Reagan liked pomp and glamour in his public and private like, while Ziaul Haq was a soldier who refused to live in the presidential residence
THE book Rating The Presidents, by Ridings and McIver, has rated all the presidents of the USA except the present one, George W. Bush. The first on the list is Abraham Lincoln and the last name is that of President Harding. Had George W. Bush been included, he would have certainly been rated as the last, and therefore the worst.
Ronald Reagan, who was the 40th President of the United States and who died recently, has been rated at number 26. However, he was eulogized as the greatest among all the presidents. In the opinion of this writer, Reagan was a mediocre president but indeed a great actor, so in death he is remembered as a great president.
Ziaul Haq was a great president of Pakistan, but he was unlike President Yahya Khan and indeed the Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah (he liked acting as a student). He could not become popular although he should have been acclaimed as the saviour of the country against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. He, along with Lt-Gen Hameed Gul, was steadfast in helping Afghan Mujahideen with American arms to ultimately make the Soviet soldiers run for their lives. It was Reagan’s interest in the SDI programme that might have weakened the Soviet Union financially, but eight years of fighting in Afghanistan did not deprive the USSR of its super-power status. It goes to the credit of Ziaul Haq to give the last blow. In this connection, the refugee problem as well as the narcotics menace had to be tolerated as unavoidable, and even Reagan would have been helpless in Zia’s place.
Ziaul Haq was clever enough not to start fighting in Kashmir, for it would have divided his fighting capability. Instead, he caused trouble in Indian Punjab and Haryana, which was put down when his successor, after his death, Benazir Bhutto, gave Rajiv Gandhi the name of the Sikhs who were ring-leaders of the rebellion.
Reagan was known for his ability to appoint the right kind of people in his administration as well as for his character and integrity. Ziaul Haq, on the other hand, chose leaders like Ahmed Shah Masood and Gulbadin Hikmatyar in Afghanistan, and after getting the religious parties such as Jamat-i-Islami, JUP and JUI discredited, he held party-less elections and brought in Muhammad Khan Junejo as the prime minister, who is still mentioned with reverence in political circles of Pakistan.
As far as the religious aspect of Ziaul Haq’s policy is concerned, after Z.A. Bhutto had discredited his brand of Islamic socialism, the thirsty people of Pakistan had to be given some kind of ideology. Zia had studied at the Stephen College in Delhi. Neither he nor his son, Ijazul Haq, grew beards, but the only way to become popular with the conservative and illiterate masses of Pakistan was to whip offenders who were either from the lower class or the lower-middle class, and of course some journalists and politicians, which was against all norms of modern politics and ethical behaviour.
America, before George Washington, was drenched in royalty. Even George Washington used expressions like “May it please your Most Gracious Majesty” for King George III. America’s fight was not for independence but rather for “no taxes without representation.” This was for Tea tax. It was Islam that taught Americans the value of being anti-monarchist.
Just look as the names Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Jamestown and even the College of William and Mary. Then appeared Thomas Paine from Ireland, after crossing the Atlantic, to give the new nation its constitution. His two books, Age of Reason and Common Sense indicate this, although the writer of these books does not admit it. When Umar was elected Caliph of the Islamic territories, every nation in those times had a king. He was the only ruler to be elected by delegates. When George Washington was elected president, every other country big and small, including Turkey, was ruled by a dynasty. Obviously, the Islamic system was included in the American Constitution.
Reagan may have been anti-Communist. So was Ziaul Haq. Reagan liked pomp and glamour in his public and private like, while Ziaul Haq was a soldier who refused to live in the presidential residence and continued living in the residence of the Army Chief. Reagan as the US President was quick to betray his collaborators, such as Gen Noriega of Panama, Saddam Hussein of Iraq and President Ziaul Haq of Pakistan.
Reagan and Zia got along quite well, but after Zia decided to continue the fight in Afghanistan after the retreat of the Soviet Union, Reagan, perhaps, decided to ditch his ‘friend’. However, the aid was continued by George Bush Sr, until 1991.
Comparing Reagan with Ziaul Haq, a monument honouring Zia should be built by the US administration in Washington side by side with Reagan’s, only Ziaul Haq’s should be greater in height.
