Sabotage in the Air: Was Pakistani General Zia-Ul-Haq [and staff] murdered by Mossad?
The death of the military leader of Pakistan remains 1 of the largest unsolved mysteries of the 20th century.
Jose Alberto Nino • August 17, 2025 https://www.unz.com/article/sabotage-in-the-skies-was-pakistani-general-zia-ul-haq-murdered-by-mossad
37 years ago, August 17, 1988, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq was killed in a mysterious plane crash, which with 1 devastating blow She killed Almost all members of Pakistani military command.
In the Pak-1 crash, a specially configured C-130 Hercules aircraft, close Bahawalpur not only the president of Pakistan and army commander, but besides the president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Akhtar Abdur Rahman, respective high-ranking Pakistani military officers, US Ambassador Arnold Lewis Raphel and Brigadier General Herbert M. Wassom, head of the U.S. military aid mission to Pakistan.
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Zia's strategical Heritage: The Architect of atomic Ambition and Achievements of Pakistan
Before we look at the mysterious circumstances of his death, we should appreciate Zia's achievements in abroad policy. During his reign ( 1978–1988 ) Zia turned Pakistan from a average regional player into a regional power capable of changing the strategical landscape. His most crucial accomplishment was to bring the Pakistani atomic weapons program to almost complete completion, while at the same time effectively balancing the pressures of the Cold War.
After India carried out their first atomic test – codenamed “Smiling Buddha” – on May 18, 1974, Pakistan rapidly embarked on its own arms program. In consequence to this step, then Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto He promisedThat his country would not fall behind.
"We will eat grass or leaves, even starve, but we will get something for ourselves," he said. Pointing to existing arsenals of another forces of states ruled by religions, he noted: "There is simply a Christian bomb, a judaic bomb, and now a Hindu bomb. Why not an muslim bomb?”
When Zia took power in 1978, he continued the plan of the Pakistani ruling class to transform this South Asian country into a atomic power. In 1987 Zia said in Carnegie Endowment that Pakistan pursues possession adequate atomic possible "to make a deterrent impression". His bold statementthat Pakistan is “one step distant from the bomb” has caused shocks in intelligence environments worldwide.
The success of the atomic program confirmed the correctness of Zia's vision. Pakistan performed the first successful atomic tests on May 28, 1998, becoming the seventh atomic power in the world.
Pakistan's unpredictable abroad policy under Zia
Zia's abroad policy has shown remarkable strategical insight. As the chief architect of Afghan opposition against the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the russian Union, he successfully persuaded initially reluctant Americans to give them massive military assistance. CIA vet Bruce Riedel, stressed“The war with the Soviets in Afghanistan led Zia, not us.” Zia rejected president Carter's first offer of $400 million to help, declaring it “slight ” and yet obtained $3.2 billion military and economical assistance from the Reagan administration.
At the same time, Zia sought closer ties with China and maintained complex relations with Iran, despite force from believers. During the Iraqi-Iran War, Pakistan officially maintained neutrality while secretly supporting Iran. In 1979, Zia called Ajatollah Ruhollah Chomeini "a symbol of the muslim rebellion" and was 1 of the first countries to diplomatically recognise the muslim Republic of Iran. Pakistan reportedly conducted secret arms transactions in which Chinese and American weapons were sent to Iran, including Silkworm and Stinger missiles, originally intended for Afghan mujahideen, which played a decisive function for Iran in the "tank war" against Iraq.
Fatal flight: August 17, 1988.
The events of that memorable day began routinely. Zia went to Bahawalpur to watch the M1 Abrams U.S. Army tank show at the Thamewali range. After a successful demonstration, organized by Maj-Gen Mahmud Ali Durrani, Zia and the delegation flew off on a military chopper and then switched to a specially configured C-130 aircraft, which he made a return flight to Islamabad.
At 3:40 p.m. Pakistani time, Pak-1 took off from Bahawalpur Airport with 30 people on board, including 17 passengers and 13 crew members. The aircraft was equipped with an air-conditioned VIP pod, in which Zia and his American guests sat, separated by a wall from the passenger and crew parts. For 2 minutes and 30 seconds, the plane rose to clear skies. The launch went smoothly and smoothly.
At 3:51 pm, the Bahawalpur Air Force Control Tower lost contact. Witnesses citing an authoritative Pakistani investigation reported that the C-130 began to stone “up and down” during a low flight, after which it entered “almost vertical diving” and exploded at the time of impact. The plane crashed with so much force that it was torn to pieces, and its remains were scattered in a large area. All 30 people on board dead On the spot.
Brigadier General Naseem Khan, piloting a French Puma chopper nearby, was 1 of the first to arrive at the crash site. “I circled around” – mentioned later – "The plane crashed almost at a right angle. First I noticed General Wassom's cap and then General Akhtar Rahman's baseball cap. Then my eyes fell on a severed leg, wearing a black sock and a black shoe. I suspected it belonged to General Zia.”
It's starting to cover up.
The Pakistani investigation committee stated that the most probable origin of the crash was an act of sabotage on the aircraft. Investigators suggested that toxic gases deprived passengers and crew of consciousness, preventing them from giving a SOS signal. Interestingly, despite equipping earlier C-130 models with flight recorders, they were not found after the crash.
The consequence of the Americans proved equally suspicious. According to Barbara Crossette, erstwhile head of the South Asian Office in the "New York Times" and associate of the abroad Relations Council, Ambassador Robert Oakley and General George B. Crist at CENTCOM rejected the proposal for the FBI to analyse the crash in which the US Ambassador and General died. Instead, they organized inter-ministerial investigation The Pentagon and the State Department. The 2 officials later apologized to legislature for this decision.
Within 2 months of the disaster, the U.S. government was the only 1 promoting the explanation that the crash was caused by a mechanical failure. On the another hand, most Pakistanis from the beginning She assumed there was an assassination.
Shocking revelations by Ambassador John Gunther Dean
The most controversial accusations of Zia's death came from an unexpected source. John Gunther Dean [of origin hebrew from Wrocław md] That in 1988 full As US Ambassador to India, he was a prominent diplomat with a forty-year stint who held more ambassadorial positions than most envoys. Dean had a unique chance to observe the effects of Zia's death and what he suspected would end his diplomatic career.
Dean felt that the game to destruct General Zia had the characteristics of Israel, specifically the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad . His suspicions were not absurd. Dean had individual experience with Israeli operations. 8 years earlier, erstwhile he served as ambassador to Lebanon, the Israelis sought his support for their local projects, assuming another hebrew would be willing to cooperate with them. erstwhile Dean rejected these proposals and declared that his primary loyalty belongs to America, the An assassination effort on his life.
On August 28, 1980, Dean, his wife, daughter and son-in-law miraculously avoided serious injuries in a car convoy attack in the suburbs of Beirut. Ammunition was yet identified as coming from Israel. Dean later discovered that the Lebanese group that confessed to the attack was an Israeli-created cover organization, utilized to carry out Mossad terrorist attacks.
Barbara Crossette's investigation
In 2005, after 17 years of silence, Dean yet revealed his suspicions to Barbara Crossette, as part of a groundbreaking investigation. Crossette article, counting 5,000 words, “Who killed Zia?” It was published in the prestigious planet Policy diary published by fresh York City's The fresh School under Stephen Schlesinger.
Dean's explanation focused on Israel's concerns about the Pakistani atomic program.
A fewer years before Zia died, he took bold steps to make a atomic weapons program. Although its main nonsubjective was to balance the Indian atomic arsenal, Zia promised to make these weapons available to another Muslim countries, including the mediate East. This anticipation raised serious concerns in the Israeli "national safety community".
According to writer Eric Margolis, Israel repeatedly attempted to pull India into a joint attack on Pakistani atomic facilities. After careful consideration India refused. This put Israel in a hard position. Zia was a arrogant military dictator with very close ties to the US, which reinforced his diplomatic influence. Pakistan was 3,200 km from Israel and had a strong army, which virtually prevented any long-range bombing, akin to attack on the Iraqi Osirak reactor in 1981. As a result, the only option remained homicide.
Retaliation against a diplomat
Dean chose appropriate diplomatic channels alternatively of revealing himself in the media. He immediately went to Washington to share his views with the Heads of State Department and another leading officials of the administration.
After reaching Washington, Dean was rapidly considered insanity, he was refused to return to a facility in India and was shortly forced to resign. His forty-year career in government service ended violently.
Dean sent to Switzerland for “rest” for six weeks, after which he was allowed to return to fresh Delhi to pack his things and resign. He lost his medical benefits and safety clearance due to his views on the crash. The accusation of “mental disturbance” effectively concluded any investigation into his charges.
It would be expected that specified loud reports from specified a reliable origin would rise considerable interest in the press, but alternatively the communicative was completely ignored and boycotted by all North American media. Stephen Schlesinger, who spent a decade in the lead World Policy Journal, shortly after publication he disappeared from the header and his employment in The fresh School It's over.
Ron Unz noted with any surprise that the article is no longer available on the website planet Policy Journal, Though the text is inactive available via Archive.org. Even Dean's detailed obituary in the “New York Times” portrayed his excellent career in flattering words without sacrificing a single conviction to the bizarre circumstances in which it ended.
Zia's legacy continues
The patterns developed in Zia's time proceed to influence Pakistan's abroad policy, frequently causing tensions with conventional allies. Integration of Pakistan from Chinese Belt and way Initiative by China-Pakistan economical Corridor is an example of an independent alliance that characterized Zia's approach to global relations.
However, Recent attacks on Chinese citizens working in Pakistan have disturbing similarities to the secret plans of a possible attack on the 1980s Pakistani atomic program. What was to be a safe trade and energy corridor linking Xinjiang to Gwadar became an inflame of the rebellion. Belujahist separatists, especially the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), repeatedly attack Chinese personnel and infrastructure, seeking to destruct Pakistan's partnership with China.
These actions included the assassination of 9 Chinese engineers in the Dasu hydroelectric plant task in 2021, Operation Dara-e-Bolan in January 2024, and the kidnapping of the Jaffar Express in March 2025, in which 59 people were killed.
Each fresh CPEC agreement, including six signed in 2023, triggered further waves of violence, highlighting the vulnerability of the project. Far from isolated incidents, this continuous series of attacks highlights how militant groups and their power-patrons perceive CPEC weakening as a key origin weakening the Chinese-Pakistan alliance.
Speculations on support for Western interviews for Belujah separatists have gained popularity in fresh years. mediate East Media investigation Institute (MEMRI), with documented links to Israeli intelligence, launched In 2025, the Balochist Studies Project. This initiative highlighted the strategical importance of Balochistan for monitoring Iran's atomic programme and Pakistan, suggesting that Israel is inactive curious in utilizing regional cultural tensions to accomplish wider geopolitical objectives.
Comparison to Imran Khan
The dismissal of Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2022 is strikingly akin to the force Zia struggled to keep independency in abroad policy. Khan's insistence on neutrality in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict angered Washington, as Zia's support for Iran during the Iraqi-Iran War provoked friction with Reagan administration representatives.
A leaked diplomatic paper published by The Intercept revealed that US State Department authoritative Donald Lu clearly linked Khan's appeal to his policy towards Russia. "I think that if the vote of no assurance in the Prime Minister is successful, everything will be forgiven in Washington due to the fact that a visit to Russia is treated as a Prime Minister decision" –stated Lu. “If not, I think it will be difficult”.
Khan stayed cancelled as a consequence of a vote of distrust on April 10, 2022, precisely 1 period after a threatening encounter with US representatives.
The resemblance to the destiny of Zia from thirty-four years ago is unquestionable: Pakistani leaders who have an independent abroad policy will gotta face large force from Washington and can be unceremoniously removed from power.
Iranian-Pakistan relations: from conflict to cooperation
The exchange of missiles between Iran and Pakistan in January 2024, based on the rule of retaliation, initially seemed to constitute a dangerous escalation. Iran He attacked Beludzian separatist targets in Pakistani Balochistan on 16 January, killing 2 children. Pakistan responded by attacking 2 days later, attacking the Belujah militants in the Iranian state of Sistan-Belujahistan, killing 9 people, including 4 children.
However, the fast diplomatic solution reflected Zia's approach to managing regional relations. In a fewer days both countries agreed to deescalate the conflict diplomatic channels. On January 29, 2024, the late Iran abroad Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited Pakistan, leading to conclusion of agreements to strengthen cooperation on safety and the exchange of intelligence. This fast return to cooperation reflected the pragmatic diplomacy Zia utilized during the Iraqi-Iran War.
This step besides reflects the fresh challenge of questioning Judeo-American perfidia with respect to the activation of Belujah militants against the safety interests of both Iran and Pakistan.
Iran and Pakistan are increasingly afraid about the increasing links between the Belarusian separatists and Israel, which both countries see as a direct threat to their security. As Mansur Khan Mahsud of the Pakistani FATA investigation Centre said in an interview with The Cradle: “During the fresh 12-day clash between Iran and Israel, Tehran noted close links between the Belujah separatists and Israel. The exchange of intelligence with Tel Aviv led to crucial human and infrastructure losses on the part of Iran."
Tehran went further in his accusations, straight charging Tel Aviv and accusing Israel of recruiting and deploying mercenaries through the United Liberation Front (BLUF). Abdullah Khan of the Pakistani Institute for Conflict and safety Studies warned: “Iran strengthens ties with Pakistan in the face of increasing support for militants for Israel. Their relation with Tel Aviv will grow further as Iran changes its policy and takes action against BLA and BLF hideouts in its territory. India has established strong ties with both groups, allowing them to act as a bridge between them and Israel."
Multipolar Reality
Today's geopolitical environment is increasingly reminiscent of the complex balance that Zia maintained in the 1980s. Pakistan's cooperation with China and Iran in different contexts – from CPEC to regional safety cooperation against Israeli abroad policy of a Jewish-accessional character – is an example of a safety strategy that Zia pioneered.
[Reg.: https://josbcf.substack.com/p/the-judeo-accelerationist-president md]
The emergence of a multipolar planet order in which China and Russia question American hegemony creates Pakistan an alternate to full dependence on Washington. This reflects the strategical space Zia created, balancing the force of the Cold War with the implementation of Pakistan's independent interests.
India's appearance as a strategical partner for both Israel and the United States creates fresh force points for Pakistan. This convergence of interests between Israel and America with respect to Pakistan reflects strategical calculations that could have been an incentive to take action against Zia in 1988. Pakistan's continued opposition to India, coupled with a increasing alliance with China and Iran, puts it in opposition to the emerging US-India-Israel axis.
Just as Zia-ul-Haq's death ended a certain era, so unresolved issues related to his death proceed to affect decisions regarding Pakistani abroad policy in a planet where old alliances fade and fresh dividing lines emerge.
