Pakistan One: Assassinational and Abduction in an Islamic Republic

The proposal seeks funding from the Bokhari Fund for travel to collect source material and collaborate with primary source in Pakistan. The research will contribute toward a book documenting the 1988 crash of president Zia ul Haq in light of contemporary geopolitics. Pakistan’s development, and its democracy, has been caught between the interests of local elites and global politics. The technical investigation into president Zia’s crash concluded that it was sabotage, but the culprits were never identified. The crash claimed the lives of Pakistan’s top military brass, including the US Ambassador and the military attaché. Such a high profile incident deserves a second look. My primary source and collaborator is the former head of Pakistan Air Force’s flight safety division, the official lead investigator of the technical the crash. The research will engage literature on the history of US-Pakistan relations and theories surrounding the doctrine of regime change.