When she was elected to power last year, many wondered whether Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto would dare confront the nation's military establishment. Last week she did so, ordering the transfer of Hamid Gul, 52, the powerful head of the ISI, Pakistan's military-intelligenc e agency. A protege of the late President Zia ul-Haq, Gul has wielded enormous power ever since his appointment in 1987. Besides keeping tabs on Zia's political foes, including the Bhutto family, the ISI also distributed foreign money and arms to the mujahedin rebels fighting the Soviet-backed Najibullah regime in Afghanistan.
In addition to mutual distrust, Bhutto has valid...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
