Why was General Zia Buried in the Vicinity of Faisal Mosque in Islamabad: Revelations

POSTCARD USA:Why Zia rests where he rests —Khalid Hasan
Daily Times, November 5, 2006

Gen. Refaqat has revealed, for the first time, how Gen. Zia’s gravesite was chosen, and permitted me to use the account “in any way you think fit.” Since this will lay a long-running controversy to rest, here it is, word for word

I only know three Lieutenant Generals. Two of them are gone, one is in retirement. The two who are gone were also my favourite people, officers and gentlemen as officers and gentlemen used to be. They were Lt. Gen, Abdul Ali Malik and Lt. Gen. Ejaz Azim. My third Lt. Gen. is alive and well and lives in Islamabad and may his golf-playing days be long. He is Syed Refaqat. Our connection is Sialkot. He comes not from the city but from a neighbouring town, as does his brother Syed Sarfraz, a civil servant of distinction who now leads a contemplative life. While I haven’t met him in years, the General I remain in touch with.

Last week, writing in this space, I called him the “Columbus” of computer rigging, a view or rumour dating back to his days as Gen. Zia ul Haq’s chief of staff. Some also believe he is the man who chose Gen. Zia’s burial site in Islamabad. While Gen. Refaqat wants to leave the Columbus bit for another day, he has revealed, for the first time, how Gen. Zia’s gravesite was chosen, and permitted me to use the account “in any way you think fit.” Since this will lay a long-running controversy to rest, here it is, word for word.

Gen. Refaqat writes: “As soon as I learned about the crash on 17 Aug 1988, my first official action was to contact GIK and request him to reach the Presidency (Now F.J. Women’s University Campus) immediately. At that moment, I was operating from this office. At the same time, I directed a staff officer to get the Cabinet, Information, Foreign, Interior and Law Secretaries to the Presidency. Also inform all ministers present in Islamabad to assemble at the Presidency for a cabinet meeting — no agenda was given.

“Then I contacted all the Governors and CMs and informed them, officially, of the crash and death of the President. Some of them already knew of the tragedy, but were cautious enough not to talk until the death was officially announced. Meanwhile, a parallel session, entirely consisting of the military, was being held at GHQ. I was requested to join in that. I would not go into that aspect because it has nothing to do with the burial. When I arrived back at the Presidency, many ministers and all secretaries had already arrived, some of them completely ignorant about the tragic ‘happening.’

“First, I briefed the Secretaries and formed a committee of 3 or 4 secretaries, to prepare a Radio/TV speech for GIK. I went into a quiet room and jotted down some points to be approved by the Cabinet. Those were: a) Formation of an Emergency Cabinet Committee (without declaring Emergency in the Country). b) Formation of a Funeral Committee. Task: (1) Arrange all management issues connected the funeral and burial; (2) Arrange security; (3) Mobilise the provincial resources to the extent necessary; c) Formation of Protocol Committee to make all arrangements for the foreign dignitaries coming for the funeral. Minister of Interior Nasim Aheer was appointed head of ‘Funeral Committee.’ assisted by Lt. Gen. Imran Ullah Khan, Commander 10 Corps. The Protocol Committee was headed by, naturally, Sahibzada (Yaqub Khan) Sahib.

“When the cabinet assembled around 7 p.m, with the military brass as participants, Mr Ghulam Ishaq Khan announced the death of President Zia ul Haq, assured (the meeting) that the constitutional process would continue, and requested the existing Cabinet to continue. Among other issues, the most important item was when and where the funeral/burial would take place. Meanwhile, late President’s son Anwaar ul Haq, on the request of everyone, joined in. Ejaz ul Haq was still in the USA. There was general consensus that the funeral/burial would take place in the Army Graveyard, near Race Course, Rawalpindi. But when? By this time, I was receiving small notes from my ‘boys’ informing me that requests from foreign governments about a decision on the funeral date/time were pouring in. Incidentally, Jordan’s query was the first one brought to my notice.

“The question of a place of burial since having been agreed upon, someone suggested that Zia ul Haq being a devout Muslim, would not have liked a day’s delay in the burial. Hence the burial should take place ‘tomorrow’ i.e. Thursday, August 18. I strongly disagreed on two grounds. First, it was not yet known when the remains of the bodies would be available from Bahawalpur. I had contacted the Corps Commander, and he was not sure. Secondly, the foreign dignitaries needed some time warning to reach Islamabad. I suggested Sunday as the day. After some haggling, we agreed on Saturday (August 20). However, the very next day, I received a call from Gen Aslam Beg informing me that after fuller examination, the Funeral Committee and he had come to the conclusion that the Army Graveyard was totally unsuited from the point of security, mob control and traffic capability. He also informed me that the Committee had gone to Islamabad to select a suitable site. I informed the President.

“Next day, I received a message that the Funeral Committee and CDA had selected some sites in the vicinity of Faisal Masjid, and could the President (GIK) come over and make a final decision. At that time, the Punjab Governor, Sajjad Hussain Qureshi, was also present in the President’s office. Immediately, we left for the Faisal Masjid. Minister Nasim Aheer, Gen. Imran Khan, Mazhar Rafi, Chairman CDA, Dr Mahmood Ghazi, and some others were waiting for us in the southern open space of the Masjid. Chairman CDA briefed us that three sites had been selected. The first one was on the North side (hillside) of the Masjid. There was a flat space, originally earmarked by the Turkish designer (Dolakay Wahadat) as VVIP Graveyard (a la Westminster Abbey). The second suggested site was just inside the Southern main entrance of the Masjid. The motivation for proposing this site was the assumption that all those who come to pray in the Masjid would also pray for the soul of the late President. The third site was the one where we were standing and which was selected by the Design Department of the CDA. The Chairman CDA also informed us that the concept of VVIP Graveyard had been objected to by the Saudi authorities who funded the entire Masjid project. After a bit of discussion, we, jointly, selected the third site, which, by the way, was highly appreciated by the Architect Dolakey when he called on me for condolences about two weeks after the burial.

“That is how General Zia’s mortal remains were buried where they remain buried till today. Mohtarma (Benazir Bhutto) made some clumsy efforts to demolish the humble superstructure erected on the grave, but she did not succeed. That is another story. The funeral took place on Saturday, 20 August, 1988 after zohar prayers. The only connection I could find between Iran (as alleged) and the burial is that the UN-sponsored ceasefire between Iran and Iraq took place on that day.”

Khalid Hasan is Daily Times’ US-based correspondent. His e-mail is khasan2@cox.net