Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq

1988 PAF C-130B crash
A Bangladesh Air Force C-130B, similar to the aircraft involved
Accident
Date17 August 1988
SummaryCrashed after takeoff; disputed cause
SiteNear Bahawalpur Airport, Sutlej River
Aircraft
Aircraft typeLockheed C-130B Hercules
Operator Pakistan Air Force
Registration23494
Flight originBahawalpur Airport, Pakistan
DestinationIslamabad Airport, Pakistan
Occupants30
Passengers17
Crew13
Fatalities30
Survivors0

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the sixth president of Pakistan, died in an aircraft crash on 17 August 1988 in Bahawalpur near the Sutlej River. Zia's close assistant Akhtar Abdur Rehman, American diplomat Arnold Lewis Raphel and 27 others also died upon impact.

Zia's death was officially announced a few hours later on Radio Pakistan and Pakistan Television Network by Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the Chairman of the Senate, who assumed presidency. Zia's state funeral took place at the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad, drawing around a million mourners.