Bhutto Out in Pakistan; Emergency Declared

The president dismissed Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her government today, alleging rampant corruption, and declared a state of emergency.

The army took over state-run television and the telephones.

Opposition leader Mustafa Jatoi was immediately sworn in as acting prime minister. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan said elections for a new National Assembly will be held Oct. 24.

Bhutto called the president’s action “illegal and unconstitutional” and said the corruption allegations are part of a “slander campaign” against her government.

Bhutto, the daughter of a former prime minister, took office in December, 1988, and became the first woman to head a modern Muslim nation. She was hailed as a heroine for restoring democracy to Pakistan after 11 years of military rule. However, the image steadily eroded amid allegations of corruption among senior members of her government and even members of her family.

Bhutto has also been accused of inaction for failing to control ethnic violence in her home province, Sindh.

“The government has willfully undermined and impaired the working of the constitution, resulting in discord, confrontation and deadlock adversely affecting the integrity, solidarity and well-being of Pakistan,” Ishaq Khan told a hastily called news conference.

Pakistan’s constitution gives the president the authority to dissolve the National Assembly if he believes that the government is unable to carry out its duties.

But many diplomats and observers said Ishaq Khan’s decision appears to have been based largely on hearsay and could not have been done without the consent of powerful army generals.

Bhutto told a news conference that soldiers surrounded her house today and sealed government offices, including the intelligence bureau. She said her Pakistan People’s Party will decide later whether to challenge the president in the Supreme Court.

“I don’t feel betrayed by the president. I believe there were other elements that wanted me out,” she said. Asked if she plans to run in the October elections, she replied: “Most certainly. I intend to win.”

Rumors had been circulating for weeks that Ishaq Khan planned to dissolve the 237-member National Assembly.