Zahirul Islam Abbasi

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Major General Zahirul Islam Abbasi is a former commander and officer of the Pakistani Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence agency of the military of Pakistan. Serving in the Siachen region of the disputed territory of Kashmir, Abbasi planned and executed a renegade assault on posts held by the Indian Army. Working with Islamist political parties, Abbasi plotted a coup d'etat against the civilian government of Benazir Bhutto in 1995.

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[edit] Military and intelligence career

Enrolling in the Pakistani Army, Abbasi also began working for Pakistan's military intelligence. Abbasi was deeply influenced by the program of Islamization carried out by President Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980s. Under Zia, the state religion of Islam became an integral element of Pakistani military life, while Zia established Islamic civil and military laws. Abbasi developed links with radical Islamic religious and political groups, and personally espoused the goal of establishing an Islamic state, or caliphate in Pakistan.

Abbasi worked as a senior intelligence operative and military officer in liaison with Islamic militas resisting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan (1979 - 1988). It is believed Abbasi actively worked with the Taliban militia, which would win control of Afghanistan in 1995. Abbasi also served as the ISI station chief at the Pakistani embassy in New Delhi, India — the highest-ranking Pakistani intelligence officer working against Pakistan's arch-rival neighbour. On December 1, 1988 New Delhi police arrested Abbasi in a meeting with an Indian contact, allegedly taking important official government documents. Released to the Pakistani embassy, Abbasi was expelled from India.

[edit] Siachen assault

Although subject of controversy owing to the espionage incident, Abbasi was promoted to army command posts. Since the early 1980s, Pakistan's army had launched military assaults to attempt to win control over the Siachen sector, where the Line of Control had not been demarcated. Many Pakistani and Indian soldiers were killed in high-altitude warfare involving thousands of soldiers and senior Pakistani commanders such as Pervez Musharraf. Deployed as a unit commander in the Siachen area in 1991, Abbasi opposed the restraint imposed by the army under prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and planned an assault with a group of fundamentalist officers. Striving to seize key posts, Abbasi's surprise attack failed as his troops were repulsed by Indian forces with heavy casualties. Abbasi and his allies were removed from their posts and disciplined by the army chief Gen. Asif Nawaz.

[edit] Coup attempt

Dropped from the echelons of army command, Abbasi forged links with Islamist terrorist groups, notably the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami. Abbasi began plotting a coup against the civilian government of prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the army chief Gen. Wahid Kakar in 1995. Despite his actions, Abbasi was appointed director-general of infantry corps at the army high command. Attempting to gather a group of senior fundamentalist intelligence officers and military commanders, Abbasi planned to assassinate Bhutto, Kakar, senior cabinet ministers and the military chiefs and proclaim the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in Pakistan, thus taking over the government and establishing a radical Islamist state, akin to the Taliban regime of Afghanistan.

The plot was foiled when it was uncovered by Lt. Gen. Jehangir Karamat, then director-general of military operations. The coup plotters were arrested, and following a court-martial, Abbasi was moved to a military prison. Investigation reports revealed that Abbasi and his co-conspirators had planned to kill the entire army high command during a corps commander's conference in Islamabad on September 30, 1997. Non-government reports also suggest that Abbasi had been supplying arms to Kashmiri separatists and was arrested by the Bhutto regime in response to pressure from the United States to curb the militancy.

[edit] Release

During his period of imprisonment, Abbasi lodged a complaint with the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1997, which refused to grant his release. However, Abbasi was released from prison following the overthrow of Nawaz Sharif by General Pervez Musharraf in October, 1999. Although his military career was over, Abbasi moved to organise an Islamic fundamentalist political party with the aim of organising an Islamist revolution. He is also reportedly working as an activist for Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. Abbasi recently formed another political party called the Azmat-e-Islam Bedar Pakistan party.

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