Pakistan Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (PJMR) Vol.

2, Issue 2, Dec 2021

General Zia-ul-Haq and Muhammad Khan Junejo:
Confrontation upon Power Sharing
Anam Saleema, Rabia Ranib, Muhammad Waqasc
a
Department of Pakistan Studies, University of Jhang
b
Dept. of Humanities, National Textile University Faisalabad
c
Department of Islamic Studies, HITEC University Taxila
Corresponding email address: anamsaleem50@yahoo.com
Abstract
Since the inception of Pakistan, ambitions of political elites and
leadership who did not have national stature and potential to tackle
the political and social turmoil served the root cause of
destabilizing the democratic system of Pakistan. Besides this,
relationships among the bureaucracy, military and political elites
played a pivotal role in setting new trends in the polity of Pakistan.
On the other hand, the desire for central authority always created a
rift between the Head of the State (President) and Head of the
Government (Prime Minister). Whenever power is transferred to a
new regime, consensus could not be developed between the
President and Prime Minister over the matter of power sharing and
served as the root cause of dismissal of the elected governments.
The research paper will deal with the above mentioned conflict
between the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan during 1985-
1988. It will explore the dealings and relation between both the
personalities (General Zia-ul-Haq and M. Khan Junejo) were being
soured while the Prime Minister was the nominee of President? It
will also reveal the fact that the disagreement between the superior
authorities of the state leads to the removal of the elected
government. This piece of research will explore different phases of
their relations in detail.

Keywords: Democracy, Martial Law, Power Sharing, Non-Party

Elections, Ammunition Depot, ISI, Ojri Camp

Introduction

The term, Politics is generally related with power. Usually politics is

taken as a tool to gain power in the government but if we have a glance
over the definitions and descriptions of the Political philosophers such as
Plato and Aristotle, the real essence of Politics discloses. Politics is a
technique or tactic to address the issues of public. As long as the world
developed, different style of politics were discovered. There was
traditional style of politics in Sub-continent till the arrival of British.

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British introduced western style of democracy in Asia particularly in
South Asia. After the partition of the Subcontinent, newly born states
(India and Pakistan) adopted democracy as the famous style of politics of
the world, nowadays. Since the inception, Pakistan had to endure pile of
problems due to the scarcity of sources, infrastructure and trained
officials.

Although political parties are the institution and instrument of the

modern politics yet Pakistan inherited a political party (Muslim League)
which had never been in the government before the partition of Sub-
continent. Thus, it could not be able to run the affairs of the state solely.
They began to resort to bureaucracy and military for running the affairs of
the state due to the lack of experience. Root cause of the problems was
involvement of bureaucracy and military in the political affairs of the state
which began to emerge after demise of M.A Jinnah and assassination of
Liaqat Ali Khan. General Ayub Khan laid the foundation stone of Martial
Laws in Pakistan by implementing the first Martial law in 1958.
Following to predecessor, General Yahya Khan imposed Martial Law in
1969 and the longest Martial law of Pakistan was enforced in 1977 by
General Zia-ul-Haq. General Zia-ul-Haq dethroned Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
and announced martial law on 5th July 1977. He promised to hold general
elections within 90 days but his intoxication of power and a hidden fear of
Z.A Bhutto averted him to follow his words. This will also explore how
the matter of power sharing became the reason of dismissal of
governments in Pakistan.

The research will particularly be based on secondary sources including

books, articles and survey reports, besides this some sort of primary
sources will also be consulted such as interviews issued on electronic
media and newspapers. Descriptive and analytical approach will be
adopted.

Stephen Philip Cohen (The Idea of Pakistan) narrates that Pakistan

appeared on the map of the world as a democratic, Islamic and
progressive state where the people would have freedom to live freely
according to their religion because Islam is modern religion unlike
Hinduism. The government would play the role of custodian to the rights
(fundamental, political, social and economic) of masses but since the
inception, Pakistan was unable to follow the suit. Democracy could not

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strengthen itself. According to Muhammad Waseem, (Politics and State in
Pakistan) Bureaucratic polity emerged in Pakistan due to futility of
political party and politicians. On the other hand, constitutional
breakdowns and military interventions presented a clear expression that
the administration could run without any legitimate recourse. Hassan
Askari Rizvi (Military, State and Society in Pakistan) expressed after the
demise of Jinnah and Liaqat Ali Khan, leadership of Pakistan did not have
national stature to appeal to the masses and potential to tackle the
economic, social and political crisis. Muslim league could not transform
itself as national political party. Most of the politicians were land lords
who were self-centered and preferred personal ambitions rather than the
state interests. Battle for power attainment broke out among these
politicians, afterwards inclusion of bureaucracy and military made this
battle more complicated. Due to the political turmoil, internal and external
threats, it gave the military a chance to expand its role and a series of
dismissal of the governments were started.

This paper will reveal the ground realities that do not let a government be
reinforced. This research will open new avenues to avoid these types of
conflicts that are dangerous for democratic system of Pakistan.

Conflict between General Zia and M. Khan Junejo

Z.A Bhutto established his government in 1971 but all the other
political parties of Pakistan, particularly religious political parties, gave
him a tough time in running the affairs of the state. According to the
constitution of Pakistan 1973, the first elections were held in 1977.
Political parties gathered at a platform and laid the foundation of PNA.
They decided to counter PPP at the platform of PNA. Eventually, PPP
won the elections of 1977 but rest of the political parties refused to accept
the results and anarchy was created in the country. General Zia-ul-Haq
served as Chief of Army Staff during the reign of Z.A Bhutto. He often
remained present in the meetings of government officials and Z.A Bhutto
trusted him a lot. General Zia-ul-Haq dethroned Z.A Bhutto, implemented
martial law in 5th July 1977 and became 3rd Chief Martial Law
Administrator of Pakistan.

CMLA (Chief Martial Law Administrator), General Zia-ul-Haq

could do whatever he wanted for his perpetuation but he soon founded to
be bungled. General Zia-ul-Haq had imposed Martial Law with a different
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vision but gradually, his intentions changed. To prolong his regime, he
always promoted his trustworthy people and kept them in the government
but when he felt them useless, he threw them out of the government.
General Zia was not an admirer of the party system due to the fame of
PPP because he did not want to see PPP in the National Assembly at any
cost. Muhammad Khan Junejo was appointed as Prime Minister of
Pakistan because General Zia had good relations with Pir Paghara
(spiritual head of Hur Malaysia). At first, he selected, Elahi Bakhsh
Soomro, however, considering the will of Pir Paghara, he had to choose
Muhammad Khan Junejo as the candidate of Prime Minister. There were
contradictions between them from the very beginning but with the
passage of time they even grew more complicated.

General Zia-ul-Haq had to face humiliation, first time, when

Muhammad Khan Junejo visited his office at President House with
several elected members of National Assembly; General Zia informed
him about his decision that he had selected him as new Prime Minister
of Pakistan. Instead of showing any type of gratitude, Junejo asked
about the time of Martial law’s withdrawal. General Zia controlled his
anger and replied that Martial law was now in his favor and it would
assist him; whenever he would have the capacity to handle the situation,
Martial law would be lifted over the country. It was the time when
General Zia felt alarmed. After becoming Prime Minister, M. Khan
Junejo called out a meeting at President House in Rawalpindi for
addressing the issues including party formulation. General Zia was not
in favor of party formulation but the majority supported the views and
intentions of M. Khan Junejo. On the other hand, in order to attain the
support of parliamentarians, M. Khan Junejo allocated development
funds for the constituencies; it was an effort to prove that without a
party system parliamentary system could not run. The maiden speech of
Prime Minister M. Khan Junejo was enough to create disturbance
between Martial law administration and his team. He made them aware
with his future perspectives about the promotion of democracy, lifting
up martial law and granting liberties to each citizen. According to the
Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, General Zia seemed restless after the speech of
M. Khan Junejo; even the expressions of fear were there on the faces of
his closest patronages.

M. Khan Junejo did not want to be used as a puppet in the hands

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of the President. While discussing the saluting dais to President at the
ceremony of 23rd March, he narrated to the President that in the
parliamentary form of government salute was only given to the
President not a Chief Executive. M. Khan Junejo wanted to arrive in the
ceremony in emperor style, on the horse-drawn coach such as Zufikar
Ali Bhutto did but General Zia rejected the idea and presented the
examples of other democratic countries. Both the personalities desired to
enjoy the said status; at last it was settled that if the President reviewed
the parade ceremony on 23rd March, the Prime Minister would be an
honorable guest on the ceremony of 14th August. Desire depicted from
the events that M. Khan Junejo wanted to enjoy his power without any
pressure and also expected from General Zia to give up one of the posts.
Because of the undue pressure, Martial law was lifted on 30th Dec 1985.
In the beginning of 1986, M. Khan Junejo proudly proclaimed to get the
country free from the shackles of Martial law and restoration of
constitution and fundamental rights. He also made promises for the
complete freedom of thought, expression, press and genuine form of
democratic society. Due to which M. Khan Junejo gained popularity and
credibility among the masses and General Zia was deliberately kept
away from the political forefront of the country. Somehow,
confrontation was created between both the personalities, on the matter
of lifting up martial law.

M. Khan Junejo wanted to keep General Zia at a distance so that

he might be able to form an independent government. M. Khan Junejo
announced to levy defense surcharges on the military in the budget
speech of 1986-1987. The step was taken in return of Iqra surcharge,
which was levied by General Zia. In the speech, M. Khan Junejo
infuriated the military officers and said that they would not use any
vehicle other than Suzuki cars. It was a big shock for not only General
Zia but also for those military officers who were enjoying a fully
luxurious life. Although General Zia changed his car to Suzuki 1600 cc
yet all the military officers felt an insolent step was taken against them.

M. Khan Junejo began to reject each order or suggestion given

by General Zia. General Zia suggested that he perform Umrah. He
agreed to perform Umrah but he wanted it to be an official visit.
Although the Saudi ambassador clarified to M. Khan Junejo that it
was against the policies of Saudi Arabia, he did not consider the

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suggestion of Janjua (Saudi ambassador in Pakistan). Instead of acting
upon the suggestion, he removed Janjua from ambassadorship. M.
Khan Junejo was more interested in degrading General Zia. He began
to reject even minor requests of the President. When he returned from
Saudi Arabia, he showed intolerance while briefing journalists at the
airport. When he was asked by Journalists at the airport about who
would attend the SAARC Summit in Bangalore, M. Khan Junejo
displayed his arrogance and put his hand on the chest of the journalist
and said; “I will”. The attitude depicted the hidden conflict of power
sharing between both the personalities.

General Zia ignored all these things in the beginning but at last,
he threw M. Khan Junejo out of the government by feeling his increase
worth over military; this was an unpardonable crime of M. Khan Junejo
near General Zia. General K.M Arif was closest friend of General Zia
and he usually assisted him during the Martial Law regime but
gradually, some misunderstanding began to develop between General
Arif and General Zia.

General Arif was appointed as Vice Chief of Staff Committee

in 1984 owing to his duties, his meetings with General Zia began to be
reduced. Warm relations began to develop between General Arif and
M. Khan Junejo; M. Khan Junejo also called him a “best professional
General” in a party. He often met with the Prime Minister for
discussions and exchanging views over the service matters. Eventually,
differences began to develop between General Arif and General Zia
over the issue of power distribution. General Arif appeared as a rival of
General Zia. His views changed about the prolonged stay of General
Zia in government; he often used to say that the prolonged stay of the
military was harder to defend.

M. Khan Junejo received a warm welcome on the visit to the

USA in 1986; By seeing the warm reception both the personalities, M.
Khan Junejo and General Arif felt happy. They concluded that the
American government had accepted the democratic government of
Pakistan and now they could easily spend their next five years; it would
be a healthy sign for the democratic system of Pakistan. They tried to
keep General Zia away from every matter while General Zia wanted to
stick with foreign policy and all the external matters of Pakistan. These

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actions were not acceptable for General Zia and he decided not to let
General Arif more in the military. On 16th March 1986, General Arif
received orders to pack up while he would have gone to China on 29th
March. At that occasion, a big disparity was infused between General
Zia and M Khan Junejo. General Zia intended to replace General Arif
with General Zahid Ali Akbar. M. Khan Junejo was discontented and
frustrated with the decision of General Zia and there were two reasons
of this displeasure

1. Understanding had been developed between M. Khan Junejo

and General Arif
2. General Zia desired to replace General Arif with his trust
worthy patronage.

M. Khan Junejo opined that only the most senior officer should be the
vice chief of army staff. According to the records, Mirza Aslam Baig
found the most senior officer so he was appointed as Vice Chief of
Army Staff. A number of steps were taken obstinately but the country
enjoyed the benefit of the clash and an able and talented officer held the
seat.

General Zia was reluctant to share his authority even after

amending the constitution of Pakistan 1973. General Zia was exceeding
his limits. After lifting up Martial law, power rested in one hand. He
used to blame Parliament for the failure of enforcing Islam in real sense
in Pakistan and providing sustainable life to common man; he often
warned the National Assembly by addressing. Even in his maiden
speech to the National Assembly’s inaugural session, General Zia said
that each member was elected on a non-party basis so they should work
without the affiliation of any type of political party. General Zia was
strongly against the political parties and always used to criticize them
including members of National and Provincial Assemblies. Contrary to
it, Parliamentarians began to criticize General Zia and the policies of
Martial law in return. A strange conflicting environment could be seen
among the President, Prime Minister, and members of National and
Provincial Assemblies.

In the beginning, M. Khan Junejo was loyal and obedient to

General Zia; he used to do everything after consultation with General
Zia and succeeded in achieving his confidence. Obedience of M. Khan
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Junejo can be judged with the incident mentioned below. General Zia
used to write directives frequently to the ministers and staff demanded
for quick reply. Ministers had to reply to the Prime Minister’s
Secretariat then it was proceeded to the President. Once, General Zia
infuriated on the late reply of directives and the staff of General Zia
blamed Prime Minister M. Khan Junejo. The Prime Minister assured
him of quick implementations.

A backstage war of protocol broke up between both of them. The

matter of appointments such as appointment of Ambassadors and
Secretaries served as a core issue of contradiction between both the
personalities. M. Khan Junejo desired to enjoy his real status as Prime
Minister. Once, one cabinet meeting was postponed just because
General Zia had discussed the date of the cabinet s’ meeting before a
newsmen during a journalists briefing. Intentions of M. Khan Junejo
reflected from his wording, he said:

“He is President and Head of the Government whereas the

Prime Minister is the Chief Executive of the country. He
has to run the country, so we have good cordial relations
otherwise but running the country as Prime Minister goes
to the elite”. (Junejo s’ Interview, 1985)

Once, General Zia ordered Foreign Office to prepare a summary of

his visit to Africa but M. Khan Junejo reshaped the summary and
replaced himself with General Zia because he was of the view that in
democracy, it was the right and duty of a Prime Minister to hold
foreign visits. General Zia did not want to lose his grip over foreign
policy even after restoring democratic government. When the
country was released from the shackles of Martial Law and a cabinet
was formed, the new issue arose that how the departments would
handle. Foreign affairs were handled by President (General Zia) or
by his patronages because it was the favorite department of
President General Zia. Financial and establishment matters were
dealt with by civilians with the collaboration of the military while
the rest of the departments were handled by the civilian government.

General Zia knew that M. Khan Junejo was in fury for holding
the two authorities by Zia, Chief of Army Staff and President of
Pakistan. Zia thought that M. Khan Junejo designed a conspiracy

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against him and passed a resolution that Zia should resign from one
of the posts. M. Khan Junejo denied the blame: afterward the fact
was revealed that the step was taken by the advisors of General Zia.
Somehow, his advisors played their role for widening the distance
between both the personalities (M. Khan Junejo & General Zia).

Indo-Pak relations were suffering from bitterness in 1986. General

Zia wanted to visit India so that the stress could be released between
both the countries. Dr. Mahbubul Haq pursued it with enthusiasm.
By seeing the involvement of Mahbubul Haq, M. Khan Junejo
shifted his duties as Minister of Finance. M. Khan Junejo s’ USA
visit and President Reagan s’ positive approach contributed fully in
lighting the fire because now M. Khan Junejo got support and began
to act more confidently. First step, he took after came back was the
removal of Intelligence Bureau s’ head Major-General Agha Nek
Muhammad.

General Zia always kept his most trusted people in Foreign

Office only to hold foreign policy; he appointed LT-General Yaqub
Khan as foreign Minister and wanted to take full control in shaping
Afghanistan policy. M. Khan Junejo replaced him with a political
figure Zain Noorani in 1987. This act made General Zia infuriated.
After that M. Khan Junejo decided to arrange an all party’s conference
to discuss the Afghanistan issue and for signing a peace treaty. He
took the step to strengthen him as Prime Minister. The step which
widened the gulf between President and Prime Minister was, not
giving extension to the closest patronages of General Zia such as
General Arif (Vice Chief of Staff committee) and General Rahim-u-
Din (Chairman joint Chief of Staff Committee and Director General
ISI). General Zia noticed that M. Khan Junejo was removing General
Zia s’ colleagues and supporters. He also cut down three Doctors of
General Zia, those who were very close to him, Dr. Mahbubul Haq,
Dr. Asad and Dr. Attiya Enayatulluh.

Zia’s prolonged stay was a true reflection of his intentions. He

luckily had very loyal, faithful and obedient colleagues who became the
source of fulfillment of his intentions. They served as shields of
protection in every thick and thin. Zia’s patronages served him
faithfully but a few were not in favor of his prolonged stay in politics.

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General Arif, a closest colleague of General Zia, expressed his views in
these words. He said that General Zia had inherited military
subordinates who, by and large, served him staunchly. He had a well-
knit team, ever ready to discuss unpalatable issues and used to offer
suggestions without reservations or sugar-coating but with the passage
of time, he lost his faithful company due to several reasons. For
instance, General Zia was holding two posts which were
unconstitutional, unreasonable and unjustifiable. General Zia claimed
before his military colleagues and Parliament that he would resign from
one post after lifting up Martial law but his actions did not follow his
words. On such issues, his colleagues began to go away because actions
speak louder than words. General Zia was of the view that M. Khan
Junejo was conspiring against him by using underground methods for
reducing his authority in the polity of the country.

The Afghan War had to face the results of the rift of both the
personalities. M. Khan Junejo began to oppose General Zia in every
matter and started discussions on the matter of Afghanistan diplomacy.
He was of the view that Pakistan should not indulge in the matter
anymore and it should end as soon as possible while General Zia was
against a cease fire. M. Khan Junejo evolved a new style of diplomacy.
He started an open discussion on Afghan policy in the National
Assembly and the main aim was to oppose General Zia s’ method of
handling the Afghan matter. He wanted to sign a treaty with Russia
while General Zia was of the view that the matter should not be handled
in hurry because Russian forces were defeated and wanted to wind up
the War.

General Zia had to face another defeat when the majority of

MNA s showed their unwillingness for the continuation of the Afghan
War. They saw it a major threat to the integrity of Pakistan. Enlarging
the circle of his support, M. Khan Junejo took the issue to public
meetings for open debate. Eventually, several political parties stood
up against General Zia on his stance of continuation of War. The issue
of the Afghan War also divided the political parties of Pakistan into
two groups. ANP, a left wing political party, was not in favor of the
Afghan War; they took it as a tool of General Zia, which he was using
for obtaining financial assistance by Western countries in order to
make himself politically strong and keep his root strengthened in the

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regime. On the other hand JI (Jamaat-e-Islami) was in the favor of
General Zia by taking it as their religious duty in the name of Jihad. A
changed attitude was also seen from the Soviet Union; they suddenly
began to realize that they would have to leave Afghanistan and
concentrate on the establishment of a new government in Afghanistan.
On the other hand, the American government now wanted to get rid of
General Zia. M. Khan Junejo seemed the solution of every problem in
signing the Geneva accord, while General Zia thought that they
should not be hurried. Signing the treaty of Geneva was not the
solution of problems. General Zia was shocked with the changed
approach of the USA. It was not understandable and unacceptable for
him how the American Government agreed for signing the Geneva
Accord.

Besides the other political parties of Pakistan, a most popular and a

rival party of General Zia began to engage in the political setup of
Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto had returned to Pakistan and M. Khan Junejo
called her for consultation on divergent political matters. He used to
treat her like his child. He also showed his good will for Benazir
Bhutto and her demand for free and fair elections. It was another
tactic for degrading General Zia. He also included the adversaries of
Zia in diplomatic consultation. He wanted to throw him out of the
polity and wanted to enjoy his authority without any pressure. His
intention and thoughts about Benazir Bhutto and her political party
was depicted by his below mentioned statement. He said:

“She is always welcome. She should be integrate. She is

always welcome when elections are announced and contested
elections.” (Junejo s’ Interview, 1985)

During the visit to the USA, President Reagan promised him for
providing full assistance in ousting General Zia in politics.

General Zia came to know that Muhammad Khan Junejo was

emerging as a popular politician at provincial level. He also realized
that in spite of being grateful to General Zia, he was going against him
in each and every view point. In October 1986, M. Khan Junejo
uttered these words by telling Brigadier Durrani that he was trying to
run the country according to the constitution. If the President had not
been in accordance with the constitution, he could have promulgated

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it similar to that of Sri Lanka.

By seeing the approach of Junejo, General Zia decided to

counter the increasing popularity of his nominated Prime Minister. He
used to criticize Junejo in presence of his previous steel armed
colleagues. In March 1988 General Zia called a meeting at Army
house, in which Mr. Ghuam Ishaq Khan. Mr. Agha Sahi, Lieutenant-
General A.I. Akram (Director General of Institute of Regional Studies
Islamabad) and General K.M Arif were invited. General Zia said that
M.Khan Junejo had feelings of envy against the services. Along with
it, he could not handle the situation and was very slow in every
matters for taking decisions. In the last days of 1987, General Zia
exposed his thoughts for Junejo in the presence of Lieutenant-General
Fazl-e-Haq (Former Governor & Lieutenant). He bitterly talked
against M. Khan Junejo and thought about alternatives. This meeting
summarized by Lt. General Fazl-e-Haq that M. Khan Junejo’s days in
power were numbered.

Pakistan had to suffer several dangerous problems due to the Afghan

War. Training camps were set up in Pakistan, for Afghan Mujahdeen;
whereas weapons were handed over to them. Due to his war crimes,
terrorism, usage of drugs and number of drug peddlers increased in
Pakistan. During those days, an event at Ojhri Camp occurred which
served as a decisive factor for the dismissal of the Prime Minister and
his cabinet. Ojhri camp was a weapons storage area in between
Islamabad and Rawalpindi. This depot was built during British
imperialism. The British government established this ammunition
depot in an uninhabited area but after the inception of Pakistan, the
surrounding area of the ammunition depot became the most famous,
populous and official area of Pakistan.

A thundering explosion broke out in Ojhri camp on 10th, April

1988. The perception was spread among the people that India might
be attacked by Pakistan's nuclear installation in Kahuta. Both the
cities began to burn and masses were much anxious. In Ojhri camp
disaster thousands of people died and a large number of houses were
destroyed. There were 100 casualties in the first hour of the explosion.
7000 tons of arms were destroyed in the incident. Telephone, water
supply and to a certain extent, electrical system disrupted of both the

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cities. Three days mourning was declared by the government. Rana
Naeem Mehmood, Minister of Defense, expressed sorrow and
grievance at the tragic incident. Some steps were taken as
precautionary measures, such as bomb disposable squads spread in all
over the cities. In spite of strong demand for accurate amount of loss,
no exact figure was provided to press and Parliament. Press, public
and masses began to demand for impartial inquiry of that
unforgettable and painful disaster. This demise incident created the
feeling of hatred among masses against military: the demand the
accountability of the concerned military officers and reducing the
large number of budget spending on military or defense widely
increased. They also used to criticize the government for disaster. On
the other hand military officers were not showing any type of co-
operation actually they were not in the favor of inquiry. The negative
attitude of the military officials had two reasons.

1. Inquiry could disclose the ignorance and misdeeds of military

officers who were considered as a symbol of faith and patriot.

2. They thought the civilian government should not indulge into

military affairs.

The depot was used for storing ammunition before 1979, but after that
as the Afghan War was started it converted into a supply head of
ammunition of arms to Afghan Mujahideen. ISI had direct connections
with the CIA and other countries. They used to provide arms for
Afghan freedom fighters. General Akhtar Abdul Rehman was handling
all this activity as a Director of ISI. The required safety measures were
not fulfilled. Arms kept in the depot were beyond capacity. On 10th
April 1988 arms were shifted and the work was done through the hired
civil untrained labor. Labor started their duty; they were throwing the
stacks from the height of 9 to 10 feet. They were shifting them
downwards to load them on the vehicle. A box containing 122 mm
Rockets-A exploded as it accidently fell down and hit the ground.

At that time General Zia was out of the country. He went to Kuwait to
attend the OIC Science Summit. General Zia was worried and decided
to leave for Pakistan soon after the evening session of the Summit. On
the arrival, General Zia-ul-Haq was astounded to see the situation. He
had been tolerating the awkward attitude of M. Khan Junejo for a long
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time but he could not bear anybody s’ scolding attitude and interference
into military affairs. M. Khan Junejo announced an inquiry committee
on the public's increasing demands of investigation. On the other hand,
he got a chance to take revenge from General Zia to degrade and
defame him. M. Khan Junejo had decided to take serious steps against
the concerned senior military personnel. An inquiry commission was
formed to investigate the mishap. An Emraan Commission was formed
which was presided by Lieutenant-General Immran Ulluh and the
commission had to submit its report before the federal committee.
Committees’ report was kept secret and did not disclose before the
members of the Parliament or press. But some points of the report were
leaked out. According to the inquiry report, the incident happened due
to

1. The unsuitable location of depot

2. Administrative failure or ignorance

3. Lack of a fire-fighting system.

General Akhtar was not in favor of holding such a high level inquiry.
He was of the view that investigation should be held at departmental
level. He knew that if inquiry had been held at the federal level, he
would have to pay. On the other hand, M. Khan Junejo had also
decided to give him a tough time. Committee submitted its report to
the federal inquiry committee.

Muhammad Khan Junejo appointed another inquiry committee

and assigned them duty to review the submitted report and succumbed
it within ten days. Mr. Aslam Khattak was the chairman of the
committee and Qazi Abdul Majid Abid, Mir Ibrahim Baloch, Malik
Nasim Ahmad Aheer and Rana Naeem Mehmood (Minister of State)
were members of the federal inquiry committee. Committee
completed its assigned task within the given period but the committee
had to suffer with internal clashes soon. It was divided into two
groups. One was of the view that General Akhtar was found guilty
and the other opposed the view point. Chairman of the committee did
not agree with the report presented by the group of M. Khan Junejo
who said General Akhtar Abdul Rehman was offensive. Inquiry
committee's final report was presented before the sub-committee of
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 Pakistan Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (PJMR) Vol. 2, Issue 2, Dec 2021
the cabinet for review. Appraisal was finished on 10th May 1988 and
eventually, Chief of ISI General Akhtar Abdur Rehman was found
guilty for the incident. The final report was presented before the Prime
Minister. Prime Minister Junejo decided to punish the responsible
people for that unforgettable disaster. On the other hand, General
Hamid Gul accepted the responsibility and had presented himself for
punishment.

The incident added fuel to fire on the deteriorated relations

between President General Zia and Prime Minister Junejo. Prime
Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo had decided for accountability of
the responsible people after the departure from China. General Zia
was very annoyed by hearing the criticism against the armed forces.
On the other hand, he had decided to take step against the
Government of M. Khan Junejo. General Zia left China and
summoned journalists for briefing. In order to protect himself,
General Zia dismissed the Prime Minister and dissolved the National
Assembly and the Provincial Assemblies on 29th May 1988 by using
58-2-b which empowered him to dissolve National and Provincial
Assemblies. While dissolving National and Provincial Assemblies,
General Zia blamed the members of National and Provincial
Assemblies for corruption and failure to enforce the Islamic way.
Prime Minister Junejo had just arrived from China and briefed
journalists about his visit; he expressed nothing about the existing
situation. He only uttered the words that the President had power to
dissolve the National Assembly under the constitution.

Conclusion

Pakistan has to face several problems on its way to strengthen the

democratic elected government; some of them are the interference of
military and bureaucracy into the political set of the country,
provincialism, sectarianism and the most important is the problem of
power sharing between President and Prime Minister. The same issue
served an active role in weakening the roots of the government established
after the 3rd Martial Law of 1977 in the country. Although, Muhammad
Khan Junejo was nominated as Prime Minister by General Zia-ul-Haq yet
conflicts began to rise after a short while. He was nominated as a Prime
Minister with the confidence that he would act as a puppet Prime Minister

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and would always be grateful to General Zia. It was expected with the
nominated Prime minister that he would never stand in front of his mentor
but the situation proved vice versa. After taking the seat of Prime Minister,
Muhammad Khan Junejo observed the situation as he was expected to be a
deaf, dumb and paralyzed Prime Minister. M. Khan Junejo did not want to
act as puppet Prime Minister; wished to enjoy his real status. He started
interrupting the smooth sailing of General Zia, while General Zia was
shocked at his actions. This conflict of power sharing could not be sorted
out and finally ended at the removal of of Prime Minister Muhammad
Khan Junejo and his cabinet.

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