Era of Zia-Ul-Haq (1977-1988)

(Assignment)

Submitted by: Submitted to:

Muhammad Madni Miss Maimoona Kanwal

Department: (S.I.E.B.F) Roll No:01

Semester: 01

Minhaj University Lahore

ZIA-UL-HAQ ERA;

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq was a Pakistani four-star general who became the sixth President of Pakistan
after declaring martial law in 1977. He served as the head of state from 1978 until his death in 1988. He
remains the country’s longest-serving head of state.

Educated at Delhi University, Zia saw action in World War II as a British Indian Army officer in Burma
and Malaya, before opting for Pakistan in 1947 and fighting as a tank commander in the Indo-Pakistani
War of 1965. In 1970, he led a military training mission to Jordan, proving instrumental to defeating the
Black September insurgency against King Hussain.In recognition, Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
appointed Zia Chief of Army Staff in 1976.Following civil disorder, Zia deposed Bhutto in a military
coup and declared martial law on 5 July 1977.Bhutto was controversially tried by the Supreme Court and
executed less than two years later, for allegedly authorising the murder of Nawab Muhammad Ahmed
Khan Kasuri, a political opponent.
 Era of Zia-Ul-Haq (1977-1988)
(Assignment)
Assuming the presidency in 1978, Zia played a major role in the Soviet–Afghan War. Backed by the
United States and Saudi Arabia, Zia systematically coordinated the Afghan mujahideen against the Soviet
occupation throughout the 1980s.This culminated in the Soviet Union's withdrawal in 1989, but also led
to the proliferation of millions of refugees, with heroin and weaponry into Pakistan's frontier province. On
the foreign front, Zia also bolstered ties with China and the United States, and emphasised Pakistan's role
in the Islamic world, while relations with India worsened amid the Siachen conflict and accusations that
Pakistan was aiding the Khalistan movement. Domestically, Zia passed broad-ranging legislation as part
of Pakistan's Islamization, curbed civil liberties, and heightened press censorship.He also escalated
Pakistan's atomic bomb project, and instituted industrialisation and deregulation, helping Pakistan's
economy become the fastest-growing in South Asia.Averaged over Zia's rule, GDP growth was the
highest in the country's history.

After lifting martial law and holding non-partisan elections in 1985, Zia appointed Muhammad Khan
Junejo Prime Minister but accumulated more presidential powers via the Eighth Amendment to the
Constitution.After Junejo signed the Geneva Accords in 1988 against Zia's wishes, and called for an
inquiry into the Ojhri Camp disaster, Zia dismissed Junejo's government and announced fresh elections in
November 1988. He was killed along with several of his top military officials and two American
diplomats in a mysterious plane crash near Bahawalpur on 17 August 1988. To this day, Zia remains a
polarising figure in Pakistan's history, credited for preventing wider Soviet incursions into the region as
well as economic prosperity, but decried for weakening democratic institutions and passing laws
encouraging religious intolerance.He is also cited for promoting the early political career of Nawaz
Sharif, who would be thrice elected Prime Minister.

Early life:

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq was born into a Arain family in Jalandhar, Punjab Province of British India,on
12 August 1924. Zia-ul-Haq was the second child of Muhammad Akbar, who worked in the
administrative corps of the Army GHQ of India Command of British Armed Forces in Delhi and Simla,
prior to the independence of India from British colonial rule in 1947.

He completed his initial education in Simla and then attended St. Stephen's College of the University of
Delhi for his BA degree in History, from which he graduated with distinction in 1943.He was admitted to
the Royal Indian Military Academy at Dehradun, graduating in May 1945 among the last group of
officers to be commissioned before the independence of India.During his collegiate years, he was noted as
an extraordinary talent.

He married Shafiq Jahan in 1950.Begum Shafiq Zia died on 6 January 1996.Zia is survived by his sons,
Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq, (born 1953),who went into politics and became a cabinet minister in the
government of Nawaz Sharif, and Anwar-ul-Haq (born 1960)and his daughters, Zain(born 1972),[27] a
special needs child, Rubina Saleem, who is married to a Pakistani banker and has been living in the
United States since 1980,and Quratulain Zia who currently lives in London, and is married to Pakistani
doctor, Adnan Majid.
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(Assignment)
Military service:

Zia was commissioned in the British Indian Army in the Guides Cavalry on 12 May 1943 after
graduating from the Officer Training School how and fought against Japanese forces in Burma in World
War II. After Pakistan gained its independence through a partition in 1947, Zia joined the newly formed
Pakistan Army as a Captain in the Guides Cavalry Frontier Force Regiment. He also served in 13th
Lancers and 6 Lancers. He was trained in the United States during 1962–1964 at the US Army Command
and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. After that, he returned to take over as Directing
Staff (DS) at Command and Staff College, Quetta.During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Zia is said to
have been the Assistant Quartermaster of the 101st Infantry Brigade.

He was then promoted as Lieutenant General and was appointed commander of the II Strike Corps at
Multan in 1975. On 1 March 1976, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto approved then-three star rank
general Lieutenant-General Zia as Chief of Army Staff and to be elevated to four-star rank.

This promotion was ahead of a number of more senior officers.This promotion was highly controversial
but had political motives for Bhutto, who saw Zia as firmly religious and an apolitical military figure who
had a distaste for politics.This was the same motives and move made by future Prime minister Nawaz
Sharif who promoted Pervez Musharraf based on his political ambitious, as Chief of Army Staff, but met
the same fate as Bhutto in 1999 (although he was not executed).

At the time of his nominating the successor to the outgoing Chief of Army Staff General Tikka Khan, the
Lieutenant Generals in order of seniority were: Muhammad Shariff, Akbar Khan, Aftab Ahmed, Azmat
Baksh Awan, Ibrahim Akram, Abdul Majeed Malik, Ghulam Jilani Khan, and Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.
But, Bhutto chose the most junior, superseding seven more senior lieutenant-generals.However, the senior
most at that time, Lieutenant-General Mohammad Shariff, though promoted to General, was made the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, a constitutional post akin to President Fazal Ilahi
Chaudhry.

Planning of coup:

Prime Minister ZA Bhutto began facing considerable criticism and increasing unpopularity as his term
progressed; the democratic socialists alliance who had previously allied with Bhutto began to diminish as
time progressed.Initially targeting leader of the opposition Vali Khan and his opposition National Awami
Party (NAP), also a socialist party. Despite the ideological similarity of the two parties, the clash of egos
both inside and outside the National Assembly became increasingly fierce, starting with the Federal
governments decision to oust the NAP provincial government in Balochistan Province for alleged
secessionist activities and culminating in the banning of the party and arrest of much of its leadership
after the death of a close lieutenant of Bhutto's, Hayat Sherpao, in a bomb blast in the frontier town of
Peshawar.

Civil disorders against Bhutto:

 Era of Zia-Ul-Haq (1977-1988)
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Dissidence also increased within the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and the murder of leading dissident
Ahmed Raza Kasuri's father led to public outrage and intra-party hostility as Bhutto was accused of
masterminding the crime. PPP leaders such as Ghulam Mustafa Khar openly condemned Bhutto and
called for protests against his regime. The political crisis in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP
now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Balochistan intensified as civil liberties remained suspended, and an
estimated 100,000 troops deployed there were accused of abusing human rights and killing large numbers
of civilians.

1977 Parliamentary elections:

On 8 January 1977, a large number of opposition political parties grouped to form the Pakistan National
Alliance. Bhutto called fresh elections, and PNA participated fully in those elections. They managed to
contest the elections jointly even though there were grave splits on opinions and views within the party.
The PNA faced defeat but did not accept the results, alleging that the election was rigged. They proceeded
to boycott the provincial elections. Despite this, there was a high voter turnout in the national elections;
however, as provincial elections were held amidst low voter turnout and an opposition boycott, the PNA
declared the newly elected Bhutto government as illegitimate.

Islamization of Zia:

When Zia-ul-Haq took the power in his hands, there was a popular conception that every government paid
only lip service to Islam and no sincere effort was ever made in this direction; the ruling class had rather
resisted the enforcement of Islam. General Zia was aware of such feelings. So, he directed his attention to
the taking of practical measure. Thus the following few points can be enumerated in this regard: creation
of favorable atmosphere, reforms in information media, ban on obscene adds, contact with Ulama and
Mashaikh, eradication of lawlessness, prayer in congregation, respect for Ramazan, better facilities for
Hajj, reorientation of education policy, making of International Islamic University Islamabad,
enforcement of Hudood ordinance, setting up of Sharia court, sharia bench of Supreme court, Qazi courts,
progress towards Islamic economic system, National language and national dress, decisions about
Qadianis, enforcement of Sharia ordinance 1988. They are further classified as under:

The government of Zia created such an atmosphere where acting upon Islam was appreciated and
opposing Islam was disliked and disapproved. In this regard his personal example played an important
role. He himself acted upon Islamic injunctions, performed Umra annually, offered prayers regularly five
times and his speeches or the lectures he used to deliver reflected his devotion to Islam.

His first major step was that he introduced reforms in media as media played an important role in creating
favorable public opinion for a particular system. The promotion of music and dancing was prohibited and
instead reformatory programs were introduced. Azan was aired at prayers time. Hajj rites were broadcast
live on television and Hajj sermon could also be heard on radio. For some time T.V programs were
 Era of Zia-Ul-Haq (1977-1988)
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stopped altogether during Iftar time to provide calm environment to the Muslims to pray. In addition to
that all obscene adds(advertisements) were banned either on television or newspaper.

To enforce Islam effectively the support of Ulama and Mashaikh was necessary. In this regard, Zia
concerned conventions of Ulama and Mashaikh to express their opinion freely and to criticize
government if it is following the un-Islamic path.

The Zia government tried to uphold the sanctity of chastity and privacy. In the beginning law and order
was enforced to eradicate vulgarity and obscenity, but later the pace of these reforms could not be
maintained. Hence, with the passage of time the T.V. censorship got relaxed and with the setting up of
democratic government, terrorists and dacoits got active, and the propaganda of safety of ‘chadar’ and
‘chardivary’ lost its charm and credibility.

Arrangements were made for attending the Zuhr prayers, in the government offices and schools. Nazimin-
i-Salat was appointed who used to arrange the managements of the prayers, and urged the people to offer
prayers. In the beginning the high government officers, Headmasters etc, sued to attend the congregation
with punctuality but with the passage of time relaxation crept in and even Nazimine abandoned their task.

To enforce the respect for Ramazan a special ordinance was released, according to which smoking,
drinking, eating publically was prohibited and any one found doing that could be imprisoned for three
months or could be fined for rupees 500. Media broadcasted special programs during Ramazan. All food
markets were used to be shut down during Ramazan.

Opportunity was provided to maximum people to perform Hajj. Khuddam-ul-Hujjaj were appointed for
the guidance of Hajjis, their better residence in Saudi Arabia and medical facilities were given due
consideration by the government.

To inculcate Islamic thinking in students, general Zia ordered to review all textbooks and anything
repugnant to Islam and to the ideology of Pakistan was deleted. Islamiat and Pakistan studies were made
compulsory and were introduced in all sorts of educational institutions. The religious institutions were
officially patronized and its degrees were recognized by government. Arabic was introduced as
compulsory subject from sixth to eight Class.

To do research in fiqh and principles of Sharia and some other disciplines, Islamic International
University was set up in Islamabad.

Four punishments were enforced by an ordinance, on 10, February 1979. Mentioned in Quran as “Had”.
These punishments were cutting of hands for theft, hundred lashes and stoning for death for adultery and
eighty lashes for drinking and for false accusation of adultery. Appeal against these punishments could
only be made in Sharia court. However not even a single culprit was awarded these punishments.

To enforce Islamic criminal law, Sharia court was set up which enjoyed the status of high court and it
comprised of high court judges and some renowned Ulemas. If anyone claims a law to be repugnant to
Islam, after hearing the court can announce it as null and void. However it heard cases concerning only to
Islamic law.
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The sharia bench of the Supreme Court was the highest court for appeal regarding Islamic law and in the
same court the principles of Islamic Law could be discussed and interpreted.

Qazi courts were made to provide simple and speedy decisions, but due to the opposition of the lawyers,
practical steps could not be taken in this direction.

To protect people from the injustice of bureaucracy and the government an ombudsman was appointed in
June 1981, who could convey the complaints of the people.

Few steps were taken to model the economic system on Islamic lines. For instance, the enforcement of
Zakat and Ushar system. Zakat is annually deducted from saving accounts and GDP funds when received,
on the first Ramazan. Ushar was collected from those Landlords who’s yield exceeded 948 kg of wheat.

Institutions like Industrial Corporation of Pakistan, N.I.T. and House building finance corporation were
made to eradicate usury they were organized on principle of ‘partnership’ instead of fixed interest. All
banks opened profit and loss sharing accounts and all saving accounts were converted into P.L.S.
accounts.

To stop the dominance of western culture Zia ordered all the high officials to wear national dress
president and prime minister also wore national dress on important functions. To promote national
language Urdu, it was said that president and finance minister would address in Urdu. After few years all
education would be in Urdu including the official correspondence, but no effective steps were taken in
this regard.

The Qadianies were prohibited from using Muslim names of persons, mosque etc. they were prohibited
for all their practices to be named as Islamic. Under the president’s ordinance if they wanted to live in
Pakistan, they will have to accept their non-Muslim identity.

Imposition of Sharia was the main slogan of Zia government. When Zia got differences with Junejo, in
1988, he dissolved Junejo’s government and to satisfy the public minds he issued Sharia ordinance on
June 15, 1988. According to it sharia was declared as the supreme law of the country and sharia courts
were authorized to decide whether the laws in force are repugnant to Islam or not. Ulema were given the
rights to appear before the court of law. Mufti was appointed by federal government to have his opinion
on issues relating to sharia. An educational commission was proposed which was to recommend
education system in accordance with the teachings of Islam. To promote Islamic values media was
utilized and Islamic Ideological Council was proposed.

General Zia is a controversial figure in the history of Pakistan. He was opposed by the elite class of
Pakistan, who were dissatisfied with his rapid Islamization of Pakistan. Political Ulema supported Zia but
argued that Islamizing the country was not Zia’s Job instead he should hold elections and transfer power
to the elected representatives who will then enforce Islam.