Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
General
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (August 12, 1924–August 17, 1988) ruled Pakistan from 1977 to 1988. Appointed Chief of Army Staff in 1976,
General Zia-ul-Haq came to power after he overthrew ruling Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in a bloodless military coup on July 5, 1977 and imposed Martial Law. He assumed the post of President of Pakistan in 1978. His reign witnessed the enforcement of strict Islamic law within the country, the political stabilization of secession-threatening Balochistan following his setting-up of a military regime under General Rahimuddin Khan within the province, the passing of the controversial 8th Amendment into constitutional law, as well as the consolidation and rejuvenation of a previously declining economy. He also fought a war by proxy in Afghanistan, aiding the Mujahideen against the superpower Soviet Union, in the Soviet-Afghan War. He died in a mysterious and probably planned plane-crash on August 17, 1988, which ended his unprecedentedly long eleven-year military dictatorship over Pakistan.
Early life
He was born in Jalandhar (in India) in 1924 as the second child of a school teacher named Mohammad Akbar. He completed his initial education in Simla and then at St. Stephen's College, Delhi. He was commissioned in the British Army in 1943 and served during World War II. At independence, Zia joined the Pakistani Army as a major. He got trained in the United States 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.
Military Coup
As Bhutto's autocratic government became increasingly violent with its detractors and opponents, it's popularity greatly fell. Eventually, Bhutto's ruling Pakistan People's Party faced a bloody deadlock with the opposing Pakistan National Alliance. On July 5, 1977, Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq led a bloodless coup against Bhutto's government. The military coup, named Operation Fairplay, was successful, and Zia enforced Martial Law, effectively putting an end to the deteriorating law-and-order situation. Shortly after, Zia promised to hold elections in October, and restore power to civilian representatives. Thus, General Zia-ul-Haq became the third person in Pakistan's history to impose Martial Law.
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). 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.
The Doctrine of Necessity
Chief Martial Law Administrator Zia-ul-Haq 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 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.
| |
|