Appointed by Zia ul Haq
...the creepy-looking former dictator of Pakistain. Zia was an Islamic nutball who imposed his nutballery on the rest of the country with the enthusiastic assistance of the nation's religious parties, which are populated by other nutballs. He was appointed Chief of Army Staff in 1976 by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, whom he hanged when he seized power. His time in office was a period of repression, with hundreds of thousands of political rivals, minorities, and journalists executed or tortured, including senior general officers convicted in coup-d'état plots, who would normally be above the law. As part of his alliance with the religious parties, his government helped run the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan, providing safe havens, American equipiment, Saudi money, and Pak handlers to selected mujaheddin. Zia died along with several of his top generals and admirals and the then United States Ambassador to Pakistain Arnold Lewis Raphel when he was assassinated in a suspicious air crash near Bahawalpur in 1988...as ISI chief in 1987, Gul played a big role in organising the anti-Soviet resistance in Afghanistan during its last years and later followed it up by conceptualising and spreading a 'jihadi' worldview, the consequences of which are still with us.
His insight into all facets of the Afghan 'jihad' was legendary, and he put to good use his superb knowledge of the rivalries and hostilities among the principal bully boy leaders.
His removal as chief of the premier spy agency by Benazir Bhutto... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in...
in 1989 didn't dampen his passions for turning this country into the bastion of an international 'jihad' whose consequences for Pakistain's state and society seemed to have escaped his attention.
A dedicated soldier, he saw no contradiction in combining his professional duties with covert political activity that aimed at destabilising and overthrowing elected governments.
He didn't hide his contempt for politicians, thought they were incapable of sharing his concept of an international 'jihad' and, yet, had no qualms of conscience in collaborating with the politicians of his choice. That he had supporters within the armed forces goes without saying, for he was one of three generals -- the others being Mirza Aslam Beg
...the occasionally incoherent retired four-star general who was the Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army, succeeding the creepy General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, after the latter
and Asad Durrani -- who helped create the IJI, an anti-Benazir alliance.
Gul later had the courage to admit his many mistakes, including the formation of the IJI. He apologised to the nation in 2006. No other general has done so.
Hameed Gul is dead but his legacy lives on, for 'jihadi' organizations not only exist and continue to kill Paks, they still have sympathisers in the armed forces as the attacks on the GHQ, Mehran base and the naval dockyards show.
Many of the banned
...the word
bannedseems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all...
organizations still operate freely, and more regretfully the retired generals indicted by the Supreme Court are yet to face trial.