Read Previous Part-4 of Political History of Nawaz Sharif and 1999 Military Coup
The Secret Meeting in Multan
Then came the day when the decision for the tide to turn was to be made.
On October 12th, at 10:00 AM, Nawaz Sharif departed from Islamabad to deliver a routine political speech in the city of Shujabad, located near Multan.
Before leaving, Nawaz instructed his subordinates to keep some of that day’s meetings secret and not to include them in the official schedule.
These secret meetings of his were with President Rafiq Tarar and the Secretary of Defense, Retired General Iftikhar Ali Khan. General Iftikhar was actually the brother of the famous politician Chaudhry Nisar.
For the speech in Shujabad that day, Nawaz Sharif was accompanied by his close aides, which included his son Hussain Nawaz, the PTV Chairman Pervaiz Rashid, and his speechwriter Nazir Naji. As soon as their plane arrived at Multan Airport, Nawaz Sharif ordered all crew members to exit the plane.
Once all crew members had gotten off, the plane’s doors were locked from the inside. As part of the plan, Pervaiz Rashid took Nazir Naji’s mobile phone and set it aside.
Then, they showed Nazir Naji the speech written in English in Hussain Nawaz’s handwriting, which Nawaz was supposed to deliver on PTV later that evening after returning to Islamabad.
For fear that the speech might be leaked, any mention of Musharraf’s dismissal and the appointment of the new Army Chief was omitted from this speech.
Naji began translating this English version of the speech into Urdu.
Nawaz addressed the gathering in Shujabad and afterwards set off back for Islamabad, where a tumultuous evening was waiting for him.
The Prime Minister’s Gambit: Signing the Fateful Orders
At Islamabad Airport, the Secretary of Defense, Retired General Iftikhar Ali Khan, received Nawaz, and the Prime Minister’s convoy moved out towards the Prime Minister’s House.
Upon reaching home, Nawaz suddenly announced to Iftikhar,
“I have decided to appoint a new Army Chief.”
General Iftikhar looked at Nawaz’s mouth with wide, startled eyes as if he wanted to say something but was unable to say it.
On this, Nawaz spoke further:
“Since Musharraf dismissed the Quetta Corps Commander, General Tariq Pervez, the impression is being created that a rift has emerged between the government and the army, which is not good for the country’s security. Therefore, I must replace the Army Chief immediately.”
The Secretary of Defense was still standing there, shocked and confused. He said,
“You should hold talks with Musharraf; perhaps a solution to the problem could be found.”
“The time for talks and discussion is now over,”
Nawaz said in a decisive tone.
The Prime Minister’s secretary, Saeed Mehdi, had been instructed to prepare the official draft for the appointment of the new Army Chief. Simultaneously, Nawaz Sharif announced to everyone present that the new Army Chief would be the head of the ISI, Lieutenant General Ziauddin Butt.
Meanwhile, as General Musharraf’s flight, PK 805, takes off from Colombo for Karachi at 4:00 PM in the evening, at that very moment, commotion begins to erupt in the Prime Minister’s House of Pakistan. This uproar very quickly engulfed the GHQ, PTV, and Karachi Airport.
By 4:30 in the evening, Nawaz Sharif had signed the drafts for the change in the army’s command. A notification was sent to the President for him to see it.
“It has been decided to retire General Pervez Musharraf, Acting Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Army Staff with immediate effect. Lt. Gen. Ziauddin has been appointed as the Chief of Army Staff with immediate effect and promoted to the rank of General. Before orders to this effect are issued, President may kindly see.”
The President of Pakistan, demonstrating cleverness, instead of writing the word ‘Approved’ on the draft, simply wrote the English word ‘Seen’, meaning ‘Yes, I have seen it’. President Rafiq Tarar was perhaps aware that Nawaz Sharif’s days were numbered.
After the formal procedures, Nawaz Sharif told Pakistan Television (PTV) to quickly broadcast the news of Musharraf’s dismissal. PTV announced the news of Musharraf’s dismissal and the new chief’s appointment in its 5:00 PM evening news bulletin.
General Ziauddin Butt began efforts to practically take control of the army. He knew that real power would only come to him when he had authority over all the Corps Commanders, especially the 10th Corps. He started making phone calls to his Corps Commanders right from the Prime Minister’s House.
He called an old friend from the Engineering Corps, Quartermaster General Lieutenant General Akram, and offered him the job of Chief of General Staff. On this, General Akram happily said,
“I am coming straight to the Prime Minister’s House to meet you right now.”
Then, Ziauddin called General Saleem Haider, who had recently been fired by Musharraf on suspicion of being a supporter of Nawaz Sharif. Haider was playing golf. Haider was offered the job of Corps Commander of the 10th Corps, which was General Mahmood’s position. After arranging for these two important posts, Ziauddin began to contact the other Corps Commanders.
Battle for the Airwaves: Soldiers Storm the State TV
Unaware of the escalating intensity, PTV continued to broadcast the news of General Ziauddin’s appointment. The station managers first realized the seriousness of the problem when Major Nisar and his soldiers, sent from GHQ, entered the news control room with the 15 barrels of their guns pointed straight ahead.
‘Take it down! Take it down!‘
Major Nisar began shouting, ordering them to remove the news of Musharraf’s dismissal. Faced with fifteen loaded guns and a screaming Major, PTV’s bewildered staff immediately complied with the Major’s command.
In the 6:00 PM evening news bulletin, famous newscaster Shasta Zahid made no mention of Musharraf’s dismissal. Nawaz Sharif, who was sitting in front of the TV, told his Military Secretary, Brigadier Javed Iqbal,
“Go straight to the PTV headquarters and find out what is happening.“
When he found out that army soldiers had entered the PTV building.
On this, Nawaz Sharif began to play his second card.
The Prime Minister picked up the phone and made a final, but futile, attempt to save his sinking ship. He spoke to the Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority in Karachi, Aminullah Chaudhry, and the Chairman of PIA, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
The Prime Minister gave Chaudhry an order:
“Flight PK 805 must not be permitted to land in Pakistan.”
Chaudhry immediately phoned the air traffic control tower in Karachi.
Shortly after, the control tower informed PK 805, which was in the air, that:
“You do not have permission to land in Pakistan. Proceed to the Middle East or somewhere else.”
Back in Islamabad, as Nawaz Sharif’s Military Secretary, Brigadier Javed Iqbal, left the Prime Minister’s residence to get news from PTV, he took the commandos of the Punjab Police Elite Force stationed at the gate with him and reached PTV at 6:15 PM. He went straight to the control room where he found Major Nisar of the Punjab Regiment active with his fifteen soldiers.
“Disarm yourselves immediately!”
Brigadier Javed shouted. Major Nisar refused. The Brigadier took out his pistol and placed it on Major Nisar’s chest. From behind, the Punjab Police and the Punjab Regiment soldiers aimed their guns at each other. A terrible exchange of gunfire was seconds away.
An extremely tense standoff was underway in PTV’s control room. The television staff was in extreme fear that shots would be fired at any moment.
Seeing the delicacy of the situation, Major Nisar blinked first.
He handed over his weapon to Brigadier Javed Iqbal and told his men to put down their arms. Within minutes, the Major and his men were locked in a room. The Military Secretary, Brigadier Javed Iqbal, ordered the Elite Force he had brought with him to remain at the PTV gate and to shoot anyone who resisted. He then left to inform the Prime Minister of his success.
A few minutes later, PTV was once again under the control of the civilian government. At the end of the 6:00 PM bulletin, the news of Musharraf’s retirement was broadcast again by Newscaster Shaista Zaid.
Watching this news encouraged Nawaz Sharif.
The aircraft was now 50 miles away from Karachi.
Punjab Regiment vs Punjab Police
Aminullah Chaudhry phoned the Prime Minister and informed him that the plane was low on fuel and would not be able to reach the Middle East. But Nawaz Sharif remained stubborn on his stance: the plane must not be allowed to land in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, at GHQ, when military officers, who were closely observing the situation, heard the news of Musharraf’s dismissal again at the end of the 6:00 PM bulletin, they realized something had gone wrong at the PTV headquarters. Another military unit was quickly dispatched from GHQ towards PTV.
At 6:45 PM, another Major, with five armed soldiers, tried to enter the PTV building, but the Punjab Elite Police guards at the gate did not allow the Major to enter with so few troops.
The Major turned around quickly and returned half an hour later with a truck full of soldiers. With forceful hand gestures, the Major ordered his men to climb over the PTV gate and force their way inside. Journalists gathered at PTV filmed the images that would lead news bulletins around the world within hours.
When the Punjab Police Elite Force saw such a large number of soldiers arriving, they offered no resistance. Some police officers even placed their weapons on the ground, sat on them cross-legged, and watched the spectacle.
By 7:15 PM, the military truck squad had captured PTV and shut down its broadcasts. After GHQ, PTV was now also under the control of Musharraf’s supporters.
The scope of the rebellion had expanded.
The Final Standoff: Confrontation at the Prime Minister’s House
Before Musharraf’s supporting generals now lay the task of taking control of two key installations: the Prime Minister’s House, where the Prime Minister was sitting with his new Army Chief, and the Karachi airport, where their own Army Chief, Musharraf, was about to land.
Shortly after the 6:15 PM news bulletin ended, Musharraf’s generals now turned their attention to the Prime Minister’s House. The first military unit, consisting of fifteen soldiers, had reached the lawn of the Prime Minister’s House by 6:30 PM.
As soon as they arrived at the porch, the leader of this unit, Lieutenant Colonel Shahid Ali Satti, saw General Ziauddin on the steps with six plain-clothed ISI officers. The Colonel ordered the men in plain clothes to surrender their weapons. They refused. On this, General Ziauddin told the Colonel to back off.
General Pervez Musharraf writes in his book, In the Line of Fire:
“At this point, General Akram told Colonel Shahid that his supporting troops from Mangla and Peshawar had reached near Rawalpindi and would soon arrive in Islamabad. Shahid Ali replied that our tanks and armored vehicles were already deployed outside the Prime Minister’s House to stop your supporting troops.“
The Colonel began to tremble. Because he was disobeying the orders of the appointed Army Chief.
Beads of sweat were streaming down his forehead.
But the very next moment, the Colonel turned around and, aiming his gun straight, said,
“Sir, it will only take me a second.”
Seeing Colonel Satti’s aggression and demeanor, General Ziauddin estimated that resistance was useless. The new Chief told his men to put down their weapons.
The Prime Minister’s House had also been captured.
Inside the Prime Minister’s House, Nawaz Sharif became convinced that his game was now over. Nawaz Sharif immediately tore up some documents and flushed them down the toilet. Afterwards, he gathered in the hall with his brother Shahbaz and his son Hussain Nawaz to await their fate. General Ziauddin, his new Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Akram, and other allies of Nawaz were also present.
When the fifteen-soldier unit had completely taken control of the Prime Minister’s House building, the commander of the military coup, Lieutenant General Mahmood, arrived there himself. Upon seeing Nawaz, he said,
“Why did you do this?“
Nawaz said, “I took this step according to the constitution and the law.”
“We will see about the constitution and the law now,” General Mahmood sarcastically replied, and said,
“I was praying and hoping that it would not come to this.“
The city of power, Islamabad, was now completely under the control of Musharraf’s supporting generals.
Pervez Musharraf’s Call That confirmed the Coup’s Success
A fierce struggle was underway between the soldiers of Musharraf’s supporting General, Karachi Corps Commander Muzaffar Usmani, and the civil authority to bring Karachi Airport under their control.
Under these circumstances, the staff at Karachi Airport knew that a catastrophe could occur.
“What if it crashes?” one asked.
‘Then we cannot be blamed for it,’ another replied.
GHQ Rawalpindi had already ordered Karachi’s Corps Commander, Muzaffar Usmani, to seize Karachi Airport so that Musharraf could land.
The air traffic controllers were caught between two authorities—the army and the Civil Aviation Authority—wondering whose orders to follow.
They decided to obey their immediate boss, Aminullah Chaudhry.
Seeing the plane’s low fuel, the Military Secretary told Aminullah Chaudhry again that
the plane should be allowed to land in Nawabshah, but be isolated at the end of the runway, refueled, and then sent off towards Arab countries. And no one should be allowed to disembark from the plane.
Air Traffic Control informed the plane that it could land in Nawabshah.
Meanwhile, a Brigadier, Brigadier Jabbar, had reached the control tower.
The head of Pakistan Air Defense, Lieutenant General Iftikhar, personally went to the Air Traffic Control tower and told the plane’s pilot to bring the plane back to Karachi because everything was now under their control.
At this point, General Musharraf writes:
“I was still in doubt, so I spoke to Iftikhar myself; I had to make sure it was really him.”
“Where is the Corps Commander?” I asked.
“Sir, the Corps Commander is in the VIP lounge. He is waiting for you at the gate. I am here in Air Traffic Control.”
I still wanted to double-check. “Can you tell me the names of my dogs?”
“Dot and Buddy, sir,” he replied without any hesitation.
“Thank you, Iftikhar. Tell General Mahmood and General Aziz that no one should be allowed to leave the country.”
A New Dawn
At 07:47 PM, when Musharraf’s flight PK 805 touched down on Jinnah Airport’s runway, it had only 7 minutes of fuel left.
Musharraf’s supporters had captured the last important stronghold.
At 10:15 PM, when PTV’s broadcast resumed, national songs began to play.
Near morning, at 2:51 AM, the Chief of Army Staff, General Pervez Musharraf, suddenly appeared on PTV’s screen and addressed the nation.
“My dear countrymen!”
In the early hours of the night! The leader of the country was General Pervez Musharraf.
While Nawaz Sharif and most of his supporters had been arrested and transferred to the military fort at Attock.
Further Readings
Read Part-1 of Political History of Nawaz Sharif and PMLN
Read Part-2 of Political History of Nawaz Sharif and PMLN
Read Part 3 of Political History of Nawaz Sharif and PMLN
Read Part-4 of Political History of Nawaz Sharif and PMLN
References
1. Owen Bennett Jones, Pakistan: Eye of the Storm
2. Hassan Abbas, Pakistan’s Drift into Extremism.
3. Ayesha Jalal, The Struggle for Pakistan
4. Shuja Nawaz, Crossed Swords: Pakistan, its Army, and the Wars Within
5. Rosita Armytage, Big Capital in an Unequal World
6. Ian Talbot, Pakistan A Modern History
7. Sartaj Aziz, Between Dreams and Realities Some Milestones in Pakistan’s History
8. Pervez Musharraf, In the Line of Fire: A Memoir
9. General Shahid Aziz, Ye Khamooshi Kahan Tak (Urdu)
10. Nasim Zehar, From Kargil to the Coup: Events That Shook Pakistan
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