Feroz Abdullah: Accused smokes 'full of marijuana' and drives car to Polish President's delegation at Karachi Airport

 

Feroz Abdullah: Accused smokes 'full of marijuana' and drives car to Polish President's delegation at Karachi Airport

Muhammad Feroz Abdullah's face was covered with a black veil and the gallows door was opened for him. And as is often the case on this occasion, the prison officials supported Feroz to climb the plank, the executioner put a noose around his neck and tied both legs with ropes.

As soon as the lever of the gallows under Feroz's feet was pulled, it was removed with a jerk and his body was suspended in the air.

This is the scene of an execution in Karachi Central Jail half a century ago, on July 14, 1971.

Feroze was accused of plotting to assassinate Polish President Marian Spikhelsky and his entourage in Pakistan. Four people were killed and more than a dozen were injured in what became known as the Polish Deputy Foreign Minister.

But how this story began and what motivated this attack on foreign high profile guests is an interesting story.

Polish President's visit to Pakistan

Dutch President Marian Spikhelsky arrived in Pakistan on October 28, 1970 on a five-day visit. His delegation included his wife, Barbara Istikharsky, the Deputy Foreign Minister, and his wife and other officials.

During their stay, they signed memoranda of economic cooperation, including in the shipping industry. Apart from meeting President Yahya Khan, he also visited the Badshahi Mosque and other places in Lahore.

Poland was under Soviet rule in the days of the Communist government. Marian Spikhelsky was the first Polish president to visit Pakistan.

Islamic system and socialist ideology

The first general elections in Pakistan were to be held in December 1970, two months after the arrival of the Polish President.

The political climate in the country was such that Maulana Maudoodi, the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami, and Mufti Mahmood, the head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, were speaking across the country in favor of the Islamic system of government, while PPP chief Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was a supporter of socialism and Awami League chief Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was also a progressive.

In the seventies, socialism was popular in many countries of the world, a middle class was born due to the industrial revolution.

In the midst of the same political climate in Akistan, on February 24, 1970, more than a hundred religious scholars from all over Pakistan, including scholars from all schools of thought, called socialism and communism "infidel systems" and issued a joint fatwa stating that such Voting for parties, participating in political activities with them, or financing them is tantamount to aiding disbelief, which promotes a philosophy based on socialism, and is even trying to introduce such a system in Pakistan. Are

In a research paper for the Polish national agency IPN, researcher Paul Maginsky writes that President Marian Spikhelsky was informed by Polish authorities that anti-communist protests could take place during his visit to Pakistan.