General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq was the President of Pakistan from 1978 until his death in 1988. He is remembered as a controversial figure, with a legacy that is still debated in Pakistan today.
Zia-ul-Haq was born in a small village in Punjab, Pakistan in 1924. He was educated at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun and joined the British Indian Army during World War II. After the partition of India in 1947, he joined the Pakistani Army and rose through the ranks to become a general.
In 1978, Zia-ul-Haq came to power in a military coup, overthrowing the civilian government of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He declared martial law and suspended the constitution, ruling as a military dictator for the next decade.
During his time in power, Zia-ul-Haq implemented a number of controversial policies. One of the most significant was his introduction of Islamization, which aimed to make Pakistan a more Islamic state. This included the introduction of Islamic criminal laws, such as the Hudood Ordinances, which imposed severe penalties for crimes like adultery and theft. These laws were criticized for disproportionately affecting women and minorities, and for violating human rights.
Zia-ul-Haq also supported the Afghan mujahideen in their fight against the Soviet Union, providing them with military and financial aid. This policy had long-term consequences for Pakistan, as it contributed to the destabilization of Afghanistan and the rise of the Taliban.
Despite these controversies, Zia-ul-Haq remained a popular figure in Pakistan. He is credited with modernizing the country's infrastructure and improving its economy, and he enjoyed widespread support from the military and the conservative, religious segments of society.
However, Zia-ul-Haq's rule was not without criticism. Many saw him as an authoritarian leader who suppressed dissent and curtailed civil liberties. His regime was marked by widespread corruption and abuse of power, and he was accused of rigging elections to maintain his grip on power.
Zia-ul-Haq died in a plane crash in 1988, and his rule came to an end. While his legacy is still debated in Pakistan, it is clear that he played a significant role in shaping the country's history.
Mohammad Zia ul
Muhammad Khan Junejo lost from his home constituency. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015, 4th ed. Pakistan: eye of the storm. He declared that public criticism or advocacy of a boycott of the referendum was a punishable offense. Zia had engineered constitutional changes which increased his presidential powers and permitted him to dissolve the National Assembly at his discretion.
Human rights abuses in Pakistan under Muhammad Zia
Pakistan, a Modern History. On April 1, 1976, in a surprise move the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, appointed Zia-ul-Haq as Chief of Army Staff, superseding five senior Generals. Zia successfully divided and separated the secular forces from right-wing Islamists and conservatives, and later purged each member of the secular front. Cohen offers a comprehensive analysis of Zia's policies and the problems confronting him. Colonel Athar Hussain Ansari,. Retrieved 18 August 2016. Because the military had been so prominent in Pakistan's politics, Bhutto apparently wanted a less qualified officer with little political ambition as chief of staff.
Washington and Lee Law Review. After the "election," which most PPP supporters boycotted, Zia announced the appointment of Mohammad Khan Junejo as prime minister, subject to a vote of confidence in the National Assembly. Retrieved 13 November 2011. At the same time, however, Bhutto had many enemies. An ill-considered decision to take over the wheat-milling, rice-husking, sugar mills, and cotton-gaining, industries in July of 1976 had angered the small business owners and traders. Choosing a career in the British army, he joined the Royal Indian Military Academy in Dehra Dun and then served with British troops in Burma, Malaysia and Indonesia during the latter part of World War II.
Zia also began a process for the eventual Islamization of the financial system aimed at "eliminating that which is forbidden and establishing that which is enjoined by Islam. Zia also assumed the authority to appoint a prime minister from among the assembly's elected members. It affirmed the right of the president to appoint and dismiss the prime minister. The PPP, under Benazir Bhutto's leadership, succeeded in forming a coalition government with several smaller parties, including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement MQM. Despite international appeals on his behalf, Bhutto was hanged on April 6, 1979. He was commissioned in the British Army in 1943 and served in Burma, Malaya and Indonesia during World War II. However, in October 1977, he announced the postponement of the electoral plan and decided to start an accountability process of the politicians.
Zia promised to end martial law by the end of 1985, but he exacted a high price for this. A Brief History of Pakistan. During the conflict, Zia helped smuggle U. On July 5, 1977, the military removed Bhutto from power and arrested him, declared martial law, and suspended portions of the 1973 Constitution. The need for stability in the strategic region of Balochistan during the Afghan war led Zia to distance himself from the sectarian conflict between the heterodox Zikri community and the ulama. Nonetheless, the dismissal of Junejo on May 29, 1988, and the dissolution of the national and provincial assemblies the next day, came as a surprise.
The ordinance is called "The Disabled Persons Employment and Rehabilitation Ordinance, 1981" and it was passed into law on 29 December 1981. . The PPP, although self-excluded from the National Assembly, also resumed activity under the leadership of Benazir Bhutto. His government encouraged foreign and domestic investment that had been frightened off by nationalization and threats of government takeovers during the Bhutto years. Zia strived to maintain Pakistan's good relations with other Arab countries and China. Retrieved 20 November 2014. As further restrictions were placed on political activity, parties were also banned.
Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. South Asian cultures of the bomb: atomic publics and the state in India and Pakistan. Breaking the Curfew: A Political Journey through Pakistan. Retrieved 3 December 2014. A joint United States- Pakistani committee investigating the accident later established that the crash was caused by "a criminal act of sabotage perpetrated in the aircraft.
Zia announced national and provincial elections for November 17 and 20, 1979, respectively, but these, too, were canceled. Retrieved 8 December 2022. The Los Angeles Times. The remains of Zia-ul-Haq were buried in the premises of Faisal Mosque, Islamabad. Bhutto, Zia advanced rapidly within the army ranks.
He introduced Majlis-i-Shoora in 1980. Still, women found unfair the rules of evidence under Islamic law by which women frequently were found guilty of adultery or fornication when in fact they had been raped. . He also fought a war by proxy in Afghanistan and saved Pakistan from a direct war with Soviet Union. Realizing Human Rights: Moving from Inspiration to Impact. . Indira: the life of Indira Nehru Gandhi.
