Pak orders probe into tape leakage
Inquiry into sugar deal begins

ISLAMABAD, Oct 17 (UNI, AFP) — The Pakistani military authorities have ordered separate probes into the sugar deal with India and the leak of the tape of a conversation between the then army chief, Gen Pervez Musharraf, and Chief of General Staff Lt Gen Aziz during the Kargil crisis to the Indian Government.

It alleged that the former ISI chief Lt Gen Ziauddin Butt got the conversation taped and later handed over it to deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The tape was allegedly sent by Mr Sharif to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee through backdoor diplomacy.

The conversation had taken place when the army chief was in China on an official visit and had a talk with the Chief of General Staff over the phone.

Listening to the tape Mr Vajpayee had declared that Mr Sharif was innocent of the involvement in the Kargil crisis and laid the blame on the Pakistan army. However, General Musharraf had then refuted the statement by saying that the army had to obey the orders of a political government.

The authorities have also started an inquiry into the sugar export deal between Mr Sharif’s family business and India in which it is alleged that his relatives earned billions of rupees.

The new military ruler expressed willingness to normalise ties with India by reviving the Lahore Declaration but said New Delhi was not ready to hold talks with the military regime in Islamabad.

The General made these remarks during a meeting with Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan Minoru Kubotu last evening, English daily The Dawn reported quoting diplomatic sources.

The Japanese envoy raised a number of issues, including revival of democracy, nuclear non-proliferation and Indo-Pak ties, during his 40-minute meeting with the General. Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmed was present at the meeting.

He regretted that "on one hand, the Indian Prime Minister was saying he wanted good relations with Pakistan but, on the other, he was refusing to hold talks with the military government", the report said.

He was referring to statements emanating from New Delhi after the army take over here.

The new military ruler allayed fears of "indefinite" army rule in the country saying revival of democracy would be his top priority, but failed to give a time-frame for a return to democracy.

"I will give better democracy to Pakistan," General Musharraf, told the Japanese Ambassador.

He asked Japan to provide financial aid to Pakistan, the paper said quoting the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation.

The Japanese envoy urged Pakistan to ensure that there was no transfer of nuclear technology to any third country. Pakistan is the only nuclear power in the world to be ruled by the army.

Meanwhile, the military authorities today withdrew troops stationed outside the homes of half a dozen ousted ministers who had been under house arrest since last week’s army coup.

"The troops have been removed," said Mr Sartaj Aziz, who had been Foreign Minister in the government of Mr Sharif.

After the coup, Mr Sharif and many of his ministers were detained, most of them in their residences.

"I think quite a few are free now," Mr Aziz said adding he had spoken by telephone with several former Cabinet colleagues.

Sources said troops had been withdrawn from the homes of former Interior Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Yasin Watto, Health Minister Javed Hashmi, Water and Power Minister Gohar Ayub Khan, and Minister for Kashmir and Northern Areas Majid Malik.

Principal government information officer Salim Gul said Mr Sharif remained in "protective custody."

"I cannot tell you his precise whereabouts, but I can say he is in good health," he remarked.

The military rulers tightened their anti-corruption squeeze with a wave of arrests and army raids, as people waited expectantly today for the new regime’s blueprint on future governance.

Five days after the coup that toppled the elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, military checkpoints were in place at all main airports and maritime ports, armed with lists of officials wanted in connection with corruption and fraud investigations.

Hundreds of members of the Sharif administration, including ministers, MPs and political advisers have been barred from leaving the country after their bank accounts were frozen on Friday.

The orders extend to opposition leaders as well as those who served in previous administrations under former premier Benazir Bhutto.

Scores of senior political figures have been arrested or placed under "protective custody," as special army task forces picked their way through bank statements and tax records in search of millions of dollars in illicit funds.

The new military regime launched the hunt for unpaid taxes and defaulted loans — estimated at some $ 3.5 billion — almost immediately after Tuesday’s coup.

Anger at the corrupt activities of successive civilian governments has been a major factor in the favourable public response to the military takeover, which ended 14 years of democratic rule.

But coup leader Gen Pervez Musharraf, who suspended the Constitution and proclaimed himself "chief executive" on Friday, knows his house-cleaning drive will have to achieve swift and concrete results in order to retain popular support.

Both, the USA and the European Union have urged a swift return to civilian rule, with Washington imposing limited economic sanctions and the EU threatening similar measures.

No official reason has been given for General Musharraf’s delay in outlining his blueprint for governance, with sources saying only that talks were on.

He is expected to announce the formation of a "Supreme Advisory Council (SAC)" — a quasi-Cabinet, grouping around a dozen technocrats and senior military officers, which would assist in running affairs of state.

Meanwhile, Mr Nawaz Sharif, ousted as Prime Minister in the military coup, could face charges on the capital offence of high treason, news reports and officials said today.

Mr Sharif, who has been held in "protective custody" since Tuesday’s military takeover, is under investigation for his role in an alleged plot to kill General Musharraf.

According to informed sources quoted by The Nation, Mr Sharif and other senior officials in his administration were "likely" to be charged with high treason.

The charges stem from orders allegedly given to prevent a commercial flight carrying General Musharraf from landing at the Karachi airport, even though it had only seven minutes worth of fuel left in its tanks.

The alleged incident was one of the chief reasons given by the military to justify their takeover.

Reports said Mr Sharif, whose personal fortune is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, paid no income tax last year and filed a deficit wealth tax return.

Citing documents released by Revenue Department, The News daily said Mr Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif — the ousted Chief Minister of Punjab — both avoided making any tax payments.