PAK ONE - Urdu

A Short Urdu Documentary on Assassination of Zia-ul-Haq

Assassination of Zia-ul-Haq by whitengreen A considerably taboo topic as far as history of Pakistan is consired; not that Political Assassinations are unknown of its juts the fact that how this specific one was carried out. Since no specific culprit was apprehended many theories have originated over time and continue to originate which involve foreign governments and their intelligence agencies.

Theories: Barbara Crossette was the bureau chief of The New York Times in South Asia from 1988 to 1991. She has written, "Of all the violent political deaths in the twentieth century, none with such great interest to the U.S. has been more clouded than the mysterious air crash that killed president (and Army Chief General) Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan in (August) 1988, a tragedy that also claimed the life of the serving American ambassador and most of General Zia’s top commanders". No evidence has come to light to prove a conspiracy, although several theories do exist. The United States, India, followed by Afghanistan and the Soviet Union have all been suspected. In addition, Zia had enemies at a high level within Pakistan's own government.

• KGB or CIA assassination: A common suspicion within Pakistan, although with no proof, is that the crash was a political assassination carried out by the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or by the Soviet KGB. One theory had it that the CIA had spiked mangos with VX gas to eliminate Zia because of his unreliable commitment to a more democratic government and his loyalty to Afghan mujahideen. Another theory, also with little supporting evidence, is that the KGB was involved, as retaliation for the US-Pakistani support for the Afghan insurgency against the USSR throughout the 1980s. Considerable evidence exists that the Soviet Union knew about the US-Pakistan support for the mujahideen, and the KGB might have seen this as an opportunity to punish both Pakistan and the United States. The existence of a motive, however, is not sufficient to prove KGB involvement. General Hameed Gul, the head of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence agency at the time, suggested that the US might be responsible, even though the US Ambassador and military attaché were also killed. He told The Times that the Pakistani President was killed in a conspiracy involving a "foreign power". Early reports suggested that Raphel had only been summoned to join the flight at the last minute, which fueled conspiracy theories blaming the US. However, Raphel's widow has stated that her husband always planned to join General Zia on the aircraft, and that it was General Wassom who was added at the last minute. The novel The Zia Protocols refers to the murder of President Zia as one linked to the CIA and as part of a larger conspiracy involving the removal of a strong independent Islamic leader.


• Pakistan: Some have suspected the anti-Zia group al-Zulfikar, led by Murtaza Bhutto, brother of Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistani politician who would ultimately gain most from Zia's departure. General Zia's son Ijaz-ul-Haq told Barbara Crossette a year after the crash that he was "101 percent sure" that Murtaza was involved. Benazir Bhutto suggested that the fatal crash might well have been an "act of God". She was also accused of having rejoiced at Zia's death, because Zia had ordered her father, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, hanged. People have also pointed to some senior dissatisfied generals of the Pakistan Army itself. General Mirza Aslam Beg, who became Chief of Army Staff following General Zia's death, witnessed the crash from his aircraft, which had just taken off. Instead of returning to Bahawalpur, he headed for Islamabad, an action which later caused controversy and led some to allege that he was involved in the incident since he had reportedly been scheduled to fly with Zia in the flight, but had changed his plans at the last minute. He was later accused of being behind the attack by Zia's son Ijaz-ul-Haq.


• Pilot: It was mentioned in a piece in The Sunday Times on August 24, 2008 that the pilot of the C-130, Wing Commander Mash'hood Hassan, had previously confided to an associate of Abdul Qadeer Khan that he hated Zia and held him responsible for the murder of a local religious figure, saying that "The day Zia flies with me, that will be his last flight"


• Mossad: In the Fall 2005 World Policy Journal, John Gunther Dean, a former US ambassador to India, blamed Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, for orchestrating Zia's assassination in retaliation for Pakistan developing a nuclear weapon to counteract India, and to prevent Zia, an effective Muslim leader, from continuing to influence US foreign policy.


• Military generals: It has also been postulated by some sources that Gen. Zia's death benefited the top members of the Pakistani military, especially the person who became the head of the Pakistani military after the death of Gen. Zia. It has been questioned why he was using another plane instead of boarding Pakistan-1. It "entails the mist of conspiracy theory." The role of chief of first armored division, Maj. Gen. Mehmood Ali Durrani, remains suspicious about who persuaded/tempted General Zia to watch over the tank exercise at Bahawalpur.