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SUBMITTED BY: AAKASH KUMAR BUDHRANI SUBMITTED TO: Dr. SAHIB KHAN CHANNA STUDENT I.D: 11723 SUBJECT: PAKISTAN STUDIES DATE : 12-DEC-2011
Contents
Sharia laws..................................................................................................................................... 19 Penal Code..................................................................................................................................... 20 Pseudoscience and Metaphysics .................................................................................................... 20 Laws against Ahmadiyya community of 1984 ................................................................................. 20 Lal Masjid of Islamabad .................................................................................................................. 22 Dismissal of the Junejo government and call for new elections ...................................................... 22 Political Purge .................................................................................................................................. 23 Death ................................................................................................................................................ 24 Funeral and burial ............................................................................................................................ 25 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 26 References ...................................................................................................................................... 28
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (August 12, 1924 August 17, 1988), was the 4th Chief Martial Law Administrator and the sixth President of Pakistan from July 1977 to his death in August 1988. Distinguished by his role in the Black September in Jordan military operation in 1970, he was appointed Chief of Army Staff in 1976 by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto after Bhutto forcefully retired seven senior lieutenant-generals who where tainted with their role in the EastPakistan war in order to bring and promote Zia to four star rank. After widespread civil disorder, he planned and overthrew ruling Prime Minister Bhutto in a bloodless coup d'tat on July 5, 1977, code name Fair Play, and became the state's third military ruler to impose martial law. Zia's idea of religious conservatism in Pakistan became the primary line of his military government. Throughout the 1980s, Zia managed to consolidate more and more power in his hands, gradually putting down all opposition groups in Pakistan. He initially ruled as Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA), but later installed himself as the President of Pakistan in September 1978. As both President and CMLA, Zia forcefully crushed the secular-communist and socialist democratic struggle led by the eldest daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto. Zia abandoned the previous economical policies of Bhutto, and replaced them with capitalism and privatization of the major industries of Pakistan that had been nationalized by Bhutto in 1970s. The Pakistan economy became one the fastest growing economies in South Asia. However, during this period of economic and social change, Zia curbed and violently dealt with the political rivals in 1980s. His reign is often regarded as a period of mass military repression in which hundreds of thousands of political rivals, minorities, and journalists were executed or tortured, including Pakistan Army's senior general officers convicted in coup-d'tat plots against his regime. Zia's major domestic initiatives included the consolidation of the nuclear development, which was initiated by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto; the restarting of the space program as spin-off of the nuclear project, denationalization and deregulation and the state's Islamization. His tenure saw the disbanding of the Baloch insurgency. His endorsement of the Pakistan Muslim League (the founding party of Pakistan) initiated its mainstream revival. However, he is most remembered for his foreign policy; the subsidizing of the Mujahideen movement during the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan which led to the Soviet-Russian withdrawal from Afghanistan Socialist Republic. Zia entered into an undeclared secret war with Soviet Afghanistan and its ally Soviet Union. Zia authorized secret funding and expansion of intelligence operations in Pakistan and abroad, initially focusing on anti-communist operations. He was described by some as a "fundamentalist Sunni dictator". Zia died along with several of his top generals and admirals and the then United States Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Lewis Raphel in a suspicious air crash near Bahawalpur (Punjab) on 17 August 198
After Muhammad Ali Jinnah, another shining star appeared three decades later in the person of Muhammad Zia ul Haq. Few rulers in modern times have achieved such universal respect and few have been so deeply committed to the ideals of Islam. He was simple and austere in his personal habits, embodying the Muslim virtues of humility, generosity, courtesy and piety. His passion in life was service to Islam and the Muslim world, and nothing could persuade him to deviate from his path. By championing this cause he created many enemies, and on 17 Aug 1988 he lost his life in a plane crash contrived by his foes. Little did the enemies of Islam realize that assassination would be counter-productive; it would strengthen rather than weaken his mission. General Zia ul Haq has become Shaheed or martyr serving as a beacon of light for the Muslim Ummah in its efforts to re-establish Islamic identity; his mission shall be carried forward from generation to generation.
Early life
Zia was born in Jalandhar, British India, in 1924 as the second child of Muhammad Akbar, who worked in the Army GHQ in Delhi and Simla pre-partition. He completed his initial education in Simla and then attended St. Stephen's College, Delhi for his graduate degree. After graduation from St. Xavier College, Zia joined the British Indian Army in 1943. He married Shafiq Jahan in 195051. Shafiq Zia died on January 5, 1996. Zia is survived by his sons, Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq, (born 1953), who went into politics and became a cabinet minister in the government of Nawaz Sharif, and Anwar-ul-Haq (born 1950) and his daughters, Zian (also Zain) (born 1972), a special needs child, and Rubina Salim, who is married to a Pakistani banker and has been living in the United States since 1980, and daughter Quratulain Zia who currently lives in London, and is married to Pakistani doctor, Adnan Majid.
Army career
Zia was commissioned in the British Indian Army in a cavalry regiment on May 12, 1943 and served against Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II. After Pakistan gained its independence, Zia joined the newly formed Pakistan Army as a Major. His regiment was now the Guides Cavalry Frontier Force Regiment. He was trained in the United States in 19621964 at the US Army Command and General Staff College Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. After that, he returned to take over as Directing Staff (DS) at Command and Staff College, Quetta. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Zia was a tank commander. Zia was stationed in Jordan from 1967 to 1970 as a Brigadier, helping in the training of Jordanian soldiers, as well as leading the training mission into battle during the Black September operations as commander of Jordanian 2nd Division, a strategy that proved crucial to King Hussein's remaining in power. By 1973, then Major General Zia was commanding the 1st Armoured Division at Multan.
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He was then promoted as Lieutenant General and was appointed commander of the II Strike Corps at Multan in 1975. It was during this time that Zia invited Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as the Colonel-in-Chief of the Armoured Corps at Multan, using his tailor to stitch the Blue Patrols of his size. The next day, Bhutto was requested to climb a tank and engage a target, where the target was quite obviously hit. After the function, Zia met Bhutto, placed his hand on the Qur'an and said, "You are the saviour of Pakistan and we owe it to you to be totally loyal to you". On March 1, 1976, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto approved then-3 star general LieutenantGeneral Zia as Chief of Army Staff and to be elevated to 4 star rank. This promotion was ahead of a number of more senior officers. At the time of his nominating the successor to the outgoing Chief of Army Staff General Tikka Khan, the Lieutenant Generals in order of seniority were, Muhammad Shariff, Muhammed Akbar Khan, Aftab Ahmed Khan, Azmat Baksh Awan, Agha Ibrahim Akram, Abdul Majeed Malik, Ghulam Jilani Khan, and Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. But, Bhutto chose the most junior, superseding seven more senior lieutenant-generals. However, the senior most at that time, Lieutenant-General Mohammad Shariff, though promoted to General, was made the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, a constitutional post akin to President Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry. Zia never called Bhutto as "Mr. Prime Minister", but relied on the term Sir while referring to Bhutto.
Planning of Coup
Prime Minister Bhutto began facing considerable criticism and increasing unpopularity as his term progressed. Initially targeting leader of the opposition Khan Abdul Wali Khan and his opposition National Awami Party (NAP). Despite the ideological similarity of the two parties, the clash of egos both inside and outside the National Assembly became increasingly fierce, starting with the Federal governments decision to oust the NAP provincial government in Balochistan for alleged secessionist activities and culminating in the banning of the party and arrest of much of its leadership after the death of a close lieutenant of Bhutto's, Hayat Sherpao, in a bomb blast in the frontier town of Peshawar.
CIA Role
Many political analysts and scientists widely suspected that the riots and coup against Bhutto was orchestrated with help of Central Intelligence Agency and the United States Government because United States was afraid of Bhutto's socialist policies which were seen as sympathetic to the Soviet Union and had built a bridge that allowed Soviet Union to involved in Pakistan.A former U.S. attorney general and Human rights activist, Ramsey Clark, quoted that: "I [Ramsey Clark] do not believe in conspiracy theories in general, but the similarities in the staging of riots in Chile (where the CIA allegedly helped overthrow President Salvadore Allande) and in Pakistan are just too close, Bhutto was removed from power in Pakistan by force on July 5, after the usual party on the 4th at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, with U.S. approval, if not more, by General Zia-ul-Haq.Bhutto was falsely accused and brutalized for months during proceedings that corrupted the Judiciary of Pakistan before being murdered, then hanged. As Americans, we must ask ourselves this: Is it possible that a rational military leader under the circumstances in Pakistan could have overthrown a constitutional government, without at least the tacit approval of the United States?".
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Zia).. wanted to become an Amir, a ridicule concept which died centuries ago. 'If he (Zia) had his way, (Zia) would have taken [Pakistan] back to the Middle Ages.... [Zia] had no idea of law or [constitution] or the requirements of a [modern] governments'. Roedad Khan Secretary of Internal Security
and a strong man. General Haque was the commander of the XI Corps, and commanding-general officer of the Army elements responsible for fighting a secret war against Soviet Union. The second appointment was of Lieutenant-General S.M. Abbasi who was appointed Martial Law Administrator of Sindh Province; his tenure too saw civil disorder amid student riots. By contrast, third martial law administrator appointment of Lieutenant-General Ghulam Jilani Khan to the Punjab Province made much headway in beautifying Lahore extending infrastructure, and muting political opposition. The ascent of Navaz Sharif to Chief Minister of Punjab was largely due to General Jilani's sponsorship. Perhaps most crucially, final and fourth martial law administrator appointment was then-Lieutenant-General Rahimuddin Khan. Lieutenant-General Rahimuddin Khan was appointed to the post of Martial Law Administrator of Balochistan Province saw the disbanding of the Baloch insurgency, the containment of Afghan Mujahideen, as well as the construction of nuclear test sites in the Chagai District. Zia's tenure saw the influx of heroin, sophisticated weaponry, and countless refugees in from neighbouring Afghanistan Law and order deterioration was worse after he appointed Mr. Junejo as Prime minister in 1985.
Referendum of 1984
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 on December 19, 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 favour of Zia, 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.Also, despite pressure from the government to vote, only 10% of those eligible to vote did so Zia had the overwhelming majority of the votes cast, but in reality the referendum was an embarrassing failure.
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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
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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.
Economic 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.
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 Kirana-I 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.
Nuclear diplomacy
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. From 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, Foreign 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. Following the success of Operation Opera an Israeli Air Force strike to sabotage the Iraqi nuclear programme in 1981 amid suspicion grew in Pakistan that Indian Air Force had similar plans for Pakistan. In private meeting with General Anvr Schamiem, then-Chief of Air Staff, General Zia had notified General Schamiem that Indian Air Force had plans to infiltrate in Pakistan's nuclear energy project, citing the solid evidences. Due to weak Air Force, 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 F-16 Falcons and A-5 Fanton jets for Pakistan Air Force. General Shamim launched the Operation Sentinel- a counter operation that thwarted the Israeli Air Force attempt to sabotage Pakistan's nuclear energy project 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 F-16 Falcons and A-5 Fantons, General Shamim commissioned the Air Force Strategic Command to protect and battle the weapons of mass destruction.
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Nuclear proliferation
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 Forces 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, Orchard, 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.
Expansion
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 Khushab-I, 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, Badr-1, 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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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 CIA. It was thought by some leading ISI 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 CIA 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 Jihad 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 CIA, ISI, US and Pakistani military establishments for over 10 years.For 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 Forces. General Zia's morphed Jihadist 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.
'Islamisation' of Pakistan
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: "Many a ruler did what they pleased in the name of Islam." After assuming power, the government began a program of public commitment to enforce Nizam-e-Mustafa (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 Islam for the survival of his own regime. In 1983, Nusrat Bhutto reasoned General Zia's policies as she puts it:
The (scream) and the horrors of 1971 war..... are (still) alive and vivid in the hearts and the minds of people of [Pakistan]...Therefore, General Zia insanely.... used the "Islam [Card]".... to ensure the survival of his own regime.... Nusrat Bhutto, former First Lady of Pakistan,
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Islamic 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, Haddood 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. 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 ( , also transliterated Hadud, Hudud; plural for Hadh, , 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.
Sharia laws
In legal terms, (Islamic law being usually referred to as Sharia, ) the term is used to describe laws that define a certain level of crime classification. Crimes classified under Hudud were the most severe of crimes, such as murder, theft, and adultery. There were minor differences in views between the four major Sunni madh'habs 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
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on drinking was promulgated by Bhutto as he tried to soothen the tide of street Islamization drive called Nizam-e-Mustafa in his last days.
Penal 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, Ahl al-Bayt (family members of Muhammad), Sahabah (companions of Muhammad) and Sha'ar-i-Islam (Islamic symbols), a cognizable offence, punishable with imprisonment or fine, or with both.
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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 Zakat (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."
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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.
Political Purge
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 People's National Party 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. ISI 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 ISI. 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 Al-Zulfiqar 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.
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Death
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 the most probable cause of the crash was a criminal act of sabotage perpetrated in the aircraft. It also suggested that poisonous gases were released which incapacitated the passengers and crew, which would explain why no Mayday signal was given.
Maj Gen (retd) Mahmud Ali Durrani, claimed later that reports of Israeli and Indian involvement in Ziaul Haqs 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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Zia's Tomb
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 Faisal 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 Pakistans 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 Zias 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 Pakistans neighbor did not abandon its programme he could not jeopardize his countrys 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 Faisal Mosque.
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Conclusion
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 Fairplay" 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 February 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 shariat courts, with Islamic rules of evidence and punishments for certain crimes. Further measures included the provision of Islamic banking facilities and the government collection of zakat (alms) and ushr (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 mohajirs 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
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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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References
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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 Vanity Fair, September 1989 Official profile at Pakistan Army website The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan General Zia-ul-Haqs plane crash due to mechanical problem (Times of London) "Profile: Islamabad's Red Mosque". BBC News. July 27, 2007. "Pakistan- A Dream Gone Sour". Colonel Athar Hussain Ansari, PAF "Zia through a daughters eyes". Khalidhasan.net. March 28, 2004. Retrieved November 13, 2011. "Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq". Nndb.com. Retrieved November 13, 2011. State and Secularism: Perspectives from AsiaGeneral Zia-ul-Haq and Patronage of Islamism "Pakistan's abused Ahmadis". The Economist (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". Daily Times (Lahore). December 4, 2005. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
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