General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (Punjabi, Urdu: محمد ضياء الحق) (b. 12 August 1924 –17 August 1988) was the President and military ruler of Pakistan from July 1977 to his death in August 1988. Distinguished by his role in the Black September in Jordan military operation in 1970, he was appointed Chief of Army Staff in 1976. After widespread civil disorder, he overthrew ruling Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in a bloodless coup d'état on 5 July 197...
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General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (Punjabi, Urdu: محمد ضياء الحق) (b. 12 August 1924 –17 August 1988) was the President and military ruler of Pakistan from July 1977 to his death in August 1988. Distinguished by his role in the Black September in Jordan military operation in 1970, he was appointed Chief of Army Staff in 1976. After widespread civil disorder, he overthrew ruling Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in a bloodless coup d'état on 5 July 1977 and became the state's third ruler to impose martial law. He initially ruled as Chief Martial Law Administrator, but later installed himself as the President of Pakistan in September 1978.
Zia's major domestic initiatives included the state's Islamization, the consolidation of the fledgling nuclear program, which was initiated by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and denationalization and deregulation leading to a rejuvenated economy. His tenure saw the disbanding of the Baloch insurgency, as well as the abridgement of civil and political liberties. His...
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