What were the forces that brought about the general's death? Was it mere personal ambition? Was it vengeance for something the general had done, and they say he was capable of rare ruthlessness? Or was it ambition and vengeance mixed with geopolitical factors like the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan and the nuclear bazaar? You hint at some of these reasons in your novel, but what would your hypothesis be?
It was basically the same old disease that every dictator catches. What is this nation going to do without me? How is this country going to survive without me? That must have annoyed a lot of people. Times were changing. Remember Gorbachev?
Zia had done a lot of ruthless things to his own people and he probably had grand designs for the rest of the world. Sikhs in India. Tamils in Sri Lanka, Drug mafias in Columbia. Even Wole Soyinka wrote a play call From Zia with Love, and that was set in Nigeria's armed forces and as far as I know Soyinka had never been to Pakistan. So he was not short of enemies.
Exclusive on rediff.com: The day Zia died
You briefly dwell on the mujahideen and the Afghan resistance which Zia championed along with the ISI and Bill O'Casey, Ronald Reagan's CIA chief, in the novel. Osama bin Laden, dressed in a suit, even makes a cameo appearance at a July 4 dinner at the American ambassador's home! What were Zia's motives for supporting the Americans in Afganistan? Was it because he, a devout Muslim, could not tolerate the Communist presence in an Islamic country?
What impact did the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s have on Pakistan? Do you believe it changed your country forever and laid the foundation for the terrifying fundamentalism that some observers believe could one day unravel Pakistan? Or would you believe the real problems for your country have come about because of America 's so-called war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq ?
Exclusive on rediff.com: The day Zia died
Long question. Let me try and break it down. He (Zia) was no devout Muslim to start with. He was actually quite a meek, opportunistic hand-wringing type of general, even his colleagues found him embarrassing. In fact these were the reasons that Bhutto chose him over many senior generals.
According to one Islamabad legend, Bhutto use to refer to him as my 'peon.' Zia was a commander in Multan when Bhutto visited as a prime minister. And Zia insisted that all the officers' wives should be in the reception line, which was unheard of. Because he knew Bhutto had an eye for the ladies. That doesn't sound like the act of a devout man.
His fight against Communism was similarly all about staying in power. This also gave him the opportunity to indulge some of his bizarre fantasies about a so-called Islamic society. In the process he destroyed Afghanistan and created such a royal mess in Pakistan that generations of politicians have come and gone trying to clear it up.
Image: Pakistan President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq at the shrine of Khwaja Moiuddin Chisti in Ajmer, October 1987. He had flown earlier to Jaipur to watch an India-Pakistan one day international cricket game. Photograph: India Abroad archives
Also read: 'Zia wanted to defeat America'
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