SLAMABAD, May 30, Reuter: President Mohammad ZiaulHaq promised Pakistan on Monday harsh measures to end corruption, save the economy from bankruptcy, and impose a stricter Islamic government.
Zia, who on Sunday suddenly sacked his government and ended normal political activity in the country, said in a televised address that those he had trusted to carry out his first experiment in democracy had failed.
“There were two ways before me: to remain a silent spectator, or to act and rectify the situation”, he said.
But Zia said this was not a return to 1979 when he deposed: Prime Minister Zulfikhr Ali Bhutto in a military coup.
“There is no martial law, and there is no emergency imposed. The Constitution has neither been suspended nor repealed. There is no restriction on political parties”, he said.
Indian Army Out In Assam Where Floods Kill 14
GATI, India, May 25, Reuter: Indian soldiers used boats on Wednesday to rescue thousands of villagers marooned by floods in the northeast state of ‘Assam where at least 14 people have drowned.
The rising Bramhaputra River and flash floods caused by the early onset by monsoon rains had cut off more than 550 villages, State Commissioner Madan Bezbaruah told reporters.
Fourteen people had drowned and many more were missing. He said more than 150 people died in floods in the tea growing State last year.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 3, 1988
