Bhutto Applies to Seek Election

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto filed Thursday as a candidate for parliament in Pakistan’s Oct. 12 elections, despite the military government’s insistence that she is not qualified to run and its threats to arrest her if she returns to the country.

Bhutto, in a telephone interview from self-exile in London, said she was determined to return to Pakistan and run for parliament .

“Life and death are in the hands of God,” Bhutto said. “I am determined to go back to serve my countrymen.”

She said she would come home “much before the elections,” but she did not say when. “I will contest elections,” she insisted.

Bhutto’s application for certification as a candidate was submitted to election authorities by her Pakistan People’s Party.

Her application, however, is likely to be rejected. President Pervez Musharraf has decreed that no one convicted of a crime may run for office. Last month, a court sentenced Bhutto to three years in prison for corruption. Her party says that the charges were trumped up.

The president has also ordered that prime ministers who have served twice may not seek a third term. That excludes Bhutto as well as her successor, Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted by Musharraf in an October 1999 coup.

Bhutto was ousted as prime minister in 1996 amid a corruption scandal and left the country. She and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, were found guilty of corruption in April 1999 and were sentenced to five-year jail terms, fined and disqualified from politics for seven years. In July, Bhutto was sentenced to the further three-year prison term for failing to appear in court to answer graft charges.

However, Bhutto’s party commands a substantial following in Pakistan. The party has asked an appeals court to overturn laws that prevent her candidacy.

Bhutto’s papers were filed a day after Musharraf announced constitutional amendments granting him new powers, including authority to dismiss parliament and appoint top military commanders. He also gave himself five more years in office.

Major parties said changes to the constitution could be made only by parliament and accused Musharraf of seeking to perpetuate dictatorship under the guise of democracy.

In Washington, a State Department spokesman expressed concern Thursday over “recent decisions” by Musharraf. The United States shunned Musharraf after the 1999 coup but has avoided criticizing his domestic policies since the Sept. 11 attacks because of Pakistan’s role in aiding the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan.