Death of General Zia-ul-Haq [1988]
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq was killed in an air crash on August 17, 1988. He had gone to Bahawalpur to see a demonstration of tanks where he was accompanied by a number of Generals, including the Chairman Joint Chief’s of Staff Committee, Chief of General Staff, high Military Attaché as well as the American Ambassador. On his return journey his military aircraft C-130, crashed a few minutes after takeoff from Bahawalpur airport, killing the entire passengers aboard, including the President. This tragic air disaster was the worst in Pakistan’s history and was unprecedented in the history of military aircraft. The cause of the crash was not known and as usual, the enquiry report was never made public.
General Zia’s remains were buried in the ground of Faisal mosque in Islamabad. With the death of General Zia the eleven-year military rule came to an end. And the country set forward on the road to democracy. This transition from dictatorship to democracy took place constitutionally.
After the crash, a high level meeting was held in Islamabad to decide the question of succession. Some of the participants in the meeting were in favour of the imposition of Martial Law. However the military chief present did not support the idea. Under the constitution whenever the office of President becomes vacant by reason of death or resignation, or removal of the President, the Chairman of Senate acts as President until a new President is elected under the constitution. As a result Ghulam Ishaque Khan, Chairman of the Senate, became the next acting President of Pakistan.