U.S. EXPERTS JOIN PROBE OF ZIA CRASH

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The crash of a military plane that killed President Mohammed Zia ul-Haq, top Army officers, and the U.S. ambassador in Pakistan is being investigated by a team of American specialists. Conflicting accounts from residents near the crash site have made the investigation difficult. While the new interim Pakistani president suggests sabotage, U.S. officials believe the crash was more likely an accident. There are speculations that a bomb planted on the plane, possibly in crates of mangoes, caused the crash. The American team of crash specialists, including both government and Lockheed Corp employees, has been invited to assist in the investigation. Witnesses have given conflicting reports on whether the plane exploded in the air or burst into flames upon impact. Suspects under investigation include the Afghan secret service Khad, extremist pro-Iranian Shiite Muslims, supporters of Palestinians sentenced to death in Pakistan, a religious sect Zia had acted against, nationalist groups fighting the Army in Sind province, and disgruntled military officers.

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Body:  Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000401020011-3
 MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 1988 A23
 U.S. Experts
 Join Probe
 Of Zia Crash
 By Stuart Auerbach
 Washington Post Staff Writer
 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 21
 -A team of American specialists
 today joined the investigation into
 the crash of a military plane that
 killed President Mohammed Zia ul-
 Haq, some of Pakistan's top Army
 officers and the U.S. ambassador
 last week:
 Embassy officials said the inves-
 tigation will take many weeks and
 has been hampered by conflicting
 accounts from residents near the
 eastern Pakistan town of Bahawal-
 pur, where Zia's C130 crashed and
 burned Wednesday.
 U.S. officials here have played
 down assertions by the new interim
 Pakistani president, Ghulam Ishiaq
 Khan, that the crash was an act of
 sabotage.   [State   Department
 sources in Washington said Sunday
 that there are increasing indications
 that the crash was caused by acci-
 dent father than by a bomb or otl-:lei
 form of sabotage, Washin,7kw f, Post
 staff writer Don 0' oerdorfer re-
 ported.' i
 There has been widespread spec-
 ulation in the press here that the
 crash was caused by a bomb planted
 aboard the plane, perhaps in crates
 of mangoes that were reported to
 have been loaded at the last minute
 as a gift to Zia.
 Pakistani officials invited an Amer-
 ican team of crash specialists, drawn
 together by the U.S. Defense De-
 partment, to assist in the investiga-
 tion. Many of the specialists who
 joined the probe today work for the
 U.S. government, while others are,
 employed by the Lockheed Corp.,
 which manufactures C130s.
 According to preliminary infor-
 mation, embassy officials said it ap-
 peared that the pilot was trying to
 return to the civilian airport at Ba-
 hawalpur when the plane crashed.
 But reports from witnesses di',-
 fered on whether the plane explod-
 ed in the air or burst into flames
 when it hit the ground. Witnesses
 have provided both accounts to
 Pakistani investigators, U.S. offi-
 cials said.
 While Ishaq Khan, a longtime
 Pakistani bureaucrat who as Senate
 chairman was the constitutional
 successor to Zia as president, said
 the  Pakistani  government  sus_..
 pected sabotage, he acknowledged
 that it had no proof and declined to
 speculate on who would hav-
 wanted to kill Zia.
 Senior Pakistani officials familiar;
 with the probe of the crash aid in`
 vestigators were checking six uiie4
 ent groups for possible involvement.`
 These sources said a prime suspect
 was the Afghan secret service Khad,
 which opposed Zia's support for Af-
 ghan guerrillas fighting the Soviet-
 backed Kabul government.
 The sources said those also un-
 der investigation were extremist
 pro-Iranian Shiite Moslems, sup-
 porters of five Palestinians sen-
 tenced to death in Pakistan for a hi-
 jacking, a religious sect Zia had
 moved  against . and  nationalist
 groups fighting the Army in Sind
 province. Investigators have also
 not ruled out the possible involve-
 ment of disgruntled military offi-
 cers, the sources said.
 Also killed in the crash were U.S.
 ambassador Arnold L. Raphel and
 brigadier general Herbert Wassom,
 the head of the military assistance
 advisory group at the U.S. Embas-
 sy. [Secretary of State George P.
 Approved For Release 2000/0816#tz 41-odt000401020011-3
 United tates o  s
 from Zia's funeral in Islamabad.]