Bhutto, Bush Discuss Policy

In her first official visit to the United States, Prime Minister Benazir P. Bhutto '73 of Pakistan reaffirmed her country's commitment to democracy during a meeting with President Bush at the White House yesterday.

Bhutto--who is scheduled to arrive in Cambridge late tonight to deliver tomorrow's Commencement address--pledged that the "day of the dictator" in Pakistan was over and discussed with the President possible courses of action the U.S. and Pakistan could take to end the ongoing bloodshed in Afghanistan.

Dressed in a traditional white shawl, tunic and pants, the prime minister said she came to Washington to begin "discussions of a new relationship" as both nations work to meet the "new challenges [that] confront us in the closing but complex phase of the Afghan war."

Pakistan, which receives large amounts of U.S. miltary aid, has cooperated closely with the United States in aiding the Afghan rebel effort to topple the Soviet-backed government in Kabul.

Calling Bhutto a living symbol of democracy, Bush said the U.S. should "chart new ways to strengthen old bonds" with Pakistan. Despite a report in The Washington Post yesterday that the Bush administration is considering the sale of 60 F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan at a cost of $1.4 billion, the two leaders made no mention of any such agreement in their welcoming remarks.

Bhutto also met with Secretary of State James H. Baker III and other senior members yesterday, and today will address a joint session of Congress. Observers of Pakistan say that Bhutto will try to convince Congress that her nation does not plan to develop nuclear power for military use.

While Pakistan's history of antagonism with India has created strong popular support for a nuclear buildup, some observers say that Bhutto will pursue a policy of reconciliation with her country's historic rival.

Assistant Professor of Indo-Muslim Culture Ali S. Asani said this week that he believed that Bhutto and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi showed the initial signs of changing the course of relations between the two countries.

"I think the potential is there to herald in a new era of Indo-Pakistani relations," Asani said. "I don't see a nuclear build-up there in the near future."

Bhutto--who heads the Pakistan People's Party--was elected prime minister last December, four months after the mysterious death of Pakistan's former leader, military dictator Mohammad Zia ul-Haq.

Under Zia's rule, the U.S. enjoyed good diplomatic relations with the strategically located Muslim nation. When Bhutto--the daughter of the late Pakistani prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto--first came to power, many were unsure what her policy toward the U.S. would be, because her father had not aligned the country's policies with the West. But most believe the initial signs from Bhutto have been good.

As they were photographed on the South Lawn of the White House yesterday morning, the two leaders joked about their Ivy League college rivalries. Bush attended Yale, while Bhutto was educated at Harvard.