Chocks: Muhammad Zia Ul Haq

Muhammad Zia Ul Haq - Bhutto

Note = This post gives a basic overview based on available information and is not a complete analysis. Readers are encouraged to explore additional sources to understand the topic better.

The Rise and Fall of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 14, 1973, to July 5, 1977. Leaning toward socialism and aligned with Russia, he also pursued nuclear capability for Pakistan. In a decision that would prove fatally ironic, it was Bhutto himself who elevated Muhammad Zia ul-Haq through the military ranks, only for Zia to turn against him. On July 5, 1977, just one day after US Independence Day, Bhutto was forcibly ousted in a military coup led by the very man he had promoted. Conspiracy theories suggest that the US, uneasy with Bhutto's Russian alignment, tacitly permitted his removal.

Zia ul-Haq's Broken Promises and Bhutto's Execution

After imposing martial law, Zia ul-Haq promised to hold general elections within three months. Instead, he arrested Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on charges of ordering the murder of dissident politician Ahmed Raza Kasuri. The charges were widely suspected to be politically motivated, and numerous foreign leaders sent clemency appeals. Despite international pressure, Bhutto was sentenced to death and hanged on April 4, 1979.

The Bhutto Family Under Persecution

Following Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's death, Benazir Bhutto and her family were repeatedly placed under house arrest. Zia ul-Haq eventually yielded to global pressure in January 1984, allowing Benazir to travel to Europe for medical treatment. Meanwhile, her brothers Shah Nawaz and Murtaza Bhutto founded the militant group Al-Zulfiqar with the aim of overthrowing Zia ul-Haq, though they did not succeed. Shah Nawaz later moved to France, where he was allegedly poisoned by his wife. Murtaza Bhutto met his end in 1996 in a fatal confrontation with police in Karachi.

Benazir Bhutto and the PPP

Following her father's death, Benazir Bhutto assumed leadership of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which had been founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. After the PPP's victory in local elections, Zia ul-Haq postponed national elections, refusing to cede power. Martial law remained in force in Pakistan until 1985, when Muhammad Khan Junejo was elected as Prime Minister (March 23, 1985 to May 29, 1988) through the 1985 general elections held under a non-partisan framework.

The Ojhri Camp Disaster and the End of Zia ul-Haq

During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Zia ul-Haq allied with the United States to support the Afghan Mujahideen in their fight against Soviet communist forces, turning Pakistan into a key frontline state in the Cold War proxy conflict. The Ojhri Camp was a military facility in Rawalpindi used to supply Afghan Mujahideen. In 1988, a devastating blast at the camp triggered an investigation, and Zia ul-Haq used the controversy to dismiss the Junejo Government. However, Zia ul-Haq himself did not survive the year. On August 17, 1988, he died in a plane crash along with Pakistan Army General Akhtar Abdur Rahman and US Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Lewis Raphel.

Benazir Bhutto's Two Terms as Prime Minister

With Zia ul-Haq gone, Benazir Bhutto led the PPP to victory in elections held in both 1988 and 1993. She served as Prime Minister during two terms, first from December 2, 1988, to August 6, 1990, and again from October 19, 1993, to November 5, 1996. Both Governments, however, were dismissed following allegations of corruption and mismanagement, in 1990 and 1996 respectively.

Political Instability and Military Intervention

After Benazir Bhutto's second dismissal in 1996, Nawaz Sharif rose to power, only to be dethroned himself three years later in a military coup carried out by General Pervez Musharraf in 1999. This pattern of elected Governments being ousted by military force or presidential dismissal defined Pakistan's turbulent democratic journey through these decades.

Islamisation Under Zia ul-Haq

A defining legacy of Muhammad Zia ul-Haq's long rule was the deliberate Islamisation of Pakistan's Governance. He introduced Islamic law into the legal framework, reshaped education, and embedded religious ideology into state institutions, transforming the character of Pakistani society and politics in ways that continued to resonate long after his death.

The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan to contest the 2008 elections, but she never lived to see them. She was assassinated on December 27, 2007, in a bomb and gun attack in Rawalpindi. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for her killing, marking a tragic end to one of the most prominent political figures in Pakistan's history.