MANY senior Pakistan Army officers died in the C-130 Hercules plane crash on Aug 17, 1988 at Bahawalpur besides President Gen Ziaul Haq, the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Akhtar Abdur Rehman, and the United States Ambassador to Pakistan, Arnold Lewis Raphel. However, a lucky few were not aboard the ill-fated aircraft as Allah had decided otherwise.

Lt Col Arshad Hussain, AMC, was President Zia’s personal physician. He was at Chaklala airport ready to board the C-130, when Gen Zia said to him, “Doc, go back, I shall be back by the evening.” Col Hussain saluted and left, little knowing that he had saluted Zia for the last time.

Brig Muhammad Younas Khan was military secretary to the president. As a staff officer he normally accompanied the president wherever he went. The president told him to stay back and complete some tasks.

Gen K. M. Arif, was the Chief of Staff in the president’s secretariat and supposed to be present at Bahawalpur. He was not there owing to extraordinary luck. Gen Rafaqat – Zia’s Principal Staff Officer heard the President talking to Ambassador Raphel on the phone, asking him to accompany him to Bahawalpur to witness the American M-61 Tank field trials there.

Zia told Raphel that Gen Arif would also be there as he had watched the tank’s maneuvers in the US on a visit there. Gen Rafaqat, while finalising the list of those who were to go to Bahawalpur, informed everyone except Gen Arif, as he assumed that the President had already asked him to be there. In fact Gen. Arif was not asked by Zia, and was not on the fateful flight.

Lt Gen Rehm Dil Bhatti – Inspector General Training and Evaluation, was sitting in the fateful C-130 waiting for the President to board. Lt Gen Mian Afzaal, the then Chief of the General Staff, was discussing something important with Gen Zia who asked him to accompany him to Pindi and continue the discussion in the plane. Gen Afzaal, who was to go to Multan to attend a function there on entering the plane saw Gen Bhatti and asked him to go to Multan in his stead, thus inter-changing their destinies.

A haughty major general (no names please) was informed by his ADC that as there were many senior generals attending the function at Multan there was no VIP room available for him and he had been booked in a lesser status room. This haughty officer asked the ADC to cancel his visit to Multan and boarded the ill fated C-130 and became a martyr to his ego.

Col. (retd) Riaz Jafri

Rawalpindi

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2017