How Can Zia Die?

Urstruly,

… while you are rewriting history, you may as well declare that maudoodi created pakistan, ghaznavi discovered americas, and jamaat-e-islami is a humanitarian organization. And moon-landing is nothing but self-serving propaganda from evil westerners …

you have all facts wrong.in pakistan an armoured regiment is actually a tank battalion but called an armoured regiment.

there were three tank battalions in the tabuk mercenary brigade and an armoured infantry battalion.it was commanded by a brigadier and not a major general.first jahangir karamat and later mahboob alam , both as brigadiers.yes kallue was also first involved in it.

this affair seriously eroded the armys military virtue by creating two classes , one saudia and one non saudia , the first far richer and the second far poorer.soldiers and officers were willing to go to the lowest depths of sycophancy to go to tabuk.

sad affair.
Agha Amin

Re: # 63

Riaz, what are u doing to your minorities with the blasphemy laws? What a hypocrite!!!

Re: # 38

In berkeley ZAB's buddies were Minoo Masani and Piloo Mody.
Piloo even wrote a book - Zulfie my friend.

ZAB was a politician - not a hater of this or that ideology. He did what was necessary for the good of his power - like all politicians all over the world. Not letting Mujib come to power was his blunder. Mujib would have been voted out by even the Bengalis for his arrogance -leaving the path clear for ZAB and a united Pakistan.

Riaz, dont forget it was Yahya Khan - who screwed up the unity of Pakistan - you still want dictatorship.

Who needs enemies? LOL

Sorry, three brigades and their supporting troops.

Re: #85,

Are you sure about 3 regiments? that is probably, what, not even a 100 officers total (counting Brigade HQ and various support troops) and it did seem as if there were a lot more than that went to Saudi from the Armoured Corps! I thought it was a minimum of four brigades.

I know for a fact that Gen. Kallue was offerred the command and he turned it down flat. A Major General (as he was then) commanding a brigade is bit of an overkill!

#88 Posted by Urstruly on September 19, 2009 11:36:27 am


maulana urstruly..that's like saying you can make the sun rise and set by opening and closing your eyes...

#88 Zia a visionary? that is why you mullah thugs are in bed with the imperialists as I have claimed all along.

First Zia didn't defeat anyone let alone a super power. The "super power" that was always subordinate to US power was not defeated given the casualty figures among the so-called mujahideen that the Americans were using as cannon fodder. If the Americans had not stepped in all that bloodshed could have been avoided, guage the war by its end results, what these Mujahideen did through infighting in the destruction they caused, even the "super power" could not have matched. Matching that imperialist war using the Third World as stage and leaving Afghanistan in the mess they did, you compare that to the fight against the East India Company- you should be ashamed of yourself. Zia single handedly destroyed Pakistan by hanging a people's leader on behalf of the Americans and shutting the people out of affairs of this state.

Re: # 88
You are trying to install General Zia as the peer saheb to Osama-bin-Laden but he still remains that American pawn whose emergence and death were both written by his masters.

After surviving what the so called liberals have to offer to us - their best, the Musharaf, and the current circus of NRO thugs, I am beggining to like Zia. For heaven's sake the guy militarily defeated one super power to the extent of wiping it off the map. The guy, despite his dedly despotic compulsion, was a visionary. I think a partial credit is due to him as well for starting the freedom movements across the globe against East India Company's illegitimate children and their current adopted mai baap.

there is a liasion office but no fighting units now.in any case the only threat to saudis is their own muslim population.hopeless arabs.
Agha Amin

for your info saudis did ask sunnis to be sent but many shias went also as such an apartheid was seriously undermining the armys discipline.saudis however well compensated this by financing anti shia groups in pakistan and afghanistan till to date.
Agha Amin

your information is incorrect.only one tank brigade , three regiments was stationed at tabuk near the Jordanian Israeli Border.In 1990 Gulf war one infantry brigade and one tank brigade opposite Iraqi border was sent.
Agha Amin

Pavo Saab,

Weren't there two divs sent to Saudi in the 1980s (not just to protect Mecca; thought they sat on the Yemeni border). For a while it seemed as if every armoured corps officer I knew had served a tour in Saudi and came back driving a new car!

IIRC, the equipment was kept there and the men were rotated in and out. The troops had to be withdrawn when the Saudis asked for only Sunnis to be sent there and Zia finally drew the line.

There aren't any PA troops in Saudi now but there is still a liason office there to coordinate rapid troop deployment there... just in case.

Re: # 82 This is really good

# 79 muquaddam - "The moment he took over Pakistan, guessing games were on in India as to how long he would last. Really nobody gave him more than a couple of years maximum."

Wolpert thinks that Zia got lucky due to soviet interference in Afghanistan that saved and extended Zia' rule.

You will like this - Ayub hated Z immediately after 1965 since Z made him believe that USA and China will come to help Pakistan and thus encouraged Ayub to start the operation. Therefore Ayub did not include Z in his 1-1 sessions with Shastri at Tashkand even though Z was with him in the delegation. Z was furious since he thought that Ayub knew nothing about "high level international diplomacy". Shastri dies at 1 AM. Ayub is informed and then at 2:30 Z's deputy wakes him up and tells him "the bastard is dead". Zulfi - "which one?"