Islamabad, October 4
A top General who was in-charge of Pakistan's nuclear assets has quit in protest against his junior being promoted by President Pervez Musharraf as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

Lt-Gen Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, Director-General of the Strategic Plan Division, was due to retire on October 10 but chose to relinquish his post yesterday.

He was earlier due to retire last year but was given then given an extension. In his request to retire, Kidwai noted that Lt-Gen Tariq Majeed would be his boss and it would be inappropriate for him to report to a junior officer, The News reported here.

Kidwai was also seen as being among the top contenders for the post of Army Chief, which will now be assumed by Lt-Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani once Musharraf is re-elected as President on October 6.

Musharraf had on Tuesday promoted Kiyani and appointed him the Vice-Chief of the Army, putting him in line to become the chief of the force once he gives up his military uniform.

The military ruler also promoted Majeed and appointed him to the key post of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

Kidwai, who handled the investigation into the proliferation ring headed by nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan, was in-charge of Pakistan's strategic assets, including nuclear weapons and delivery systems like missiles, and headed the nuclear command and control system.

Kidwai's deputy, Maj-Gen Khalid Jaferi, is likely to be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General and appointed the chief of the Strategic Plan Division, the report said. — PTI

Dhaka, October 4
Bangladesh’s Supreme Court reversed on Thursday a lower court decision to free former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia on bail, upholding an appeal by the army-backed interim government.

The government will proceed with Khaleda’s prosecution on corruption charges, a lawyer at the prosecutor’s office said.

Security forces arrested Khaleda and her son Arafat Rahman early last month to face graft charges in the award of a cargo-handling contract to a firm in 2003 that her son allegedly favoured, overruling a state committee’s recommendation.

But a High Court on Sunday ordered Khaleda to be freed on bail and halted her further prosecution on grounds she couldn’t be tried under special emergency laws for an offence committed before the imposition of emergency in January this year.

The army-backed interim government, which has vowed to complete a campaign against corrupt politicians and officials before elections next year, filed an appeal on Tuesday against the order.

Another former Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, Khaleda’s bitter rival, is also behind bars on extortion charges.

More than 170 political leaders, including the two former Prime Ministers, have been detained on charges of corruption, extortion and misuse of power. — Reuters

Islamabad, October 4
Former deposed Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has rejected the proposed 'national reconciliation ordinance' to withdraw cases against leaders of political parties, terming it an "insult to the whole nation".

"The national reconciliation ordinance (NRO), which is meant to serve interests of an individual, amounts to insult the whole nation," Sharif said.

"If national reconciliation was so vital then it should be based on some principles keeping in view national interests and should not serve the purpose of election of a uniformed General as President," the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader observed in a statement issued by his party.

Musharraf has expressed readiness to drop cases against Sharif as well as leaders of other political parties under the ordinance.

"By the grace of Allah, we are neither corrupt nor want any immunity," Sharif said.

He pointed out that any move to give immunity by disposing of all cases against those supporting General Musharraf also amounts to insincerity with the nation and the country.

The PML-N leader recalled that in the 'charter of democracy' signed by Bhutto it was agreed that an authentic and fair accountability system would be devised. PTI

Yangon, October 4
Myanmar’s military government stepped up its propaganda machine today, calling foreign critics ‘liars’ and filling state-controlled media with positive spin of the crushing blow it dealt to pro-democracy advocates.

Soldiers maintained a visible presence on the streets of Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city, where an eerie quiet has returned after last week’s deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

The lakeside home of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi remained heavily guarded with about 200 riot police posted near her home, two dozen inside her compound and two patrol boats watching from the water.

Suu Kyi, the opposition leader, has spent nearly 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest.

With Internet access to the outside world blocked, state-controlled newspapers churned out the government’s version of the country’s crisis and filled pages with propaganda slogans, such as “We favour stability. We favour peace,” and “We oppose unrest and violence.” Critics from the international community and foreign media were dismissed as “liars attempting to destroy the nation” - one of many bold-faced slogans covering the new light of Myanmar newspaper’s back page today.

Newspapers made no mention of Buddhist monks being detained for their role in protests or of soldiers dragging people from their homes at night time raids. — PTI