The enemies knew the negative consequences for Pakistan by downing Zia Ul Haq at that time and that’s why they downed the plane,I personally don't like Zia. By all accounts he was patriotic and like Musharraf landed in a crisis of not his own making. Afghan war, in case if we had lost, would definitely be the end of Pakistan.
However where Zia and Musharraf succeeded in stopping the advance of enemies, they failed to pay attention to where the future lies.
Zia did the best he could with limited resources and helped defend Pakistan by fighting Soviets in Afghanistan but he failed to consider the consequences of this war on the future of Pakistan. Six million refugees, gun culture, drugs, MQM, radicalization and over dependence of foreign countries left us facing even bigger challenges in peace than what we did during the war. War ended and everyone went home and we were left with a broken, traumatized and radicalized generation.
Had he made long term agreement and had caught on to American duplicity and plans to abandon us with the entire burden and blame on our shoulders we would have been at a much better position post war.
I really think we could have tested nuclear weapons during the Afghan war. Back then they needed us so badly and understood the threat to the very existence of Pakistan that we could have easily walked away with no repercussions of such move.
Again just another military leader and not a visionary leader or a thinker.
Hindsight is always 20/20I personally don't like Zia. By all accounts he was patriotic and like Musharraf landed in a crisis of not his own making. Afghan war, in case if we had lost, would definitely be the end of Pakistan.
However where Zia and Musharraf succeeded in stopping the advance of enemies, they failed to pay attention to where the future lies.
Zia did the best he could with limited resources and helped defend Pakistan by fighting Soviets in Afghanistan but he failed to consider the consequences of this war on the future of Pakistan. Six million refugees, gun culture, drugs, MQM, radicalization and over dependence of foreign countries left us facing even bigger challenges in peace than what we did during the war. War ended and everyone went home and we were left with a broken, traumatized and radicalized generation.
Had he made long term agreement and had caught on to American duplicity and plans to abandon us with the entire burden and blame on our shoulders we would have been at a much better position post war.
I really think we could have tested nuclear weapons during the Afghan war. Back then they needed us so badly and understood the threat to the very existence of Pakistan that we could have easily walked away with no repercussions of such move.
Again just another military leader and not a visionary leader or a thinker.