years, but so far no attempt at repeal has been successful.
Saria aws In legal terms, (Islamic law being usually referred to as , Δ όϳ ήη) the term is used to describe laws that define a certain level of crime classification. Crimes classified under were the most severe of crimes, such as murder, theft, and adultery. There were minor differences in views between the four major Sunni # about sentencing and specifications for these laws. It is often argued that, since Sharia is God's law and states certain punishments for each crime, they were immutable. It has been argued by some that the Hudud portion of Sharia is incompatible with humanism or human rights. Although the Hud punishments were imposed, the Islamic law of evidence was not implemented and remained British in origin. Drinking of wine (i.e. all alcoholic drinks) was not a crime under the PPC. In 1977, however, the drinking and selling of wine by Muslims was banned in Pakistan and the sentence of imprisonment of six months or a fine of Rs. 5000/-, or both, was provided in that law. This ban -
on drinking was promulgated by Bhutto as he tried to soothen the tide of street Islamization drive called " ? in his last days.
ena Code Pakistan's college of unreliable witnesses and unscientific manner of investigations and very young secular law judges meant that Haddood too did not work like the secular PPC law before it. The Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) were amended, through ordinances in 1980, 1982 and 1986 to declare anything implying disrespect to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, (family members of Muhammad), (companions of Muhammad) and # ñ (Islamic symbols), a cognizable offence, punishable with imprisonment or fine, or with both.
se doscience and ?etaysics Zia attempted to Islamize science in Pakistan and appointed Muslim fundamentalist administrators to enforce the pseudo-science. At first, the policy was changed by Zia on nuclear development. Zia argued that Pakistan's atomic bomb is a property of Islamic Ummah, a theory that Bhutto had earlier avoided to keep the Pakistan sentiment strong and alive in scientists while developing the program. Saudi Arabia was the sole financier of the program, and Zia unofficially told Saudis that "Our achievements are your achievements", and later helped building the Saudi nuclear programme. This prompted Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan to send the designs of centrifuges to Libya to aide in their nuclear program as part of Zia's vision. Zia changed the entire educational system in the country, under a general drive towards Islamization, started the process of historical revisionism in earnest and exploited this initiative. 'The Pakistan's establishment taught their children right from the beginning that this state was built on the basis of religion ± that's why they don't have tolerance for other religions and want to wipe out all of them. At the end, Zia's controversial policies slowed down the progress of science in the country and attributed his dearth to militant Islam in Pakistan and the promotion of pseudoscience by Muslim fundamentalists in Pakistani schools and universities.
Laws against Amadiyya comm nity of Another addition to the laws was Ordinance XX of 1984. Under this, the Ahmadiyya were barred from calling themselves Muslims, or using Islamic terminology or practising Islamic rituals. This resulted in classifying the Ahmadiyya Community of Pakistan into a minority group in law. Zia was also considered anti-Shia, as Zia¶s regime saw vicious persecution unleashed against the Shias, who form 20 percent of Pakistan's population in addition to the persecution levied against smaller sects such as the Ahmadiyyas. åurther during his reign many Shia Muslim personalities
and politicians were killed, most prominently the judicial killing of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Zia did not throw Ahmedis from Army but Ahmedis who were declared minority in Bhutto's era were unhappy and regained prominent positions after Zia's death as PPP got power again. Zia's only open clash with Shia Ulema was over à (charity) distribution related issues. A book called "Profiles of intelligence" documents that event as written and resolved by a Shia military officer of ISI by the regime.
Ordinance XX Zia promulgated Ordinance XX on April 26, 1984, banning members of the Ahmadiyya community from performing some of their religious ceremonies and prayers. He declared "This Ordinance may be called the Anti-Islamic Activities of the Ahmadis (Prohibition and Punishment) Ordinance, 1984". Although before Zia's rule, in 1974 Pakistan's National Assembly under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, it was declared that Ahmadis are classified as non-Muslims for the definition of the law. But it was not sufficient in stopping the missionary activities of the Ahmadiyya community. Article 298-C of the new law states "Any person of the Quadiani group or the Lahori group (who call themselves 'Ahmadis' or by any other name), who, directly or indirectly, poses himself as Muslim, or calls, or refers to his faith as Islam, or preaches or propagates his faith, or invites others to accept his faith, by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representations, or in any manner whatsoever outrages the religious feelings of Muslims, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine."
Vioence against Amadiyya Comm nity Ironically, Zia had deep respect for Abdus Salamö a Nobel Laureate in Physicsö and had conferred with him with × ñ " in 1979. Zia also allowed Salam to have deliver lectures in Physics at the Islamabad University, and sanctioned an Award as national decoration after his name. Salam continued his ties with Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme and its associated personalities, but Zia had refrained Salam from participating in any experiment in the laboratories of Pakistan. Since the military regime of Zia unleashed a wave of persecution in the 1980s, violence against the Ahmadiyya community has never really ceased. Ahmadis continue to be killed and injured, and have their homes and businesses burned down in anti-Ahmadi attacks. The authorities continue to arrest, jail and charge Ahmadis for blasphemy and other offenses because of their religious beliefs. In several instances, the police have been complicit in harassment and the framing of false charges against Ahmadis, or stood by in the face of antiAhmadi violence.
La ?asjid of Isamabad The land of Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) was awarded to the occupants by Zia ul Haq. The controversial figureheads Abdul Aziz Ghazi and Abdul Rashid Ghazi of Jamia Hafsa had special relations with Zia ul Haq and those links were further enhanced by his son Muhammad Ijaz-ulHaq during his term as a minister of religious affairs. The former head of Lal Masjid, Maulana Abdullah who was famous for speeches on Jihad (Holy war), is said to be very close to Zia ul Haq.
Dismissa of te J nejo government and ca for new eections As time passed, the legislature wanted to have more freedom and power and by the beginning of 1988, rumors about the differences between Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo and Zia were rife. It is said by some that Zia-Junejo rift was encouraged by late Mahboob-ul-Haq and Junejo's insistence on signing Geneva pact without deciding the composition of next government of Afghanistan before Soviet withdrawal. Junejo also gave Benazir a seat next to him in parleys before that. Junejo did not strengthen the Islamization drive and rather weakened it. His era led to serious disturbances in Karachi and ultimately Karachi went into Shia control of MQM from clutches of Sunnis Jamaat-e-Islami. Ojhri Camp blast had irreversibly weakened Zia versus Junejo. Junejo with western support could not strike Zia. Zia struck first. On May 29, 1988, Zia dissolved the Senate and the National Assembly and removed the Prime Minister under article 58(2)b of the amended Constitution. Apart from many other reasons, Prime Minister Junejo's decision to sign the Geneva Accord against the wishes of Zia, and his open declarations of removing any military personnel found responsible for an explosion at a munitions dump at Ojhri Camp, on the outskirts of army headquarters in Rawalpindi, earlier in the year, proved to be some of the major factors responsible for his removal. Zia played the Islam card to defend himself and the generals against any accusations of misrule and corruption. However since the media in Pakistan was brutally gagged in his days, none of his corruption could be documented and brought to the limelight by the print media. When accused of trying to cover-up the Ojhri Camp incident, on May 29, 1988, he invoked an amendment that he had recently added to the Pakistani Constitution that allowed him to dismiss the Prime Minister, dissolve the National Assembly and all provincial assemblies ± basically, the entire legislative portions of the government outside of the Presidency. Zia's loyalists in the military were called to form an interim government. Zia justified his actions and diverted attention from
his corruption by focusing on how the further Islamization of Pakistan had been negligently delayed by Junejo and his government. Zia promised to hold elections in 1988 after the dismissal of Junejo government. He said that he would hold elections within the next 90 days. The late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's daughter Benazir Bhutto had returned from exile earlier in 1986, and had announced that she would be contesting the elections. With Bhutto's popularity somewhat growing, and a decrease in international aid following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, Zia was in an increasingly difficult political situation.
oitica rge General Zia as Chief Martial Law Administrator and later President, consolidated near-absolute power in 1970s and 1980s. The Purge that occurred in 1977 to 1979 and re-started in 1983, as a reaction to Zia's policies, the populist Movement for the Restoration of Democracy was born and soon gained popularity in Pakistan's smaller, poorer provinces, especially in Bhutto's home province, Sindh. General Zia responded by violently dealing with his political opponents and journalists as well as minorities. Indira Gandhi, Indian PM raised concerns over this brutality and violation of human rights at the hands of Pakistan's military dictatorship (Dawn August 14, 1983). Many senior military officers such as General Zulfikar Ali Khan and Major-General Tajammul Hussain Malik were convicted for treason, followed a small scale purging of Pakistan Army officers sympathetic to Bhutto. Zia curbed the Communist Party by illegally abducting Jam Saqi and Nazeer Abbasi for a secret trial. Both Abbasi and Saqi were tortured and killed while interrogating process into the hands of ruthless Brigadier-General Imtiaz Ahmad. The public lynching and flagellation became common for senior journalists and politicians who suffered at the hands of General Zia. This absolute act further radicalized the society where intolerance for other people was reached to maximum. Zia's torture and purge forced minorities to fled the country such as Major-General Eric Hall, director of Pakistan's space weapons program. The senior leadership of # took the refuge in neighboring Afghanistan and India, while many political workers went missing and either killed. One of the notable case was the hijacking of Pakistan International Airlines's Boeing 720 in 1981. ññ quickly founded that the Al-Zulfikar was behind this plot which resulted in killing of one military pilot. The leaders of this ring Salamullah Tipu was murdered in Kabul Prison; others were abducted by the ññ. The head of the KHAD, Mohammad Najibullah was also involved in this plot, but soon paid the price at the hands of the Taliban in 1996 when he was brutally beaten and publicly hanged in the roads of Kabul. Soon this incident, Zia also began to hunt down the à$ ö a leftist organization founded by Bhutto's children. The brutal poisoning and death of Shahnawaz Bhutto, Bhutto's youngest son, is widely suspected to done under Zia's orders, though there are no evidences for this claim. Zia's persecution of Bhutto's family, forced Benazir, Sanam and Murtaza Bhutto to hide in Arab world, notably Syria who provided the government-sanctioned houses to the Bhutto family.
Deat Zia died in a plane crash on August 17, 1988. After witnessing a US M1 Abrams tank demonstration in Bahawalpur, Zia had left the small town in the Punjab province by C-130 Hercules aircraft. Shortly after a smooth takeoff, the control tower lost contact with the aircraft. Witnesses who saw the plane in the air afterward claim it was flying erratically, then nosedived and exploded on impact. In addition to Zia, 31 others died in the plane crash, including Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Akhtar Abdur Rahman, close associate of Zia, Brigadier Siddique Salik, the American Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Lewis Raphel and General Herbert M. Wassom, the head of the U.S. Military aid mission to Pakistan. Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the Senate Chairman announced Zia's death on radio and TV. The manner of his death has given rise to many conspiracy theories.There is speculation that America, India, the Soviet Union (as retaliation for US-Pakistani supported attacks in Afghanistan) or an alliance of them and internal groups within Zia's military were behind the attack.
A board of inquiry was set up to investigate the crash. It concluded % . It also suggested that poisonous gases were released which incapacitated the passengers and crew, which would explain why no ? signal was given.
Maj Gen (retd) Mahmud Ali Durrani, claimed later that reports of Israeli and Indian involvement in Ziaul Haq¶s plane crash were only speculations and he rejected the statement that was given by former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan that the presidential plane was blown up in the air. Durrani stated that Zia's plane was destroyed while landing.
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His funeral was held on 20 August 1988 in Islamabad, the country's capital. Also in attendance was his successor as President of Pakistan, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, who had earlier officially announced Zia's death in a nationwide address. Zia's mortal remains were lowered in a small tomb outside the åaisal Mosque. With presence of many foreign Leaders and dignitaries, the funeral was attended by over a million people from all walks of life. Gahibana Namaz-e-Janaza was held at Holy Kaba, Masjid-e-Nabvi and Masjid-e-Aqsa, the three holiest places of worship in the Muslim faith. Neither USSR nor USA would welcome the possible emergence of a united Islamic block of countries which President Zia seemed to advocate. More worrying still was Pakistan¶s acquisition of nuclear technology. It was even rumored that an important stage in the development of nuclear technology would have been reached in November 1988. A few weeks before president Zia¶s death a high ranking official of a major country called on him and asked him to abandon his programme. He declined to do so, saying that as long as Pakistan¶s neighbor did not abandon its programme he could not jeopardize his country¶s security. After much cajoling, which made no impression on Zia ul Haq, the official reportedly warned him of the grave consequences of refusing to alter his stance. When the official departed, the President told his family that an attempt might be made on his life; but he reminded them that life and death are in the hands of Allah and that if he were to attain Shahadat defending Pakistan and Islam, he would consider himself the luckiest man. If this story is true, his words were indeed prophetic. His funeral was held on 19 August 1988 in Islamabad, the country's capital. Also in attendance was his successor as President of Pakistan, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, who had earlier officially announced Zia's death in a nationwide address. Zia's remains were interred in a small tomb outside the åaisal Mosque.
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Conc sion Zia came from a lower-middle-class family and was educated at St Stephen's College in Delhi before joining the British Indian Army in 1944. He was commissioned into the cavalry and saw service in Burma, Malaya, and Java at the end of the Second World War. After his promotion to Brigadier in 1969, Zia was seconded to Jordan where he helped King Hussein's forces in their operations against the PLO. On his return home, Zia commanded the first Armoured Division for three years. He was still relatively unknown however when he became head of the Pakistan army in the spring of 1976. Zia launched the coup code-named "Operation åairplay" against Bhutto on 5 July 1977. It ushered in Pakistan's longest period of military rule. Even when it was withdrawn on 30 December 1985, Zia retained his post as Chief of Army Staff and continued to wield power through the office of President. Indeed on 29 May 1988, he dismissed his handpicked Prime Minister Mohammed Khan Junejo. Zia's political survival rested on his skill in wrong-footing opponents, and on the favourable external environment following the December 1979 Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. This transformed him overnight from an international pariah to America's front-line ally in the fight against Communism. The Reagan administration provided $3.2 billion of military and economic assistance, despite concerns over human rights abuses and the nuclear programme. The martial law era was punctuated by unfulfilled promises of national elections and by discussion of the relevance of democracy for an Islamic state. Zia maintained that a Westernstyle democracy was unsuitable for Pakistan. He eventually agreed to hold "party-less" elections in åebruary 1985, following a referendum on his Islamic policies which was linked with his reelection as President. The eleven-party alliance Movement for the Restoration of Democracy, which had mounted a major campaign in Sind in 1983 against the Zia regime, boycotted both the polls. Zia introduced special courts, with Islamic rules of evidence and punishments for certain crimes. åurther measures included the provision of Islamic banking facilities and the government collection of " (alms) and (agricultural tax). Islamization which was stoutly opposed by women's groups and human rights activists stirred up sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shias. Karachi experienced mounting ethnic violence from 1986 onwards. Clashes between and Pakhtuns, later extended to the Sindhi community. The growing lawlessness was encourage by the ready availability of weapons and drugs as a result of the Afghan War. Zia justified his dismissal of Junejo in terms of the deteriorating security situation. Party-less elections were %
scheduled for November 1988. Zia died however on 17 August following the unexplained crash of his C-130 aircraft. Zia can be viewed as a pious Muslim who halted his country's moral decay and contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Empire, or condemned as an intolerant and vindictive ruler who cynically manipulated Islam to remain in power.
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Annotated Bibliography for Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues "Who Killed Zia?" by Edward Jay Epstein for > å , September 1989 Official profile at Pakistan Army website The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan General Zia-ul-Haq¶s plane crash due to mechanical problem (Times of London) "Profile: Islamabad's Red Mosque". . July 27, 2007. "Pakistan- A Dream Gone Sour". &å "Zia through a daughter¶s eyes". Khalidhasan.net. March 28, 2004. Retrieved November 13, 2011. "Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq". Nndb.com. Retrieved November 13, 2011. ' ( )* à $ % ñ "Pakistan's abused Ahmadis". + (London). January 13, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2011. GoPak, Government of Pakistan. "The Eight Amendment". Constitution of Pakistan. Retrieved November 16, 2011. "Pakistan Penal Code, Religious and Ahmadi-specific Laws". Thepersecution.org. Retrieved November 13, 2011. "Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, PART XII ± Miscellaneous, Chapter 5. Interpretation, Article 260(3)". Thepersecution.org. May 23, 2001. Retrieved November 13, 2011. "Editorial: Another clue into General Zia's death". 6 (Lahore). December 4, 2005. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
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