The Zia factor in Sri Lanka, Pakistan relationship War on terror revisited
President Zia-ul-Haq by Shamindra Ferdinando President Zia-ul-Haq was killed on August 17th, 1988 when a Pakistan Air Force C 130 crashed just five minutes after taking off. Among the dead were Gen. Akhtar Khan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and US Ambassador to Islamabad, Arnold Raphel. In accordance with the Indo-Lanka Accord (ILA), the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was deployed in the temporarily-merged North-Eastern Province, therefore the SLA was confined to barracks. Many felt that Sri Lanka’s relationship with Pakistan could go sour following the Pakistani President’s death. Had that happened, Sri Lanka’s defence would have suffered irreparable damage. In spite of political turmoil, successive governments in Pakistan remained committed to Sri Lanka’s defence right throughout. The tough talking General said at the conclusion of his Colombo visit that had Pakistan been an arms producing country at that time, it would have given anything to Sri Lanka. ...