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“U.S., ‘internal powers’ behind Zia’s death”

Islamabad: The United States and other “internal powers” were behind the 1988 plane crash that killed General Zia-ul-Haq who ruled Pakistan from 1978 till his death, a former Pakistani spymaster has claimed.

Imtiaz Ahmed, a former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, said the U.S. collaborated with “internal powers” in Pakistan to assassinate Zia.

Ahmed, who has also served in the ISI, surprised political parties with revelations of huge payments allegedly made by the Inter-Services Intelligence to strengthen the opposition to the former premier Benazir Bhutto in 1990. “The former army chief General Mirza Aslam Beg also says that Zia’s plane crash was not an accident, but sabotage,” he told a TV news channel. Zia came to power after overthrowing the then Prime Minister Z.A. Bhutto in 1977, the third ruler to impose martial law. Zia’s death in a military plane crash in August 1988 remains shrouded in mystery, which and has given rise to several conspiracy theories. Reports have suggested the plane crashed due to sabotage or mechanical failure. Reacting to Ahmed’s claim, Zia’s son Ijaz-ul-Haq demanded that a thorough criminal investigation be conducted into the crash. — PTI

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“U.S., ‘internal powers’ behind Zia’s death”

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