Siddique Salik

Brigadier Muhammad Siddiq Salik (Urdu: برگیڈیر محمد صدیق سالک) (b. 1935 - d. August 17 1988) was a close associate of former Pakistani President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.

Siddique Salik was born in village Manglia (Kharian), Gujrat District, Punjab. Salik schooled in Lahore and graduated from Punjab University before receiving his commission in the Pakistan Army. Salik fought in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. In 1971, he was stationed in East Pakistan, when the 1971 Pakistan-India (fought between 26 March-16 December) and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 (fought between 3 December-16 December) took place. Captured by Indian troops on December 19, 1971, Salik was initially incarcerated in Agra jail before being shifted to various other prisons as a Prisoner of War. He was eventually handed over to Pakistan under the Simla Agreement which vouched for exchange of prisoners. Later, Salik wrote an insightful book titled "Witness to Surrender" (Urdu version: "Meinay Dhaka Doobtay Dekha") based on his recollection of the war.

In 1977, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq became President of Pakistan following a bloodless coup. Zia-ul-Haq removed civilian officers from top posts and appointed a new military junta, which included Salik amongst its members. On August 17 1988, Salik was travelling with President Zia in his plane along with U.S. ambassador Ronald Rafael, when the plane crashed under mysterious circumstances killing all on board. Salik authored six Urdu and 3 English books. Among these, the "Witness to Surrender" (ISBN 81-7062-108-9) recounts the 1971 Pakistan-India war, as seen by Salik who was posted there as the Public Relations Officer.