Pakistan The Hunt Is On

By Barbara Rudolph

When Pakistan's President, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, dismissed the government of Benazir Bhutto on charges of corruption and incompetence two weeks ago, he promised new elections on Oct. 24. Most Pakistanis received that assurance with skepticism: delaying elections in the wake of a coup or sudden change in government has become an established national tradition. Those reservations hardened last week when caretaker Prime Minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, a Bhutto enemy, pushed forward a process of "accountability," which principally involves investigating crimes committed by the old regime. "The government had become stinkingly corrupt," Jatoi told TIME last week.

As Jatoi's government hunts for evidence of corruption, its central target is Asif Zardari, Bhutto's husband, who has been charged with using his wife's political position to further his business deals. Said Jatoi: "A 10% commission had to be paid to get permission for setting up any project. Commissions had to be paid to get bank loans . . . Zardari is a party to all that happened. He is the kingpin." As part of the investigation, the police arrested four of Zardari's friends, including Iqbal Memon, a partner in his construction business. Three workers of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party were picked up as well. Says a former minister in Bhutto's Cabinet: "The game plan seems to be to arrest people close to Asif so that the skeletons can be forced out of the closet."

Jatoi is particularly biting in his personal attacks on Bhutto. Says he: "As Prime Minister, Bhutto was arrogant, corrupt and inefficient. She didn't fulfill the expectations of the people . . . and she has damaged the democratic process so badly that it will take some time to heal the wounds."

Though most Pakistanis support the investigations, the new government has not escaped controversy. Its decision last week to send troops to Saudi Arabia to support the international action against Iraq met with a wary popular response.

To temper criticism and rally some nationalistic fervor, the army announced that it had repelled an Indian attack. Islamabad claims it crushed an Indian ; attempt to capture an outpost in the Kel sector of Azad Kashmir, a nominally independent slice of Kashmir that is actually under Islamabad's control. While the Indians denied the attack, the Pakistani army portrayed it as a significant escalation in Indo-Pakistani tensions, accusing the Indians of using heavy artillery on the border for the first time. Jatoi, though, described the border skirmish as "not that serious."

Like any other politician preparing for an upcoming election, Jatoi is concentrating his energies on bread-and-butter issues. At its first meeting, his 12-member caretaker Cabinet voted to lower prices of such staples as wheat and onions. The Cabinet also disbanded the controversial People's Program, a $230 million welfare project that Bhutto allegedly used to promote her party's interests. The big question that remains, however, is whether Jatoi will keep his appointment at the ballot box.

With reporting by Anita Pratap/Islamabad