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Home , Abdul Sattar (diplomat), Fida Mohammad Khan, Khalid Mahmud Arif, Mirza Aslam Beg, Rahimuddin Khan, Sahabzada Yaqub Khan

Keesing's Record of World Events (formerly Keesing's Contemporary Archives), Volume 33, November, 1987 , Page 35511 © 1931-2006 Keesing's Worldwide, LLC - All Rights Reserved. appointments - Internal politics - Internal security - Economy Foreign relations

Summary and key dates

Government appointments (March 29, July 28, 1987).

Resignation of Local Government Minister (June 2).

Resignation of Foreign Minister (Nov. 1).

Military appointments (March 29).

Political party developments (April-August).

Raising of voting age (May 6).

By-election (September).

New NWFP Cabinet (Feb. 5).

Suspension of city council (Feb. 12).

1987–88 budget and amendments (June 4, 12).

Assassination of Ahle Hadith leader (March 24).

Karachi car bomb (July 14).

Intercommunal violence in Sind province (April-August).

Formation of Shia political party (July 4).

Relations with (February-October).

Pakistani request for lease of US AWACS (April 16). Indictments in USA following attempted transfer of nuclear-related materials to Pakistan (July).

Technical suspension of US aid (Sept. 30).

Visit by Prime Minister to UK (April 5–12).

Visit by Chinese Premier (June 21–24).

Talks with on nuclear dispute (May 6–7).

Death of Wali of Swat (Sept. 14).

Government appointments

Gen. Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, the , on March 29, 1987, appointed three new ministers and nine new ministers of state; following the resignation in June of the Minister of Local Government [see below] and Rural Development see below and further changes on July 28, the Cabinet was as follows, with previous different responsibilities shown in parentheses [for previous Cabinet list see 34990 A]:

Mr Mohammad Junejo Prime Minister; Defence; Atomic Energy Malik Nasim Ahmed Aheer (Education) Interior Mr Sahabzada Yaqub-Khan Foreign Affairs Finance, Economic Affairs, Petroleum and Mian Mohammad Yasin Khan Wattoo Natural Resources Mr Chaudhri Shujaat Hussain Industries Maj.-Gen. (retd) Mohammad Bashir Khan Production Mr Mohammad Aslam Khan Communications and Railways Khattak (Interior) Syed Qasim Shah States and Frontier Regions; Affairs Mr Mohammad Ibrahim Khan Baluch Food, Agriculture and Co-operatives Mr Shah Mohammad Pasha Khuro (Culture Labour, Manpower and and Tourism) Overseas Pakistani Affairs Qazi Abdul Majid Abid Information and Broadcasting; Water and Power Syed Sajjad Hayder Education Mr Nisar Mohammad Khan (Railways) Culture and Tourism Haji Mohammad Hanif Tayyab Housing and Works Federal Minister; Local Government and Rural Mr Iqbal Ahmed Khan Development Dr Mahbubul Haq Commerce, Planning and Development Haji Mohammad Saifullah Khan Religious Affairs and Minorities *Appointed . **Appointed . ***Appointed . ****Resigned [see below].

In addition there were 11 Cabinet members with the rank of Minister of State.

Resignation of Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Official statement on corruption

Mr Anwar Aziz Chaudhury, then Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, resigned on June 2, 1987, after a government anti-corruption committee had confirmed that development funds totalling some Rs 9,500,000 ($ 1.00=Rs 17.393 as at June 3, had been diverted by him into a farmer's co-operative situated in his own constituency. Mr Chaudhury was subsequently replaced in the federal Cabinet by Mr Iqbal Ahmed Khan [see above].

Dr Mahbubul Haq had announced to the National Assembly on May 1 that some Rs 40,000 million were annually misappropriated by Pakistani officials; the announcement followed the presentation to the National Assembly in early1987 of a report by the National Taxation Reforms Commission (NTRC) which estimated that the county's ‘parallel’ or ‘black’ economy accounted for almost one-third of the country's gross national product (GNP). The report cited tax evasion, smuggling and corruption as the ‘three basic maladies’ and recommended radical changes to the country's tax structure as a means of combating tax evasion.

Resignation of Minister of Foreign Affairs

On Nov. 1 Mr Yaqub-Khan resigned as Minister of Foreign Affairs, a post he had held since 1982 His resignation followed his withdrawal in the second round of voting from elections to the post of Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) held in October 1987. Military appointments

Gen. Zia retained the post of Chief of Army in a reshuffle of senior armed forces posts effective from March 29, 1987. Gen. Akhtar Abdur Rehman Khan replaced Gen. as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (the country's senior staff ) and Gen. Aslam Beg replaced Gen. as Vice-Chief of Army Staff.

Charging of opposition party leaders with sedition - Reported re-emergence of Communist Party - Opposition parties’ conference in

Nine leading members of the Sind-Baluchistan-Pashtoon Front (SBPF–not, as stated on the Sind-Baluchistan Patriotic Front), including Mr (half-brother of the former President and Prime Minister, Mr Zulfiqar AliBhutto) and Mr Abdul Hafiz Pirzada (a senior Cabinet Minister in 1971–77), were charged in Karachi on April 9, 1987, with sedition and anti-state activities.

The Times of May 16 reported that the Communist Party of Pakistan, which had been banned in 1954 [see 13746 A] and had become greatly weakened as a result of the secession of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971; [for which see 24565 A; 25053 A; 25019 A;, had recently applied for membership of the opposition grouping Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD, originally formed in 1981–see page 31071; for membership in late 1986 see page 34994).

An opposition ‘all parties conference’ held in Lahore on Aug. 16 attempted to unite Pakistan's divided opposition and increase pressure on the government to hold general elections, but succeeded only in accentuating party differences.

The conference had first been proposed by Mr Maulana , the president of the Jamiatul-Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP, a progressive Sunni Moslem party). After meeting with other opposition leaders Mr Noorani had announced that the conference would be open to all parties which had denounced the current Constitution (for March 1985 amendments to which, thereby effectively excluding the dominant (pro-Zia) faction of the Pakistan Moslem League (PML) and the right-wing orthodox Sunni Moslem Jamaat-i-Islami (JI). Disagreements between the JUP and the MRD prior to the meeting meant that the Jamiatul-Ulema-e- (JUI, the JUP's MRD- affiliated political rival) took over responsibility for the conference. The JUI's president, Mr Maulana Fazlur Rahman, subsequently held an unscheduled meeting with Mr Junejo (the Prime Minister) which led a number of parties (including the JUP) to boycott the conference. Of the 12 parties which eventually attended the conference the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the (ANP, for the formation of which in July 1986 did so only as observers, both refusing to sign a joint declaration calling for President Zia's resignation and the dissolution of the national and provincial assemblies.

Raising of voting age By-election

The National Assembly on May 6, 1987, voted to raise the voting age for the electorate from 18 to 21 years. Opposition MPs claimed that the decision was an attempt by the government to eliminate a potentially hostile section of the electorate.

A by-election held in late September 1987 for the Mian Channu (Punjab province) National Assembly seat resulted in an overwhelming victory for Pir Mohammad Aslam Badola, the candidate supported by the pro-Zia faction of the PML (the by- election having officially been held on a non-party basis).

According to the Far Eastern Economic Review of Oct. 8, 1987, Pir Mohammad's victory raised doubts about the ability of the PPP (the main opposition party) seriously to challenge the PML in a general election.

New NWFP Cabinet Suspension of Karachi city council

A new 10-member North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) Cabinet headed by Mr Arbab Mohammad Jehangir Khan was sworn in on Feb. 5, 1987, by the provincial Governor, Mr Fida Mohammad Khan (by April 24 the Cabinet had been expanded to 15 members).

The mayor of Karachi, Mr Afghani, and 99 members of the opposition- dominated Karachi metropolitan corporation (ie the elected city council) were arrested on Feb. 12 after clashing with police during a demonstration in protest at the size of the allocation to Karachi of central government revenues. Later that day the government of Sind province suspended the Karachi metropolitan corporation for six months.

Presentation of controversial 1987/88 budget - Subsequent amendments to budget following widespread criticism

The 1987/88 budget, presented by Mian Wattoo to the National Assembly on June 4, 1987, included the imposition of a controversial ‘defence tax’ and increases in the price of oil, gas and electricity.

Mian Wattoo cited ‘threatening circumstances on Pakistan's eastern and western borders’ as justification for the introduction of the defence tax, which consisted of a surcharge of 10 per cent on net income and corporate tax and of 5 per cent of the duty- paid price of imports. Increased outlays on defence, development and debt servicing meant that expenditure was estimated at 13 per cent higher than in 1986/87, at Rs 199,360 million. Total federal receipts were estimated at Rs 176,010 million, leaving an estimated budget deficit of Rs 23,350 million.

The Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency reported that demonstrations against the budget (which had caused prices to rise sharply) took place in Karachi on June 5– 6. In response to the mounting criticism Mr Junejo appointed a 14-member committee of PML MPs to revise the budget and on July 12 he announced the withdrawal of the defence tax and the lowering of the price of oil, gas and electricity.

Mr Junejo urged the business community to lower the prices of essential commodities, and also announced that as part of an austerity drive all government officials (including ministers and members of the armed forces) would be equipped with less expensive and smaller motor cars.

The amended budget was adopted by the National Assembly on June 23; since the initial announcement of the budget proposals on June 4, only MPs from the PML and a small number of independents had been attending parliament.

The 19-member Parliamentary Opposition Group (POG) led by Syed Fakhar Imam [see page 34993] had boycotted the National Assembly soon after the budget was announced and had then protested that the revisions announced by Mr Junejo were unconstitutional. JI MPs had similarly boycotted the National Assembly protesting against what they saw as the government's hesitation in implementing Islamic laws.

Internal security situation, March-October 1987

Raja Nadir Pervaiz, Minister of State for the Interior, speaking in the National Assembly on Oct. 6, 1987, stated that a total of 256 bomb explosions had occured in Pakistan from Jan. 1 to July 15. Of the attacks, 135 had taken place in tribal areas under federal administration, 56 in the NWFP, 34 in Baluchistan province, 18 in Sind province and 13 in Punjab province. Raja Pervaiz also disclosed that 138 people had been apprehended in connexion with the various attacks, eight of whom had been ‘challenged’ in the courts.

Mr Maulana Ahsan Zaheer, leader of the MRD-affiliated, Islamic Ahle Hadith party, suffered fatal injuries in a bomb explosion in Lahore on March 24, 1987; he died on March 30 in where he had been flown for treatment. Nine other people, including a number of senior Ahle Hadith officials, also died from injuries sustained in the attack. The Far Eastern Economic Review of April 23 reported that Ahle Hadith officials suspected an Islamic fundamentalist rival grouping of carrying out the bomb attack. On April 9 a car bomb exploded in a bazaar in , killing 14 people and injuring over 100. According to the Independent of April 11 the government claimed that the bomb had been planted by the Afghan State Information Services (KHAD, that country's secret police) in an attempt to discredit Afghan refugees and rebels based in Pakistan.

Mr Ghaus Baksh Raeesani, a former Governor of Baluchistan, was shot dead along with his four bodyguards by unknown assailants in Sind on May 26.

In Lahore at least seven people were killed and over 50 injured on July 5 when three bombs exploded within 10 minutes of each other. The attack came as opposition parties in Pakistan held a ‘black day’ of protest to mark the 10th anniversary of the military coup which had brought President Zia to power [see 28565 A].

Two car bombs exploded almost simultaneously in Karachi's crowded market district on July 14, killing at least 73 people and injuring nearly 250 others. While the government again claimed that members of KHAD had planted the bomb, there was also press speculation that the attack might have been linked to rivalry between Shia and Sunni Moslem sects in Karachi [see below]. Following the attack the security situation in Karachi deteriorated, with a number of people being killed and injured in outbreaks of fighting between ethnic groups and the police [see below].

The Independent of July 21 reported that Karachi police had recently arrested 70 people in connexion with the July 14 bomb attack. Amongst those arrested were three men described by the police as members of the Al Zulfikar organization (named after Mr Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto), which had carried out various terrorist activities in Pakistan in the early 1980s; [see 31069 A; 33339 B; page 34994], but which had ceased to operate in 1984 after large-scale arrests and the execution of one of its leading members [see page 34994]. The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported on July 27 that the four provincial in Pakistan had been empowered by a presidential ordinance to assign for trial to special courts ‘any offence’ which the authorities considered to be ‘sensational in character or shocking to the public morality’ or which had led to ‘public outrage’ or ‘created panic among the people’.

Amongst the acts of violence occurring in the NWFP were on Aug. 7 a bomb explosion in (capital of the NWFP) which killed two people and injured 35 others; (ii) on Aug. 11 three bomb explosions in Mardan (50km north-east of Peshawar) which killed 17 people and injured more than 40 others leading to attacks the next day by Pakistanis on Afghan refugees in Mardan and clashes with police; and (iii) a bomb explosion in Peshawar on Aug. 14which killed two people and injured 13 others.

Karachi home service reported on Oct. 26 that two Afghan nationals, one of whom was a KHAD member, had been sentenced to death by a Peshawar tribunal for setting off two bombs [see page 34995].

Continuation of intercommunal violence in Karachi and Hyderabad

At least 20 people were killed and over 20 injured in gun battles between members of the Pathan community (Pashtuns, from the NWFP and having strong Afghan and Punjabi links) and the Mohajirs (-speaking Moslems ofIndian origin) in Karachi on April 18–22, 1987; the fighting also spread to Hyderabad (175 km east of Karachi) where one person was reported killed. More than 300 people had been killed in violent clashes between the two communities since serious rioting began in Karachi in November 1986 [see page 34995].

The violence had been precipitated by a public rally on April 17 in the Mohajir suburb of Orangi attended by armed members of the newly formed militant Punjabi- Pashtun Ittehad (PPI).

A curfew was imposed in eastern Karachi on July 22 after a day of rioting in which seven people–including four police officers–were killed and more than 30 injured. The day's rioting had been the culmination of disturbances which had started on July 19 when various ethnic groups began fighting at the scene of a serious bus accident. Fresh rioting in western Karachi (and especially the suburb of Liaqatabad) on July 25–26 resulted in the death of at least seven people.

Gun battles between Mohajirs and Pashtuns near Karachi's international airport on Aug. 26–27 eventually resulted in the death of at least 22 people and the imposition of a curfew. Shops in the city were looted and set on fire and some 40 people were arrested and over 80 injured.

On Aug. 27 fighting between the two ethnic groups spread to Hyderabad where at least six people were killed. On Aug. 28 the authorities raided a number of houses in Karachi and arrested 56 people, including leaders of the PPI and the rival Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM). A government official said on Sept. 2 that some 750 people had been arrested in the Karachi area following the rioting.

Formation of Shia Moslem political party - Iranian activities in Karachi - Clashes between Sunni and Shia Moslems The Movement for Implementation of Shia Jurisprudence (MISJ) which had been formed by Shia Moslems in July 1980 to protest at the levying of the zakat tax from June 1980 declared itself to be a political party on July 4, 1987, at a Lahore rally attended by an estimated 100,000 people. The party, led by Mr Arif Hussein, advocated closer links with the Shia fundamentalist government in neighbouring . [See 34990 A for progress of Islamicization policy and consequent sectarian fighting between Sunni and Shia Moslems, the latter constituting between 10 and 15 per cent of the population].

The Washington Post of July 24 reported that on July 6 a number of houses in Karachi occupied by members of the leftist Iranian opposition group Mujahidin-e-Khalq and other Iranian elements opposed to the current Iranian regime were raided by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The report stated that members of the MISJ militant youth wing were arrested in connexion with the attack.

Pakistan television reported on July 27 that 30 people had been killed and 60 wounded in fighting between Sunni and Shia Moslems around the NWFP town of Parachinar, near the Afghan border.

Phased withdrawal of Indian and Pakistani troops from border - Unofficial visit to India by President Zia - Clashes with India over control of Siachin glacier

The Indian Defence Ministry announced on Feb. 19, 1987, that Indian and Pakistani troops had withdrawn from positions along their mutual border at the Ravi-Chenab corridor in the Jammu sector, in line with a memorandum of understanding signed by senior foreign ministry officials on Feb. 4 [see page 34996]. The amassing of large numbers of Indian and Pakistani troops along sections of the border, which began in December 1986, had led to increased tension between the two countries.

Mr Abdul Sattar from Pakistan and Mr Alfred Gonsalves from India (who had both signed the Feb. 4 memorandum) met in on Feb. 27-March 1, when they established a schedule for further phased troop withdrawals from the Rajasthan, Sind and Rann of Kutch sectors. India announced on May 7 that all troop withdrawals from the joint border had been completed.

While on an unofficial visit to India on Feb. 21–23, President Zia met the Indian Prime Minister, Mr , and it was agreed that the Indo- Pakistan Joint Commission, established in 1983, be reactivated, having last met in July 1985 [see 34240 A]. President Zia told reporters upon his return to Pakistan that he had discussed with Mr Gandhi an agreement which would commit India and Pakistan to the renunciation of support for separatist movements in either country.

The Indian Defence Ministry announced on Sept. 29 that Indian forces had inflicted ‘heavy casualties’ (estimated at 150 dead) on Pakistani troops who had on Sept. 23– 25 launched ‘battalion-sized’ attacks on four mountain passes controlling access to the undemarcated region of the Siachin glacier, situated near the Chinese border at an altitude of some 6,000 metres about 250 km north-east of Srinagar, the summer capital of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Fighting had broken out in the region in April 1984 and had continued intermittently ever since [see page 34241 for background to dispute].

A Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeman confirmed on Sept. 30 that there had been a ‘local exchange of fire and skirmishes’ in the region and accused Indian forces of ‘aggressive incidents’ in recent months. The Far Eastern Economic Review of Oct. 8 reported that Indian officials believed that the Pakistani offensive had been an attempt to link its forces with Chinese forces on the Chinese-held and Indian-claimed Aksai Chin plateau [see map on page 33858]. An Indian Defence Ministry spokesman announced on Oct. 8 that Pakistani troops had launched another attack on the Siachan glacier and had again been repulsed by Indian forces causing casualties to Pakistani troops.

Pakistani request for lease of US AWACS

In a letter to President Reagan of the dated April 16, 1987, Mr Junejo urgently requested the USA to lease to Pakistan a number of radar-equipped aircraft or airborne warning and control systems (AWACS, the two principal systems being the Boeing E3A Sentry–commonly referred to as AWACS–and the Grumman E-2C Hawkeye).

The advantage of a leasing arrangement to Pakistan was that the aircraft would be available almost immediately, whereas a purchase might mean delays of up to three years (in 1986 Pakistan had refused an offer to purchase AWACS from the USA–see page 34996). A Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman on April 29 confirmed that should the USA agree to the lease, then the aircraft would, initially, be manned by US personnel (the USA having in 1981 deployed US-manned AWACS in Saudi Arabia– see page 31011).

Pakistan's request for US AWACS had been prompted by the creation of what Mr Junejo described as a ‘radically changed situation’ on the - Pakistan border, with Afghan and Soviet aircraft reportedly making an increasing number of sorties into the NWFP and Baluchistan province to attack Afghan refugee camps and rebel bases The Far Eastern Economic Review of May 14 reported that Afghan and Soviet fighters had made 350 sorties into Pakistan in the past three months, resulting in some 250 deaths.

Initially the USA responded positively to the Pakistani request to lease AWACS, despite the legal constraints imposed by the US Arms Export Control Act prohibiting the delivery of military equipment abroad if this might adversely affect the operations of the US armed forces. However, on May 6 Mr Richard L. Armitage, the US Assistant Secretary of Defence for International security Affairs, stated that the leasing of AWACS to Pakistan would damage the preparedness of the US armed forces. Criticism of the Pakistani proposal also came from India, which claimed that Pakistani AWACS might be used to spy on Indian or Soviet territory.

Mr Yaqub-Khan (the then Foreign Minister) met with President Reagan and the then US Defence Secretary, Mr Caspar Weinberger, in Washington in mid-May, when he renewed the Pakistani request for AWACS. He also outlined the Pakistani case in a closed session of the US House of Representatives foreign affairs committee. According to the New York Times of May 22 the US administration reiterated its desire to overcome the ‘legal and political obstacles’ to providing the AWACS, but as of October 1987 there had been no official acceptance or rejection of the Pakistani request.

Renewed US concern over Pakistani nuclear programme - Attempted illegal transfer of nuclear-related material from USA to Pakistan - Technical suspension of US aid package

The US Senate foreign relations committee on April 23, 1987, approved a six-year aid package worth $ 4,020 million to Pakistan [see pages 34995-96 A] by 11 votes to eight despite an attempt by the committee chairman, MrClaiborne Pell (Dem., Rhode Island), to hold back $ 110,000,000 as a penalty for Pakistan's reported production of weapons-grade nuclear material [ibid].

In April 1979 the US had suspended development aid to Pakistan in accordance with an amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1976 (the Symington amendment) which forbade US assistance to any country refusing to adhere to the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency requiring international inspection of nuclear facilities However, after the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in late 1979 [see 30229 A] the USA again offered Pakistan economic and military aid. A six-year aid package (beginning Oct. 1, containing a congressional waiver of the Symington amendment was passed by Congress in December 1981 [see page 31707]. In late July 1987 the House appropriations subcommittee on foreign operations recommended that military and economic aid to Pakistan be withheld for 105 days, reflecting widespread US concern over Pakistan's nuclear programme, which had been heightened in July by reports of two separate attempts to smuggle nuclear-related materials from the USA to Pakistan.

On July 10 Mr Arshad Z. Pervez, a Pakistani-born Canadian citizen, was arrested in Philadelphia (USA) by customs service agents who claimed that he had attempted to export 22 tonnes of maraging 350 steel (a metal used in the centrifuge of a nuclear enrichment plant) to Pakistan. He was indicted by a Philadelphia grand jury on July 28 charged with conspiracy, bribery and false statements. Also indicted (in absentia) was Brig.- Gen. (retd) Iman-ul Haq, who was described as the leader of a conspiracy to procure nuclear-related materials. The Washington Post of July 23 had reported that the Pakistan government had issued an arrest warrant for Brig.- Gen. Iman as well as ordering an inquiry into the whole affair.

In a separate case, the US attorney in Sacramento (California, USA) announced on July 17 that two US nationals and a Hong Kong businessman had been indicted for illegally exporting sophisticated electronic and computer equipment to Pakistan which could be used in the construction of a nuclear device.

Congress had in 1985 adopted legislation (the so-called Solarz amendment) stipulating that US aid should be suspended to any country which had attempted to acquire US materials for making a nuclear device for previous reported attempts to smuggle nuclear-related apparatus into Pakistan.

Mr Michael Armacost, the US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, visited Pakistan on Aug. 2–3 ostensibly with the aim of finding ‘concrete evidence of Pakistani nuclear restraint’, but specifically to ask Pakistan to open its uranium- enrichment facility at to international inspection, or alternatively to provide other proof that it was not enriching uranium beyond the 5 per cent level required for domestic energy [see page 34996 for Washington Post report alleging that Pakistan was able to enrich uranium to 93.5 per cent]. On Aug. 3 Mr Yaqub-Khan rejected what he termed US demands for ‘unilateral restraints’ on Pakistan's nuclear programme and reiterated Pakistan's position that it had no intention of manufacturing a .

On Sept. 30, the date on which the congressional waiver on the Symington amendment expired, US aid to Pakistan was technically suspended.

The Financial Times of Oct. 26 reported that Mr Stephen Solarz, the chairman of the House foreign affairs subcommittee, and Senator John Glenn (Dem., Ohio) were planning to bring proposed legislation to Congress making a further waiver to the Symington amendment conditional upon a presidential assurance that Pakistan was not enriching uranium beyond 5 per cent (President Reagan having in October 1986 assured Congress that Pakistan did not possess a nuclear explosive device–ibid.).

According to the Far Eastern Economic Review of Oct. 28 US officials unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Mr Gandhi, the Indian Prime Minister, to accept a non-nuclear pact with Pakistan (thereby obviating Pakistan's perceived need to develop a nuclear device) during his visit to the USA on Oct. 19–20.

Visit by Prime Minister to UK - The question of Pakistan's readmittance into the Commonwealth - Reported agreement to purchase British frigates

Mr Junejo paid an official visit to the on April 5–12, 1987, when he held talks with the Prime Minister, Mrs Margaret Thatcher. Among the topics reportedly discussed was the Soviet stance on Afghanistan (MrsThatcher having visited the on March 28-April 2), and the question of Pakistan's readmittance into the Commonwealth.

Pakistan had left the Commonwealth in January 1972 [see page 25114] as a protest against the decision of some Commonwealth countries to recognize Bangladesh (formerly ). On March 18, 1987, a Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman had announced that Pakistan ‘would be happy to rejoin’ the Commonwealth.

The Pakistani government confirmed on April 23 that an agreement had been reached during Mr Junejo's visit to the UK to purchase three British Type-23 frigates for about £ 560,000,000. This was the first addition to Pakistan's naval fleet in almost 15 years. However the Middle Eastern Economic Digest of Oct. 24 cited Pakistani press reports as stating that the purchase of the three frigates would not take place as the cost was too great and there was a lack of official and parliamentary consensus.

Visit by Chinese Premier - Agreement on economic and technical co-operation - Visit by Prime Minister of Zimbabwe

Mr Zhao Ziyang, the Chinese Premier, visited Pakistan from June 21–24, 1987, when he held talks with President Zia and with Mr Junejo.

Karachi home service reported on June 23 that Mian Wattoo and Mr Zheng Tuobin, 's Minister of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade, had signed an agreement on economic and technical co-operation under which Chinawould provide an interest-free loan worth some $ 20,700,000 to Pakistan for small and medium-sized projects.

Mr Robert Mugabe, the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, visited Pakistan in mid-March 1987.

Talks with France on nuclear reprocessing plant dispute - Alleged supply of nuclear plans by West German

M. Jean-Bernard Raimond, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited Pakistan on May 6–7, 1987, for talks with his Pakistani counterpart, Mr Yaqub-Khan, on the subject of a dispute arising over France's decision in 1978 to cancel the sale of a nuclear reprocessing plant in 1978 [see pages 29700-1]. The Financial Times of May 15 reported that M. Raimond and Mr Yaqub-Khan had failed to reach an agreement on a French twofold proposal which provided for an out- of-court settlement of the dispute followed by fresh negotiations for the construction of a nuclear power plant at Chashma [see page 28303].

The Financial Times of April 30 reported that West German customs officers had on April 27 raided a Cologne-based engineering company–Leybold-Heraeus–in connexion with the alleged export of plans to help Pakistan construct a uranium enrichment plant.

Death sentence imposed on Pakistani citizen for murder of Soviet diplomat

Soviet television reported on July 7 that Mr Zafar Ahmed, a Pakistani citizen, had recently been sentenced to death in Islamabad (the capital) after being found guilty of the murder on Sept. 16, 1986, of Col. Fyodor Gorenkov, the acting military attache at the Soviet embassy in Pakistan. The Soviet Union had initially alleged that the Pakistani government had been involved in Col. Gorenkov's assassination; Pakistan, however, consistently denied involvement, stating that Mr Ahmed was suffering from mental instability [see also page 35475]

Visits abroad by Prime Minister and President

Mr Junejo visited Japan from July 12–16, 1987. President Zia visited Jordan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia from Oct. 4–13, telling reporters at Islamabad airport on his return that Turkey had expressed an interest in defence production co-operation. President Zia visited Thailand on Oct. 21–24.

Death of the Wali of Swat Wali Miangul Jahan Zeb, the last Wali of Swat, died on Sept. 14 aged 79. His funeral was attended by some 50,000 mourners, among them President Zia and Mr Junejo. The state of Swat (situated in the extreme north of the country, near the Afghan border) had acceded to the newly-created Pakistan in 1947, while continuing to be ruled by the Akhund of Swat. Two years later the Wali succeeded his father, the Akhund, and ruled until 1969 when Swat, along with Chitral and Dir, was absorbed into Pakistan [see page 23612]–(India Weekly - The Hindu, Madras - The Statesman, Calcutta - Pakistan News - Times - Guardian - Independent - Financial Times - International Herald Tribune - Le Monde - New York Times - Wall Street Journal - Far Eastern Economic Review - BBC Summary of World Broadcasts)

(Previous report 34990 A)

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