Pakistan Army Surrounds Airport

By Kathy Gannon
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, Oct. 12, 1999; 11:54 a.m. EDT

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistani troops took over state-run television and radio stations throughout the country today, closed major airports and surrounded government buildings following the surprise dismissal of the powerful army chief of staff.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif fired army chief Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf while the military leader was on a visit to Sri Lanka. Soon afterward, army personnel moved rapidly though the capital, seizing important buildings and putting state-run television off the air.

Musharraf flew back to Pakistan later in the day and was met by a large contingent of soldiers at the airport in the southern city of Karachi. He was seen leaving the airport, which was also closed by the military, accompanied by several jeeps filled with soldiers.

Instability in Pakistan would heighten tensions in South Asia, home of the world's two newest nuclear powers, India and Pakistan, which clashed earlier this year in a dispute over the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir.

In New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee went into a crisis meeting with security and foreign policy advisers as news of the events in Pakistan arrived. The government, however, had no immediate comment on the developments.

In Islamabad, soldiers leaped over the fence surrounding the television building and went inside, witnesses said. Broadcasts stopped soon after and all entry to the television building was barred.

Sharif was inside his official residence, cordoned off by soldiers, a government official told The Associated Press on condition on anonymity after he left the prime minister's home. Earlier reports had said the premier was in the television building when it was taken over.

Soldiers were also seen taking over the houses of several top ministers – including Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz and Information Minister Mushahid Hussein. Troops also surrounded and forced the closure of Islamabad International Airport, according to witnesses.

In southern Karachi and in the Northwest Frontier province, the army also took over television stations and the governors' residences, according to witnesses who saw the soldiers entering the buildings and surrounding them with armed guards.

In Lahore, Sharif's hometown, soldiers in jeeps and trucks have taken up positions on the main road and at government buildings. There also were reports that army trucks were moving toward the airport in Lahore, the Punjab provincial capital.

There have been no announcements by either Sharif or the army since Musharraf's dismissal was announced.

The dismissal, which state-run television had described as an early retirement, took the military by surprise.

"We don't know anything . . . go to the Defense Ministry or to the prime minister's house. We also have heard like you on television," Col. Salaut Raza of the military's information wing said when contacted by The Associated Press.

There was no immediate reason for the army chief's dismissal, but in recent weeks there have been reports of a yawning rift between the army and the civilian government.

Musharraf's term as army chief was to end in April 2000.

He was replaced by Gen. Zia Uddin, head of the country's secret service and considered a close ally of Sharif's. Before it went off the air, Pakistan Television showed Sharif and Uddin clasping hands as his promotion to army chief was announced.

Sharif also dismissed the Chief of General Staff Mohammed Aziz, according to defense sources.

The rift between Sharif and Musharraf developed after the prime minister ordered militants to withdraw this summer from Indian territory in the Kargil region of Kashmir, ending a bitter two-month border dispute with India.

Many feared the border dispute would escalate into an all-out war between the two nuclear enemies.

The withdrawal was negotiated between Sharif and President Clinton, but it reportedly did not have the support of the army chief, who many western analysts say orchestrated the takeover of Indian territory in Kargil.

The powerful army has ruled in Pakistan for 25 of its 52-year history, and army takeovers have occurred repeatedly.