Sabotage in Mid-Air
The tragic explosion in the high skies of Pakistan has questions that demand urgent attention. The gruesome end of important dignitaries is in itself very saddening but the suspicion of a sabotage has added a sinister dimension to the tragedy. Whatever reservations or differences one might have about President Zia’s style of governing, none would dispute that he did succeed in bringing an unprecedented stability to the turbulent politics of Pakistan and generally played a constructive role in ensuring peace in the region. His decision to support Afghan Mujahideen in their struggle against Soviet intervention and accommodate nearly six million Afghan refugees even at the risk of provoking a retaliatory attack of a superpower like the Soviet Union, earned him the gratitude and goodwill of the entire free world.
In blowing up his aircraft, a “dastardly crime” has been committed and the Acting President of Pakistan Mr. Ghulam IShak Khan has done well in requesting the United States to help in the investigations. A thorough probe is imperative because it is not a simple or an isolated criminal act. It is a dangerous dimension of international terrorism. C-130 is a pretty stable aircraft. It does not simply disintegrate into thin air. It was certainly blown up either by planting a time-bomb in the mango boxes or by a ground to air missile fire. The exercise required a meticulous planning, sophisticated equipment and a highly developed intelligence network capable of penetrating into the most sensitive quarters of military security and President’s personal secretariat.
The professional precision with which the aircraft was blown up rules out the possibility of its being the handiwork of some domestic opponent of Zia. None of them has the required resources, training and equipment to carry out such a complex operation. The suspicion, therefore, irresistibly points to Russian KGB, the Afghan intelligence agency Khad and Indian intelligence agencies, all the three countries have dismissed the suggestions to this effect in various newspapers as patently absurd. India has eyen called it mischievous and altogether without any basis. But their angry denials are not enough to absolve them of the suspicion. It is highly improbable that the perpetrator of the crime would openly acknowledge it.
The circumstantial evidence makes each one of them a potential suspect. Soviet Union considered Zia largely responsible for its humiliating retreat from Afghanistan. Only a few days back it had warned that serious action would be taken if Pakistan continued to violate the Geneva agreement by supplying arms to the Afghan guerrillas. Afghan ruler, Najibullah considered Zia to be the chief villain in the plot that portends eventual toppling of his government. He, therefore, had a strong motive in removing Zia from the scene to prevent the catastrophe. The shadow of suspicion hangs over India because it has fought three wars with Pakistan and suffers from a pathological distrust of it. Only the other day Rajiv Gandhi publically accused Zia of conspiring to kill him. He has been frantically trying to convince the world that but for Pakistan there would be no problem in Punjab. In Zia, he perceived danger to is own life and might have been tempted to embark upon a pre-emptive course. It is not unexpected of the man who in retaliation to his mother’s assassination had ordered indiscriminate massacre of thousands. ‘Of innocent Sikh men, women and children. “Teach these bastards a\lesson,” he had declared in a revengeful fury.
Whosoever be the culprit and whatever be his motive, it is absolutely necessary to unmask the assassins. No world leader ‘would feel safe if the murderers of Zia, Raphel and twenty eight other dignitaries were to go scot free, The ground to air missiles and other sophisticated means of destruction have rendered every VIP aircraft vulnerable to mid-air explosion. The war against international terrorism cannot be decisively won without identifying the authors of this heinous crime.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 26, 1988
