Claim profile

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq

President of Pakistan from 1978 to 1988 Of Saudi origin

  • Fame58.7
  • Momentum0.0
  • Wikipedia25K
Source-basedFalling
Lived 1924–1988, aged 64India
IndiaIndiaPoliticiansPolitician
  • Wikipedia
    67 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Era
    1924–1988
    Aged 64
  • Awards
    6
    recognised works
Summary
Updated 2026-06-08

He deposed the prime minister who promoted him, oversaw that man's execution, then ran Pakistan for eleven years — the longest rule in the country's history. Zia-ul-Haq turned Pakistan toward Islamization, backed the mujahideen against the Soviets, and died in a plane crash that was never explained.

Biography

About

Zia saw combat in Burma and Malaya as a British Indian officer in World War II, chose Pakistan at partition, and fought as a tank commander in the 1965 war with India. In 1970 he led a training mission to Jordan that helped crush the Black September uprising; grateful, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto made him Chief of Army Staff in 1976. A year later, after disputed elections sparked unrest, Zia staged a coup and imposed martial law. Bhutto was tried and hanged in 1979 for ordering a political murder. As president from 1978, Zia funneled American and Saudi support to Afghan fighters against…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
said
I genuinely feel that the survival of this country lies in democracy and democracy alone.
— As quoted in "Mohammad Zia ul-Haq : Unbending Commander for Era of Atom and Islam", The New York Times (18 August 1988).
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
said
What is a constitution? It is a booklet with twelve or ten pages. I can tear them away and say that tomorrow we shall live under a different system.
— Speaking to an Iranian Newspaper in September 1977, as quoted in Pakistan, a Dream Gone Sour (1997) by Roedad Khan.
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
said
Pakistan which was created in the name of Islam will continue to survive only if it sticks to Islam.
— Praising the , the opposition movement against the 's government during . (Lahore), July 8, 1977. Quoted in and in
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
said
Pakistan is like Israel, an ideological state. Take out Judaism from Israel and it will collapse like a house of cards.
— Zia-ul-Haq (1916-89), Chief Martial Law Administrator, Pakistan, 1981. As quoted from Tariq Ali - The Clash of Fundamentalisms_ Crusades,
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
saidundated
Cricket can be a bridge and a glue... Cricket for peace is my mission.
— Quoted in Helen Exley Cricket Quotations (1992)
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Where to find them

Platforms

By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Falling
58.7
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Historical24.9
Now attention0.5
Source confidence65.0
Completeness75.0
Global rank
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Country rank
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Category rank
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Receipts

Sources

  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence