Bhutto Named Prime Minister of Pakistan : First Woman to Head a Muslim Nation to Take Oath Today in Transition to Democratic Rule

Benazir Bhutto, the first woman to lead a modern Islamic nation, was named Thursday as Pakistan’s prime minister by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in a move he described as “handing over the sacred trust to those who deserve it.”

For Bhutto, 35, the appointment was the end of a painful and sometimes bloody campaign by her Pakistan People’s Party to regain the political mandate seized 11 years ago by Pakistan’s longtime military ruler, the late President Zia ul-Haq.

Bhutto, who will take her formal oath of office here today, issued no immediate statement after Ishaq Khan’s speech late Thursday. But within hours of the announcement, more than 100,000 of her countrymen had taken to the streets, honking car horns, shooting off fireworks and shouting “Long live Benazir!”

In a historic, nationally televised address, Ishaq Khan also lifted a 3 1/2-month-old nationwide state of emergency that had been in effect since Zia and 10 of his senior generals were killed in a mysterious plane crash last Aug. 17.

And he announced the blanket resignations of all senior Cabinet ministers and presidential advisers, most of them allies of Zia, who came to power in 1977 when Zia overthrew and later executed Bhutto’s father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Lauds Peaceful Transition

Ishaq Khan praised Pakistan’s 104 million citizens for allowing the first peaceful transition of power in the country’s 41-year history.

Two weeks ago, the Pakistan People’s Party won resoundingly in National Assembly elections over a nine-party alliance that included many of Zia’s top political supporters. But it failed to win an absolute majority in the 237-seat Assembly.

Ishaq Khan, who holds sole constitutional power over nominating a premier, said Thursday that he had delayed the appointment until he was certain that Bhutto could form a government and win a confidence vote, which she now must do within 60 days.

“Some elder statesmen had suggested that forming a broad-based coalition government was in the best interest of the country,” he said. “But after consulting with other party leaders and considering the trends . . . I have reached this conclusion: The Pakistan People’s Party can be better expected to win the confidence of the majority of the National Assembly members.”

He lavished praise on Bhutto, a graduate of both Harvard and Oxford universities who has spent years in prison, under house arrest and in political exile.

‘Cultured and Talented’

“Miss Benazir Bhutto is a young, educated, cultured and talented lady,” the 73-year-old president declared. “She is endowed with the best of leadership qualities and statesmanlike vision.”

He continued: “Her heart is full of commendable love for the country and service for the people. I congratulate her from the depths of my heart on being nominated to the highest administrative office in Pakistan . . . and I pray for her success.”

Although he had personally favored a coalition regime, Ishaq Khan called on the new opposition, which until Thursday was the ruling party, to cooperate with Bhutto’s government. And he added a stern warning, which analysts said reflected the views of the military and the nation’s influential religious leaders:

“Who can question (that) this country was established in the name of Islam, and in unconditional adherence to Islam lies its destiny?” he asked. “There can be no two opinions about the stability and security of the country.”

In Washington, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said President Reagan had sent a letter of congratulations to Bhutto expressing “his hope that the recently conducted elections will usher in an era of democratic rule in Pakistan.”

The naming of Bhutto as prime minister Thursday had been expected. On Wednesday, when the newly elected National Assembly members gathered in Islamabad to take their ceremonial oaths of office, she was formally seated in the prime minister’s chair amid waves of applause and shouts of “Bhutto lives, Bhutto lives!”

It was her first visit to Pakistan’s halls of power since her father was overthrown. And as she arrived for the mass oath-taking with her mother, Nusrat Bhutto, who also won a seat in the Assembly, even Pakistan’s long-cynical political wags and journalists noted the emotion of the moment.

“It was a scene one could never imagine witnessing,” observed veteran journalist Nusrat Javeed in Thursday’s edition of The Nation, a Lahore-based newspaper. “Things began moving as if in a fairy tale. . . . Ms. Bhutto was visibly moved while trying to hold back her tears.”

Many journalists in the Assembly’s overflowing press gallery also were teary-eyed, and a few abandoned protocol and applauded Bhutto. Scores of journalists had been imprisoned, tortured or killed during Zia’s harsh rule, and newspaper editors also celebrated in editorials published Thursday morning.

“This will be the first constitutional and peaceful transfer of power to the elected representatives of the people,” declared one in Thursday’s Karachi-based daily Dawn. “In more than four decades, we had not been able to begin at the beginning.”

But the editorial added a strong caution. Echoing many independent analysts who expect Bhutto to face severe challenges from a nation still gripped by rural feudalism, crushing overpopulation and a damaged national economy, it stated: “At this moment, we should not forget the unknown soldiers of democracy. We should not ignore the immortal longings of the people, who are still trapped in the medieval ages.”

Wednesday’s ceremonial session marked the first time an elected national legislature had convened since May 29, when Zia unilaterally dissolved all national and regional elective bodies and fired his prime minister. It was the first time since Zia’s coup, however, that Bhutto’s political party has been allowed to participate in the nation’s government.

Even before Wednesday, close aides to Ishaq Khan indicated that he would give the premiership to the leader of the largest party. In the Nov. 16 election, the Pakistan People’s Party won 94 seats, compared to 55 seats for the former ruling alliance of Zia loyalist Mian Nawaz Sharif.

Sharif dropped out of contention for the premier’s post this week by taking the seat he won in the Punjab provincial assembly, rather than the one he won in the National Assembly.

2 Goals Accomplished

When Ishaq Khan “took his post after Zia’s tragic crash, he had only two goals,” said Pakistan’s interim Justice Minister Wasim Sajjad, who was instrumental in running the election.

“First was that free, fair and peaceful elections should take place, and second was that there should be a smooth transfer of power,” he said. “The second step had to be taken for this experiment to be carried forward to its logical conclusion.”

Senior U.S. diplomatic officials and Pakistani military leaders also discussed Bhutto’s future in a battery of meetings this week.

In one session with Assistant Defense Secretary Richard L. Armitage and Assistant Secretary of State Richard W. Murphy, Bhutto reportedly stressed that any major changes in Pakistani policy would occur slowly under her rule.