Political leaders, lawyers and civil society activists and retired generals have strongly reacted to the public statement of support to General Musharraf by corps commanders in their bimonthly conference Friday, labelling it as a “desperate” attempt by Musharraf to further deepen military’s involvement in politics for his own survival.

Organisations of journalists and editors have also condemned the fresh clampdown on electronic media to curtail their coverage of judicial crisis and lawyers’ movement for independence of judiciary and sovereignty of the Constitution. The authorities have clamped ban on live coverage of Justice Iftikhar’s meetings and shut one TV channel, ‘ARY’, completely and another ‘Aaj’ partially, accusing them of maligning the army in live coverages and talk shows.

The top brass at the Pakistan Army meeting at GHQ in Rawalpindi in a statement had expressed full confidence in General Musharraf and extended him full support of the institution for continuity of his vision and policies. It slammed Musharraf’s opponents for launching a malicious campaign against the army and to destabilize the present structure.

The statement contained a veiled threat saying the commanders took serious note of the “malicious” campaign against institutions of State, launched by “vested interests and opportunists” who were acting as “obstructionist forces” to “serve their personal interests and agenda”, “even at the cost of flouting the rule of law”. Reaffirming resolve to stand committed for the security of their country under the leadership and guidance of the President and the COAS, General Musharraf, the commanders warned that any attempt by a “small minority” to obstruct the aspirations of vast majority would only derail the nation from its path of progress and prosperity.

PML-N information secretary Ahsan Iqbal termed the statement as “desperate” attempt by a sinking general to take shelter behind the institution of the army for advancing his personal agenda to perpetuate power. PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar said General Musharraf had involved the entire institution in politics and economic activities seriously undermining their professional capacity. Babar also slammed attempt to gag the media in order to suppress honest coverage of the current crisis. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists has convened an urgent meeting in Islamabad on Sunday to work out a strategy for protest rallies and a day-long shut down. The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editor also issued a strong resolution vowing to defy government attempts to gag the press.

The top brass of ruling eight-party alliance in Nepal has agreed to reschedule the Constituent Assembly (CA) poll by the end of November.

A meeting of the top leaders, held at Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's residence, Baluwatar, on Thursday asked the council of ministers to amend the interim constitution and fix a new date for the poll.

Amendment in the interim statue is necessary to reschedule the poll since the constitution says that the CA poll will be held on June 20.

The parties unanimously agreed to postpone the previously scheduled CA poll, as the Election Commission said it was not prepared to conduct the poll on June 20 in the absence of necessary legal frameworks and other preparations.

After five days of discussions, the leaders also reached consensus to review the report of the Election Constituency Delineation Commission (ECDC), paving way to resume the stalled Interim Legislature-Parliament.

Despite agreement on all issues, the CPN-UML, the CPN-Maoist, the Peoples Front Nepal (PFN) and the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) wrote separate note of dissents on different issues.

In the note of dissent, the UML claimed that the proportional election system was necessary to address various dissenting voices in the CA. Similarly, it said referendum should be held before the CA poll to decide the fate of monarchy.

However, Election Commission had already expressed inability to hold referendum by November as well.

The Madhesi lawmakers have been obstructing the regular proceedings of parliament demanding that the government review the ECDC report.

The meeting also decided to amend the interim constitution so as to authorise the previous committee of the ECDC to review the problems in Sunsari, Jhapa, Nawalparasi, Dang, Sarlahi, Mahottari, Banke and other districts.

The Maoist in its note of dissent said the eight political parties should proclaim a federal democratic republic before holding CA polls, including proportional representation system for the poll.

Similarly, the PFN, in line with the UML and the Maoist, said in its note of dissent that the proportional election system only guarantees the representation of all people in the CA poll.

The NWPP, in the note of dissent, however, demanded that the right of the tillers to the land be ensured in the constitution.

Houston, June 2
Depending upon favourable weather conditions, Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams will return to Earth aboard the Atlantis shuttle and join her friends and family on June 19, after her six months stay in space, the longest period spent by a woman there.

This was revealed by NASA sources following certification of Flight Readiness by its senior managers on May 30 and 31 at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, where Atlantis got a green signal for launch on June 8.

Everyone on Earth, especially Williams’ parents, Deepak Pandya, a renowned neuro-anatomist and mother Bonnie Pandya, are eagerly awaiting her return.

Williams will be in rehab for at least 45 days, depending on her overall health condition, after which both her parents will join her in Houston, where she has been living since 1998 after being selected as astronaut by NASA.

Besides personal items she will bring back a science payload when Atlantis lands at Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, after an 11-day mission, according to US space agency NASA. Williams collected her fifth and final set of blood and urine samples this week for the Nutritional Status Assessment, which measures physiological changes in the human body during space flight. — PTI, IANS

Warsaw, June 2
A 65-year-old railwayman, who fell into coma following an accident in communist Poland, regained conciousness 19 years later to find democracy and a market economy, Polish media reported on Saturday.

Wheelchair-bound Jan Grzebski, whom doctors had given only two or three years to live following his 1988 accident, credited his caring wife Gertruda for his revival.

"It was Gertruda that saved me, and I'll never forget it" Grzebski told news channel TVN24.

"For 19 years, Grzebska wife did the job of an experienced intensive care team, changing her comatose huband's position every hour to prevent bed-sore infections," Super Express reported Dr Boguslaw Poniatowski as saying.

"When I went into coma, there was only tea and vinegar in the shops, meat was rationed and huge petrol queues were everywhere," Grzebski told TVN24, describing his recollections of the communist system's economic collapse.

"Now I see people on the streets with cell phones and there are so many goods in the shops it makes my head spin."

Grzebski awoke to find that all his four children had married and produced 11 grandchildren during his years in hospital. — Reuters