The Price of Patronage.(Pakistan's role in War on Terrorism)(Brief Article)(Interview)

Benazir Bhutto served as prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996. Since 1996 her husband, Asif Zardari, has been imprisoned in Pakistan on charges of corruption, and Bhutto herself has lived in exile. The general who now runs the country, President Pervez Musharraf, is caught between U.S. demands for help in bringing terrorist Osama bin Laden to justice and a powerful fundamentalist movement within Pakistan. NEWSWEEK's Donna Foote spoke to Bhutto about her homeland's dilemma. Excerpts:

FOOTE: The Taliban came to power in Afghanistan while you were prime minister of Pakistan. Why did you support the Taliban?

BHUTTO: The Taliban were actually students in university who decided to go back to Afghanistan after the Russians left. My reports were that the Taliban were being welcomed by the people and that they were building peace. Initially we thought the Taliban was a stabilizing force. My government was keen to establish ties with Central Asia, so we were quite pleased and we encouraged them initially... We wanted to import wheat and export cotton to Central Asia and wanted a route that would give us access to Central Asia through Kandahar [where the Taliban is headquartered]. We were trying to bypass Kabul and establish an enclave in the south. The Taliban were supposed to give us safe passage.

What did the Taliban stand to gain?

Initially we gave them political and diplomatic support. We also gave them fuel, food, communications, transportation. The Taliban rose up and were embraced by us because we saw them as the ticket to our own economic interests regarding Central Asia.

How much control did you have over the Taliban?

They listened to us. They did depend on our blessing, so they didn't want to annoy us.