President Gen Pervez Musharraf will retain his uniform as army chief even if he is not elected in the upcoming presidential election, attorney-general Qayyum Malik told the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Malik said Musharraf would continue as army chief until the newly elected president names his substitute. The court adjourned the hearing on petitions challenging the eligibility of Musharraf to be candidate for the office of President while Malik was still arguing.

Court sources said despite general expectations, the verdict may not be forthcoming till Friday. Malik is poised to take a lot of time on Wednesday and would be followed by President's counsel Sharifuddin Pirzada. Askram Shaikh, counsel for petitioner Qazi Hussain Ahmed, has said he will exercise his right of rebuttal. The court has named three eminent jurists, S.M. Zafar, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan and Hafeez Pirzada, to assist it as amicus curiae. They, too, will take time before the hearing concludes.

Judges wanted to know whether the exemption in the impugned law on dual office being challenged by the petitioners is for the office of army chief or is Musharraf-specific. They pointed out to the contention of the counsel for the petitioner that the law was discriminatory and thus liable to be struck down. The judges observed that an exemption to the office would make every army chief eligible to contest election.

Malik said the exemption was meant only for the present incumbent of the office of the President. He said if the court were to strike down the law, it will allow other army chiefs also to be candidates.

The presiding judge of the nine-member larger Bench of the Supreme Court, Rana Bhagwandas, and Justice Javed Akhat advised the AG not to base his arguments on previous court verdicts that had sanctified military take-over and other transgressions in the past on doctrine of 'necessity'.

Malik rebutted the contention that General Musharraf should have retired after obtaining age of retirement in 2003. He said there was no retirement age fixed for the army chief. He served a tenure which was always subject to extension granted by the President.

The AG asked judges to take note of the media debates on issues before the court and the constitutional issues. The judges, appearing responsive to AG's assertions, questioned the legal acumen of people appearing on TV. Justice Abbasi said nobody debated the atta scandal but there was a lot of discussion on constitutional issues.

To the argument by Malik that what the petition does is not maintainable in the Supreme Court as it is not a matter of public interest, Rana Bhagwandas said the issue before the court was of great importance to determine the future direction of this nation. As such the petition, prima facie, appears maintainable.

Tokyo, September 25
Japan’s Yasuo Fukuda was chosen as prime minister by Parliament’s lower house today, ensuring him the nation’s top job and setting the stage to form a cabinet that must confront a feisty opposition keen to force an election.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) chose Fukuda (71), a seasoned moderate, as its leader to revive party fortunes after a disastrous year of scandals and election defeat under Shinzo Abe, who resigned abruptly on September 12.

The bespectacled Fukuda, a proponent of warmer ties with Japan’s Asian neighbours, bowed and smiled after being voted in as prime minister by the lower house, where the ruling camp has a huge majority.

In a sign of the battles ahead, the opposition-controlled upper house was expected shortly afterwards to vote for Ichiro Ozawa, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party. But, the vote by the more powerful lower chamber takes precedence.

“(The LDP) may deceive the people or they may take makeshift measures, but this will not last long,” Democratic Party lawmaker Kenji Yamaoka told a news conference. “We strongly feel that a change in administration should take place as soon as possible.”

Fukuda, for his part, reiterated that he wanted to discuss policy matters with the Democrats and other opposition parties.

“I want to have dignified discussions with the aim of protecting people’s livelihood and the national interests,” he told reporters.

Fukuda will become the oldest prime minister since Kiichi Miyazawa assumed the office in 1991 at the age of 72. He would also be the first son of a premier to hold the post.

Japanese media have reported that Fukuda would likely retain most ministers - including Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga - from Abe’s cabinet, which was reshuffled last month in an attempt by the outgoing premier to maintain his grip on power.

United Nations, September 25
Strongly criticising Myanmar’s military junta for the situation in the country, US President George W Bush today imposed sanctions on its leaders, saying every civilised nation has a responsibility to stand up for the people who are suffering under dictatorships.

Announcing a series of punitive measures designed to bring about peaceful change in Myanmar, Bush said Americans are "outraged" by the goings on in the country.

"Americans are outraged by the situation in Burma, where a military junta has imposed a 19-year reign of fear," Bush said in his address to the United Nations General Assembly.

Bush said the United States would impose strict economic sanctions against the country and continue to support the efforts of humanitarian groups there.

"The ruling junta remains unyielding, yet the people's desire for freedom is unmistakable," Bush said.

"The United States will tighten economic sanctions on the leaders of the regime and their financial backers. We will impose an expanded visa ban on those responsible for the most egregious violations of human rights, as well as their family members.

The regime is holding more than a thousand political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party was elected overwhelmingly by the Burmese people in 1990," he said.

He said basic freedoms of speech, assembly and worship were severely restricted and forced child labour, human trafficking and rape were common in the country. — PTI

Yangon, September 25
Myanmar’s generals threatened action against further attempts at demonstrations today and parked military trucks at Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda, the assembly point for monks leading the main protests. Loudspeaker vehicles touring central Yangon did not specify what action would be taken after the biggest protest against the junta since 1988, when the military crushed pro-democracy demonstrations and killed an estimated 3,000 persons.

“People are not to follow, encourage or take part in these marches. Action will be taken against those, who violate this order,” the message broadcast across the former Burma’s largest city said.

The broadcasts also accused factions within the deeply-revered Buddhist monkhood of instigating protest marches with an intent to incite unrest. Although more than 150 persons have been arrested since August 19 in protests initially against fuel price rises. — Reuters

Five years after it split, the Nepali Congress (NC), Nepal's oldest and largest democratic party, has been formally united with the breakaway faction NC-Democratic led by former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Dueba.

On Tuesday the NC President and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and

NC-Democratic President Deuba materialised the unification process by signing an understanding amidst a joint mahasamiti meeting in the presence of NC founder member and former Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai this afternoon.

With this unification, the unified party has decided to opt federal democratic republic as its future political agenda while going for upcoming constituent assembly election.

The NC-Democratic mahasamiti Meeting at the Birendra International

Convention Center in the capital in the run up to the joint meeting of the mahasamiti of both the parties had endorsed a unification proposal earlier in the afternoon. The party's central working committee was held ahead of the mahasamiti meeting.

Addressing the party leaders and cadres PM Koirala said it was the historic moment and need of the hour to unite two democratic factions for the sake of democracy and national sovereignty.

He also directed his all partymen to reach out to the people immediately and play a proactive role to make the upcoming November 22 Constituent Assembly election a success.

Deuba said NC unification was the need of the hour for vibrant democracy and lasting peace and prosperity in the country.

Party leader Bhattarai who had refused to attend any formal and informal meeting of the party in the past following the virtual split within the party in May 2002 today attended the meeting for the first time today.

Speaking at the function, Bhattarai expressed his great pleasure and urged party members to play a responsible role to keep the unity intact in future.

Firstly, the NC, which is already the largest party in the interim parliament with 85 seats, will now have 133 seats in the House with merger of 48 slots of the NC-D.

Colombo, September 25
At least 29 Tamil Tigers were killed and 36 injured in separate clashes with the security forces in Sri Lanka’s embattled north, where two civilians died in a roadside blast suspected to have been triggered by the rebels.

“Intelligence reports revealed that around 20 LTTE cadres have been killed in a confrontation with troops near the Kilali forward defence line in Jaffna this morning,” a defence spokesman said.

An LTTE attempt to breach the Kilali forward defence line was foiled by the troops. T-56 weapons and an ICOM set abandoned by the LTTE cadres, the spokesman said.

In another battle, as many as nine Tamil Tiger rebels were killed and 36 wounded in the northwestern district of Mannar yesterday, he said. — PTI