General Zia ul Haq and his army took over Pakistan on 5th July ,1977.Along with rising to power he had also blamed Bhutto’s government for corruption.
Furthermore ,on 4th April, 1979, Mr.Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged and his body was sent to his native town which was Larkana Sindh. In addition to this ,he was also buried under the watchful eye of Zia-Ul -Haq who in return of Bhutto’s favours upon him didn’t even allow his family to see his face for the last time.The reason for his sudden death was that he was blamed for the murder of a very important and influential political personality:Mr .Ahmed Raza Qasuri’s father.As Bhutto was in jail and his beloved daughter ,Miss Benazir Bhutto was in jail he could do little to gather support for his party the PPP(Pakistan People’s Party).Although ,Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s major downfall occuref in 1977 when he failed to restore law and order in the country.His death only led to the internal political rivalries to begin.It is an interesting fact to note that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the one who had promoted Zia to a great position and the way Zia repaid his kindness.
After Zia took over ,he imposed Martial Law which was not liked by the majority and became the reason for his short rule.His islamization policies also began in 1977 where a Muslim who was found drinking Alochol was hit with 80 lashes of cane while the evidence of one man was taken to be equal to the evidence of two women.This was according to the Law of Person Evidence 1984.In addition to this ,if a person committed a theft his/her right hand was to be amputated until the wrist.
Furthermore ,the candidates who were appearing in the Civil Services Exams were awarded extra marks if they could show that they had memorized the QURAN by heart.The study of Islamiyat and Pakistan Studies was made compulsory in all the schools and colleges.Much resentment came from his Hudood Laws under which women were blamed of adultery if they had failed to present four eye witnesses.It led to many women not reporting such cases because of fear of a harsh punishment and much resentment. The women were also forced to follow a proper dress -code in which they had to wear a head -scarf.Even the T.V presenters wore a headscarf!.Women could not participate in sports and other occupations as Zia stressed on the importance of “Chaddar and Chardiwan”.
Not only did Zia receive local resentment and criticism but also faced it in the hands of international leaders who couldn’t understand Zia’s way of ruling.
However ,on April 10th ,1988 the army weapons dump at the Ojhri Camp blew up mysteriously which caused the deaths and injuries of thousands of people.Ojhri Camp was situated between the densely populated areas of Islamabad and Rawalpindi .
Although Prime Minister Junejo announced the sudden dismissal of any political figure if their involvement was proved ,Hence Zia found a way to get rid of Junejo as well.Zia used all his powers to dismiss Junejo and dissolved the National assembly.
General Zia-ul -Haq had also inaugurated the Karakoram Highway in 1978.It was popularly known as the “Friendship Highway ” in China .He also visited Malaysia and Indonesia to meet Soekamo and Suharto for the promotion of good relations among them.Zia also went to the funeral of Andro Pov but was not warmly welcomed. Zia also negotiated with the respected PM Rajiv Gandhi and the situation became better.He flew to meet India to watch the cricket series match and this incident took place on 1984.In 1985,Zia also changed the name of RCD to ECO along with making Pakistan the Member of SAARC which consisted to seven member countries namely :India ,Pakistan, Srilanka ,Maldives ,Nepal ,Bhutan and Bangladesh. The aim to join SAARC was to establish cordial cultural and trade relations among themselves.On the 17th of August 1988 ,General Zia-Ul -Haq’s plane took off from an army base at Bahawalpur.He was also being accompanied by the US ambassador, Mr .Arnold Raphel and nine other generals including our Head of Intelligence Service.Suddenly ,after the take off ,the radio contact with the plane was lost .The plane exploded. 31 people lost their lives.The purpose of this last journey was to check the new American Tank.After this miserable incident, Zia’s 11 year long rule ended.Ghulam Ishaq Khan acted as the President and declared new elections in 1988.His death proved that Zia is being remembered in the way that he presented his unjust policies till this day .
By Zainab Ali Azmatullah
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