Pakistan Now, the Hard Part: Governing

Elation exploded in the cities of Pakistan last week. As Acting President Ghulam Ishaq Khan announced that Benazir Bhutto, the leader of the Pakistan People's Party, would become the first female Prime Minister of a Muslim country, chanting crowds surged through the streets, and fireworks lighted the sky. Excitement rose to fever pitch as Bhutto, 35, was sworn in at the presidential compound in Islamabad.

There was ample reason for celebration -- and for caution. After eleven years of military domination, Bhutto's installation capped the most peaceful transition to democracy in Pakistan's coup-riddled 41-year history. Harvard- and Oxford-educated, Bhutto secured her selection as Prime Minister when her party won 92 of the 237 parliamentary seats in the Nov. 16 election and then patched together alliances with small parties and minority groups. Bhutto seemed well aware of the fragility of her position. "You have bestowed a great honor on your sister and placed a heavy responsibility on her shoulders," she declared in a nationwide address.

Now Bhutto faces the hard part: governing a volatile country burdened by poverty, landlessness, ethnic rivalry and foreign debt. Three out of four Pakistanis are illiterate; unemployment is endemic. The economy is headed toward bankruptcy. Finally, Islamabad is the reluctant host to some 3 million refugees from the fighting in Afghanistan.

It is uncertain how much of a dent Bhutto can make in these problems. Not only is her majority in Parliament paper-thin, her power is diluted by the fact that the Senate is dominated by the opposition Islamic Democratic Alliance, as is the government of Punjab, the most populous province. Bhutto is further hobbled by promises made to keep the armed forces in their barracks. Cutting military expenditures, which consume 40% of the budget, is not feasible, Bhutto says, "unless you want to invite in martial law."

Somehow Bhutto must find ways to meet some of the expectations of the poor, who form the P.P.P.'s main constituency. In the raucous streets of Rawalpindi following her elevation, those hopes were ballooning beyond reality. Explained a P.P.P. election worker: "We've been denied everything for the past eleven years. Now it's our turn to get a share."