Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq

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Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
محمد ضیاءالحق
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
In office
September 16, 1978 – August 17, 1988
Preceded by Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry
Succeeded by Ghulam Ishaq Khan
8th Chief of the Army Staff
In office
1976 – 1988
Preceded by Gen. Tikka Khan
Succeeded by Gen. Mirza Aslam Beg
Born August 12, 1924
Jalandhar, British India
Died August 17, 1988
Spouse Begum Shafiqa Zia
Religion Islam

General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (Urdu: محمد ضیاءالحق) (August 12, 1924–August 17, 1988) ruled Pakistan from 1977 to 1988. His rule over the country is the longest to date in the history of Pakistan. Appointed Chief of Army Staff in 1976, General Zia-ul-Haq came to power after he overthrew ruling Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, after widespread civil disorder, in a bloodless military coup d'état on July 5, 1977 and imposed Martial Law. He assumed the post of President of Pakistan in 1978 which he held till his death on August 17, 1988.

His reign witnessed the enforcement of a strict interpretation of Islamic law within the country, the political stabilization of secession-threatening Balochistan following his setting-up of a separate military regime within the province, the passing of the controversial 8th Amendment into constitutional law, as well as the gradual privatization and subsequent economic rejuvenation of a previously declining economy.

He also fought a war by proxy in Afghanistan, aiding the Mujahidin against the superpower Soviet Union, in the Soviet-Afghan War. Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the end of détente, he was instrumental in providing United States-backed military aid to the Afghan resistance against Soviet occupation and then later diverting them to the Kashmir cause in the late 1980s. His major contributions to the Mujahideen greatly aided them in inducing a complete Soviet withdrawal by 1988.

Having become President in 1978, he secured his position as head of state through a referendum in 1984 which successfully ensured his rule as President for another five years. He lifted Martial Law and held partyless elections in 1985, and handpicked Muhammad Khan Junejo to be the Prime Minister of Pakistan. He dismissed Junejo's government in May 1988 on several charges. He died in an aircraft crash on August 17, 1988 under mysterious circumstances, which spawned many conspiracy theories. His death ended his eleven-year military dictatorship over Pakistan.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Zia (more appropriate Arabic transliteration: Dhia), a member of the Arain caste, was born in Jalandhar, India, in 1924 as the second child of a school teacher named Muhammad Akbar. He completed his initial education in Simla and then at St. Stephen's College, Delhi. He was commissioned in the British Indian Army in a cavalry regiment in 1943 and served during World War II. After Pakistan's independence, Zia joined the newly formed Pakistani Army as a major. He trained in the United States in 1962–1964 at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Zia was stationed in Jordan from 1967 to 1970, helping in the training of Jordanian soldiers, as well as leading the training mission into battle during the Black September in Jordan operations. On 1 April 1976, Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto appointed Zia-ul-Haq as Chief of Army Staff, ahead of a number of more senior officers.


[edit] Postponement of elections and call for accountability

After assuming power as Chief Martial Law Administrator, General Zia promised to hold National and Provincial Assembly elections in the next 90 days and to hand over power to the representatives of the nation. He also stated that the constitution had not been abrogated whatsoever, but had been temporarily suspended. However, in October 1977, he announced the postponement of the electoral plan and decided to start an accountability process of the politicians. Zia said that he changed his decision due to the strong public demand for the scrutiny of political leaders who had indulged in malpractice in the past (a large number of both PNA and PPP members had asked General Zia to postpone the elections). Thus the "retribution first, elections later," PNA policy was adopted. A Disqualification Tribunal was formed and several individuals who were once Members of Parliament were charged with malpractice and disqualified from participating in politics at any level for the next seven years. A White Paper document was issued, incriminating the deposed Bhutto government on several counts.

[edit] Reign as chief Martial Law administrator

[edit] The Doctrine of Necessity

Nusrat Bhutto, the wife of the deposed Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, filed a suit against General Zia's military regime, challenging the validity of the July 1977 military coup. The Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled, in what would later be known as the Doctrine of Necessity, that, given the dangerously unstable political situation of the time, General Zia's overthrowing of the Bhutto government was legal on the grounds of necessity. The judgment tightened the general's hold on the government.

[edit] Assumption of the post of President of Pakistan

Despite the dismissal of most of the Bhutto government, the President of Pakistan, Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, was persuaded to continue in office. After completing his term, and despite General Zia's insistence to accept an extension as President, Mr Chaudhry resigned, and General Zia also assumed the office of President of Pakistan on September 16, 1978. As acting Chief Martial Law Administrator and President of Pakistan, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq cemented his position as the undisputed ruler of the country.

[edit] The hanging of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

On April 4, 1979, the former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged, after the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence as passed by the Lahore High Court. The High Court had given him the death sentence on charges of the murder of the father of Ahmed Raza Kasuri, a dissident PPP politician. Despite many clemency appeals from foreign leaders requesting Zia to commute Bhutto's death sentence, Zia dismissed the appeals as "trade union activity" and upheld the death sentence.

[edit] Stabilization of Balochistan

[edit] Declaration of an Amnesty

On assuming power, General Zia inherited armed secessionist uprisings in Pakistan's largest province, Balochistan, from the Bhutto era. Tribal unrest and feudal clashes were moving the province towards a precarious position. The general acted quickly, offering a general amnesty to those who gave up arms and moving for the appeasement of the tribal unrest. When this had little effect on the prevailing situation there, Zia withdrew troops from the province, ending much of the civil disobedience movements.

[edit] Appointment of Rahimuddin Khan as Martial Law Governor

Zia then appointed General Rahimuddin Khan, whose previously distinguished career made him stand out among his peers, to the post of Martial Law Governor of Balochistan (and later Governor of Sindh). General Rahimuddin then embarked on a provincial policy that completely isolated feudal families from the government. His authoritarian rule crushed any remaining civil unrest within Balochistan.

This garnered controversy over Zia's appointing of the dictatorial Rahimuddin, as the latter would go on to concentrate power solely with the provincial military regime and mostly act independently of the central government. The controversy eventually dissipated after the impressive progress Balochistan went through during Rahimuddin's lengthy rule (1978-1984), which was to remain characterized by the isolation of feudal families from provincial policy.

[edit] Reign as President of Pakistan

[edit] Formation of Majlis-e-Shoora

Main article: Majlis-e-Shoora

In the absence of a Parliament, General Zia decided to set up an alternative system. He introduced Majlis-e-Shoora in 1980. Most of the members of the Shoora were intellectuals, scholars, ulema, journalists, economists and professionals belonging to different fields of life. The Shoora was to act as a board of advisors to the President. All 284 members of the Shoora were to be nominated by the President.

[edit] Referendum of 1984

General Zia eventually decided to hold elections in the country. But before handing over the power to the public representatives, he decided to secure his position as the head of state. A referendum was held in December 1984, and the option was to elect or reject the General as the future President. The question asked in the referendum was whether the people of Pakistan wanted Islamic Sharia law enforced in the country. According to the official result, more than 95% of the votes were cast in favor of Zia-ul-Haq, thus he was elected as President for the next five years. However, they were marred by allegations of widespread irregularities and technical violations of the laws and ethics of democratic elections.

[edit] The Eighth Amendment and elections of 1985

After being elected President, Zia-ul-Haq decided to hold elections in the country in February 1985 on a non-party basis. Most of the opposing political parties decided to boycott the elections but election results showed that many victors belonged to one party or the other. To make things easier for himself, the General nominated the Prime Minister from amongst the Members of the Assembly. To many, his nomination of Muhammad Khan Junejo as the Prime Minister was because he wanted a simple person at the post who would act as a puppet in his hands. Before handing over the power to the new Government he made certain Amendments in the Constitution and got them endorsed from the Parliament before lifting the state of emergency in the country. Due to this Eighth Amendment in the Constitution, the powers of the President were increased to an absolute level on the plea of safeguarding national integrity.

[edit] Success in economic reform

Under Zia, the previous ruler Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's nationalization policies were slowly reversed, and gradual privatization took place. General Zia greatly favored egalitarianism and industrialization. His reign saw, between 1980 and 1988, the increase of industrial production by nine percent, as well as an annual growth in Gross Domestic Product by six percent, among the highest in the world.

[edit] Consolidation of Pakistan's nuclear programme

President Zia sought and substantially contributed to the attaining of nuclear capability for Pakistan. Accordingly, the country was made a subject of attack on platforms of international organizations for not signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Zia deftly neutralized international pressure by tagging Pakistan's nuclear programme to the nuclear designs of neighbouring India. The President then 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. Despite this, he also openly funded a uranium-enrichment plant based in Kahuta under Dr.Abdul Qadeer Khan of Nowshera Cantt

[edit] Involvement in the Soviet-Afghan War

[edit] The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

On December 25, 1979, the Soviet Union, a superpower at the time, invaded Afghanistan. General Zia, as President of neighboring Pakistan, was asked by several cabinet members to not interfere in the war, owing to the military power of the USSR at the time. The Islamist General Zia, however, was ideologically opposed to Communism taking over a neighboring country, and made no secret about his intentions of monetarily and militarily aiding the Afghan resistance, or Mujahideen.

[edit] International standing enhancement and resumption of aid

President Zia's international standing greatly rose after his declaration to fight the Soviet invaders, as he went from being portrayed as just another military dictator to a champion of the free world by the Western media. Indeed, Pakistan-United States relations, which had hit a low-point after the burning down of a Pakistan-based US Embassy by fundamentalists in 1979, 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. Aid to the Afghan resistance, and to Pakistan, increased substantially. 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.

[edit] Fighting the war by proxy

President 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 dollar 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 CIA and the United States Army Special Forces supported the armed struggle against the Soviets.

After succeeding Jimmy Carter in 1980, Ronald Reagan became the new President of the United States of America. Reagan was completely against the Soviet Union and its Communist satellites, dubbing it "the Evil Empire". Reagan now increased financial aid heading for Pakistan. Then, in 1981, the Reagan Administration sent the first of forty F-16 jet fighters to the Pakistanis. But the Soviets kept control of the Afghan skies until President Reagan decided to supply the Mujahideen with shoulder-launched Stinger anti-aircraft missiles in 1986. From that moment on, the Mujahideen's strategic position steadily improved.

Accordingly, 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, therefore, played a large part in the eventual withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1988.

[edit] General Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization

Main article: Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization

On December 2, 1978, on the occasion of the first day of the Hijra calendar to enforce the Islamic system in Pakistan in a nationwide address, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq accused politicians of exploiting the name of Islam saying: "Many a ruler did what they pleased in the name of Islam."

After assuming power, the task that the government set to was its public commitment to enforce Nizam-e-Islam (Islamic System), a 180 degree turn from Pakistan's predominantly Anglo-Saxon Law. As a preliminary measure to establish an Islamic society in Pakistan, General Zia announced the establishment of Shariah Benches.

Under Offenses Against Property (Enforcement of Hudood Ordinance 1979), the punishment of imprisonment or fine, or both, as provided in the existing Penal Code of Pakistan for theft, was substituted by the amputation of the right hand of the offender from the joint of the wrist by a surgeon. For robbery, the right hand of the offender from the wrist and his left foot from the ankle should be amputated by a surgeon. Hudood ( Arabic حدود, also transliterated Hadud, Hudud; plural for Hadh, حد, limit, or restriction) is the word often used in Islamic social and legal literature for the bounds of acceptable behaviour.

In legal terms, (Islamic law being usually referred to as Sharia, شريعة) the term is used to describe laws that define a level of crime classification. Crimes classified under Hudud are the most severe of crimes, such as murder, theft, and adultery. There are minor differences in views between the four major Sunni madhhabs 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 are immutable. However, with liberal movements in Islam expressing concerns about hadith validity, a major component of how Islamic law is created, questions have arisen about administering certain punishments. Incompatibilities with human rights in the way Islamic law is practised in many countries has led many to call for an international moratorium on the punishments of Hudud laws until greater scholarly consensus can be reached. It has also been argued by some, that the Hudud portion of Sharia is incompatible with humanism or human rights.

Drinking of wine (i.e. all alcoholic drinks) was not a crime at all under the Penal Code of Pakistan. 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.

Under the Zina Ordinance, the provisions relating to adultery were replaced as 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.

The Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Criminal Procedure Code were amended, through ordinances in 1980, 1982 and 1986 to declare anything implying disrespect to Muhammad, Ahle Bait (family of the Muhammad), Sahaba (companions of Muhammad) and Sha'ar-i-Islam (Islamic symbols), a cognizable offence, punishable with imprisonment or fine, or with both.

Another addition to the laws was Ordinance XX OF 1984. Under this, Ahmadis were barred from calling themselves Muslims, or using Islamic terminology or practicing Islamic rituals. This effectively resulted in turing the Ahamdiyya community of Pakistan into outlaws.

[edit] Dismissal of the Junejo government and call for fresh elections

As time passed, the Parliamentarians wanted to have more freedom and power. By the beginning of 1988, rumors about the differences between Prime Minister Junejo and President Zia were rife. On May 29, 1988, President Zia dissolved the National Assembly and removed the Prime Minister under article 58(2) b of the amended Constitution. Apart from many other reasons, Junejo's decision to sign the Geneva Accord against the wishes of General Zia, and his open declarations of removing any military personnel found responsible for an explosion at a munitions dump at Ojhri earlier in the year, proved to be some of the major factors responsible for his removal.

After eleven years, General Zia-ul-Haq once again promised the nation that he would hold fresh elections within the next ninety days. The late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's daughter Benazir Bhutto had returned from exile earlier in 1986, and had announced contesting the elections. With Benazir's popularity growing, and a decrease in international aid following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, Zia was trapped in a difficult political situation.

[edit] Death

[edit] The August 17 air crash

As he was grappling with these problems, however, General Zia-ul-Haq died in a plane crash on August 17, 1988. After witnessing a tank inspection in Bahawalpur, Zia had left the small town in Punjab province by C-130 Hercules aircraft. Shortly after a smooth take-off, the control tower lost contact with the aircraft. Witnesses who saw the plane in the air afterwards claim it was flying erratically. Directly afterwards, the aircraft nosedived before exploding in mid-air, killing General Zia and several other senior army generals, as well as American Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Raphel. A common suspicion within Pakistan, although with no proof, is that the crash was a political assassination carried out by the American CIA or Russian KGB. Other groups who have fallen under suspicion include the Afghan Communists and Shi'ite separatist groups operating within Pakistan.

[edit] Funeral and tributes

General Zia's funeral was held on 19 August in Islamabad, the country's capital. Millions of Pakistanis attended the funeral, which was held at the site of the famous Faisal Mosque, to pay their last respects to the late general. The Pakistani Event Consensus Organization stated the following month that the funeral had the highest number of attendants than any other mass event in the history of Pakistan. Also in attendance was his successor as President of Pakistan, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, who had earlier officially announced Zia's death via national address. President Zia-ul-Haq was also paid rich tributes by world leaders. Some extracts are-:

  • "(His death) has caused a great loss to the Muslim ummah which, in absence of the late Pakistani president, has lost one of its greatest Mujahids and one of the most sincere, zealous and devoted Muslim leaders to the cause of the ummah."

- -The Royal Court of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

  • "President Zia was a statesman of world stature, and there should be a re-dedication to regional peace and reconstruction to which President Zia had dedicated himself. It is with profound grief that I hear news of his death."

- -Ronald Reagan, President of the United States

  • "President Zia had led his country with great distinction and courage at a vital period in the region's history. The free world owes him a debt of gratitude."

- - Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

  • "He was an internationally acclaimed statesman and outstanding leader of Pakistan. He had all along attached great importance to China as well as furthering the friendly relations and cooperation between China and Pakistan. His death has deprived us of a respected old friend."

- -Yang Shangkun, President of the People's Republic of China

  • "There is no doubt that the Muslim nation of Pakistan had not since independence seen a person with such administrative calibre and with such pure and true policy, understanding and strong intention."

- - Ruhollah Khomeini, President of Iran

[edit] Controversial reasons behind the crash

The tragic air crash was, politically and militarily, the worst in Pakistan's history and unprecedented in military aircraft. His death is still a contentious topic in Pakistan. Many people do not believe that it was a simple accident, and hold the United States or the Soviet Union responsible for Zia-ul-Haq's death. But no evidence has yet come to light to prove either hypothesis. Recently, John Gunther Dean, a former US ambassador to India, blamed the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, for orchestrating the assassination of Zia-ul-Haq, though he offered no proof for his allegation, made to the World Policy Journal. General Hamid Gul, who would become the Director-General of the ISI after General Zia's death, stated that the US Central Intelligence Agency was behind the plane crash. Some theories have gone on to say that it was an act in coordination with the Soviet KGB and the American CIA. The perpetrators, however, have not been proven as yet. [1]

[edit] Legacy

General Zia-ul-Haq's most enduring legacy was his fighting the Soviet-Afghan War by proxy, in an alliance with the Afghan resistance, the Mujahideen, against the invading USSR. His open accepting of financial aid from the United States of America to fight the Soviet Union helped in ending an already struggling Détente. He was then instrumental in providing military aid to Mujahideen fighting in Afghanistan against Soviet occupation and then later diverting them to the Kashmir cause in the late 1980s. His major contributions to the resistance movement greatly aided in complete Soviet withdrawal by 1988, which perhaps stopped a direct military invasion of Pakistan.

Another enduring legacy of his is the political system he left behind. After the partyless elections of February 1985, the Pakistan Constitution of 1973 was pulled out of cold storage, and on its back, a series of amendments giving absolute powers to the president were grafted to dismantle any future democratic set up at will. Since then the presidential powers have been used three times to disband elected assemblies. In May 1988 he himself sacked Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo and dissolved the elected assemblies while President Ghulam Ishaq Khan sacked Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and disbanded the national and provincial assemblies, later doing the same again with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was again sacked by President Farooq Leghari using the same powers.

Zia's era also marked the most stable period for Pakistan's largest province, Balochistan, in the history of the country. This was mostly due to his appointing General Rahimuddin Khan as Martial Law Governor of Balochistan. Rahimuddin's efficient and iron-fisted rule completely subdued the militancy, and also prevented an influx of drugs and weaponry in the Balochistan from Afghanistan. Calls for secession, which were in excess during the rule of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, were brought under control, and civil disobedience was also put down by indirect military action under the authoritarian Rahimuddin.

His reign also witnessed the rise to prominence of several conservative politicians who would later rule the country, including Nawaz Sharif, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, and Zafarullah Khan Jamali (all of whom would later hold the post of Prime Minister of Pakistan). General Zia also revived and endorsed Pakistan's current ruling political party, Pakistan Muslim League. By 2002, the party broke into several splinter factions, the majority of which became structurally united again in 2003 under Pakistan Muslim League (Q), including Pakistan Muslim League (Z), which was named after Zia.

General Zia also militarized the bureaucracy systematically. By his government's orders, 5% of all new posts in the higher civil civil service were to be filled by army officers who, consequently, occupied important civilian positions. Successive democratically elected governments did not rescind this order due to the power wielded by Pakistan Army. Under Pakistan's current military government, militarizing the bureaucracy is again pursued.

Zia's rule witnessed heightened tensions with neighbouring states. He was instrumental in providing military assistance to Mujahideen fighting in Afghanistan against Soviet Occupation and then later diverting them to the Kashmir cause in the late 1980s. During his time as President, Zia was also accused several times by Indian premier Indira Gandhi (and later Rajiv Gandhi) of training Sikh insurgents and sending them to destabilize India. The completion of the construction of the Karakoram Highway from Pakistan to China, the highest paved international road in the world, took place during his rule in 1978.

General Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization was, after his Afghanistan policy, was arguably the most influential of his numerous legacies, and has continued to affect the political and sectarian situation in Pakistan till the present day. The nation's liberal elements claim that the late general's policy gave rise to previously unknown sectarianism and religious fanaticism within the country, citing, among others, the 1979-installed Hudood Ordinance. Pakistan's more conservative forces state that General Zia's Islamizing policies restored a sense of dignity and religious integrity back to the country. Although later governments under Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif set up commissions investigating the laws, they did not follow through on proposed amendments. The current government under Pervez Musharraf is also investigating the laws, despite opposition from the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, a coalition of religious political parties in Pakistan.

[edit] Quotes

  • "We'll hang some people. A few."
  • "If the Supreme Court says 'acquit him', I'll acquit him. If the Court says "hang the blighter", I'll hang him." - On the Supreme Court's role in the deposed Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's trial.
  • "It's little more than trade union activity among politicians." - On clemency appeals from foreign leaders asking him to commute Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's Supreme Court-upheld death sentence.
  • "Peanuts."- On the 400 million dollar aid package to Pakistan proposed by US President Jimmy Carter, who used to be a peanut farmer.
  • "We have thrown the bad eggs out and saved innocent lives." - On releasing political prisoners as demanded by PIA-airline hijackers, who threatened to kill a passenger a day if their demands were not met.
  • "Islam is paramount in the lives of Muslims, and, by the will of Allah, as long as I remain President, Pakistan will never be another drop in the Communist ocean."
  • "How can the government of Pakistan sign the accord with the man of the Soviet Union; who is responsible for killing so many?" - On his refusal to sign the Geneva Accord with USSR-supported Afghan premier Najibullah. Junejo's subsequent signing of the accord was one of the major factors that led to his dismissal.
  • "They've blocked China on the East. They've encircled Iran. They are two hundred miles from the warm waters. They're sitting practically on the mouth of [the Strait of] Hormuz. Why should they give up?" - On the USSR's future plans after it invaded Afghanistan.
  • "We are a screwdriver's turn away from the bomb."
  • "From the USSR to Vietnam, only one country stands up to the Soviets: Pakistan. Pakistan will never become a drop in the Red Ocean."

[edit] Trivia

  • General Zia-ul-Haq's rule over Pakistan was the longest to date; eleven years and one month, from July 5, 1977 to August 17, 1988.
  • Upon being appointed Chief of Army Staff in 1976 by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, General Zia superseded six senior generals.
  • The United States Democratic Party Presidential nominee in 2004, Senator John Kerry, stated in 2003 that President Zia "purposefully misled" him on the issue of Pakistan's nuclear programme when he visited the country in 1985.
  • British politician Chris Patten recounted in his 2005-published book, Not Quite the Diplomat, that his first-ever meeting with a world leader was with General Zia in 1986, who made him feel an as-then unexperienced 'frisson' when he began a sentence with "The late Mr. Bhutto once said..."
  • The C-130 plane crash in which he perished was the worst in Pakistan's history militarily, killing several senior generals; as well as being unprecedented in modern military aircraft.
  • The literal meaning of the name Zia-ul-Haq is 'light of the truth', a term humorously commented upon by author Ziauddin Sardar in his 2004-published nonfiction book, Desperately Seeking Paradise.
  • His son, Ijaz-ul-Haq, served for some time as the Minister for Religious Affairs of Pakistan in the government headed by General Pervez Musharraf.
  • He is still highy respected in Jordan, due to his role in the Black September in Jordan operations in support of King Hussein.

[edit] Books

  • Breaking the Curfew by Emma Duncan
  • Working with Zia by General K.M. Arif
  • Khaki Shadows by General K.M. Arif
  • Desperately Seeking Paradise by Ziauddin Safdar
  • Waiting for Allah by Christina Lamb
  • Ayub, Bhutto, and Zia by Hassan Iftikhar
  • Journey to Disillusionment by Sherbaz Mazari
  • General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Shaheed: A Compilation by Various Authors
  • Charlie Wilson's War by George Crile

Syed Mohummed Hashir .......by S.M.Hashir

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ex-US diplomat blames Israel for Pakistani dictator's death Declan Walsh, Guardian Unlimited, 5 December 2005. Retrieved 25 November 2006.
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General Tikka Khan		 Chiefs of Army Staff, Pakistan
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General Mirza Aslam Beg


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