The New Nation - Internet Edition

Agencies

Benazir Bhutto's supporters say the Pakistani government's account of how she died is "dangerous nonsense".

A government spokesman said her head was slammed against her vehicle by the blast from a bomb - but colleagues said she died from bullet wounds.

A Pakistani militant, accused by the government of being behind the killing, has denied any involvement.

President Musharraf has ordered firm action to prevent more of the rioting that followed Bhutto's death.

Musharraf said looters "must be dealt with firmly and all measures be taken to ensure (the) safety and security of the people", the official APP news agency reports.

He was speaking to the country's senior security officials including the head of the army.

Troops have been out on the streets on Saturday to try to quell violence.

At least 31 people have died in widespread civil unrest since her assassination in Rawalpindi on Thursday.

The shells of burned cars littered the deserted streets of Bhutto's home city of Larkana on Saturday, after overnight rioting.

Bhutto was buried on Friday at her family's marble mausoleum. Her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, said the family had been "devastated" by her assassination as "somehow we were hoping we would succeed and they would not".

He said he would reveal the contents of her will on Sunday, which would help clarify the future of her Pakistan People's Party. Asked whether he wanted to lead the PPP, Zardari told the BBC that would be "the party's decision".

Pakistan's main opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, visited the family of his former rival on Saturday to pay his respects.

The assassinated leader's supporters chanted "Long live Bhutto!" and anti-government slogans as he arrived.

Citing what it said was an intercepted phone call, the interior ministry said Benazir Bhutto's killing had been ordered by an "al-Qaeda leader", Baitullah Mehsud.

Pakistani intelligence services intercepted a call from him in which he allegedly congratulated another militant after Bhutto's death, interior ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema told reporters.

But a spokesman for the South Waziristan tribal leader denied he was involved, calling it "government propaganda".

"He had no involvement in this attack," spokesman Maulana Omar said in a telephone call.

"It is against tribal tradition and custom to attack a woman," he added.

Al-Qaeda and pro-Taleban militants are believed to have been behind dozens of bomb attacks in Pakistan in recent years, in which hundreds of people have died - including many women.

The government presented video of Benazir Bhutto's last moments at a news conference.

The interior ministry said the primary cause of Bhutto's death appeared to have been a knock on her head as she tried to duck through a sun roof back into her vehicle, and not bullets or shrapnel.

A surgeon who treated her, Dr Mussadiq Khan, said earlier she may have died from a shrapnel wound.

But Bhutto's associates disputed the official account, saying the government was trying to abdicate its responsibility for her security.

"To hear that Bhutto fell from an impact from a bump on a sun roof is absolutely rubbish. It is dangerous nonsense, because it implies there was no assassination attempt," a spokeswoman for Bhutto's PPP party, Sherry Rehman, told the BBC.

"There was a clear bullet wound at the back of the neck. It went in one direction and came out anothert My entire car is coated with her blood, my clothes, everybody - so she did not concuss her head against the sun roof."

The interior ministry spokesman, Brig Cheema, insisted that all possible security arrangements had been put in place for Ms Bhutto, and that if she had stayed inside the vehicle she might have survived.

The BBC's security correspondent, Frank Gardner, says it is too early to establish the truth of how Benazir Bhutto died.

There have now been so many conflicting versions of who sent the assassin that it is hard for anyone to build up an accurate picture, our security correspondent says.

Both al-Qaeda and the Taleban are perfectly plausible culprits since they hated everything the secular Ms Bhutto stood for, he adds.

But critics of President Pervez Musharraf are unlikely to be convinced by his government's insistence that it has proof al-Qaeda ordered the murder.

After a previous attempt on her life in October that killed 130 people, Bhutto accused rogue elements of the Pakistani intelligence services of involvement.

Bhutto's PPP party says it has still not decided whether to contest elections due on 8 January.

Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif said his party would boycott them.

The BBC's Owen Bennett-Jones, at the Bhutto family home in Naudero, southern Pakistan, says that given the level of violence it seems surprising that the government is still planning elections for 10 days' time.

But the authorities are saying they are consulting the political parties and it may well be that they are hoping to secure a consensus about a postponement before making any public announcement, our correspondent adds.

The election is meant to pave the way for a return to democratic rule, suspended in October 1999 when the then Gen Musharraf seized power through a coup.

In Washington, a US state department spokesman said the elections should go ahead on schedule if they could be held smoothly and safely.

A spokesman for President Musharraf has said it is too early to decide.

Masked gunmen shot dead a supporter of slain Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Saturday, as violence triggered by her assassination entered a third day and al Qaeda-linked militants denied killing her.

Pakistan's government had said on Friday it had proof al Qaeda was behind the suicide attack on the 54-year-old former prime minister, whose death has plunged the nuclear-armed country into crisis and triggered bloody protests.

But a spokesman for the al Qaeda leader the government blamed denied involvement, and Bhutto's party dismissed the official explanation, saying President Pervez Musharraf's embattled administration was trying to cover up its failure to protect her.

Pakistanis remained on edge on Saturday, after protesters torched shops, lorries, welfare centers and ambulances overnight.

"There's a lot of rioting going on in my neighborhood, Clifton. Everything has been burned up. Shops have been looted," Ali Khan, 36, country manager for Audi Pakistan, told Reuters as he stood outside his Audi garage in Karachi's business district.

SkyNews

The latest video footage from Benazir Bhutto's assassination in Pakistan appears to show the moment her killer attacked.

The images capture a man aiming a pistol and firing at least two shots, just yards from the opposition leader. An explosion can then be seen.

Al Qaeda-linked militant commander Baitullah Mehsud has denied government claims that he was involved in the attack.

Meanwhile, a row has erupted over exactly how Ms Bhutto died, while emergency talks into whether a January election should be go ahead loom.

Ms Bhutto was killed on Thursday after an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi.

The gunman opened fire before an explosive was detonated.

Security officials initially said Ms Bhutto had been shot in the neck and head. But the government then announced she died when the force of the blast smashed her head on a sunroof lever.

Dismissing the government's "ludicrous" theory, a close aide who prepared Ms Bhutto's body for burial insisted she was shot in the head.

Sherry Rehman said: "She has a bullet wound at the back of her head on the left side. It came out the other. That was a very large wound, and she bled profusely through that."

She accused the government of not providing enough security for Ms Bhutto and attempting a "cover up".

Meanwhile, the assassination has thrown into doubt whether Pakistan can hold an election in 10 days' time that was meant to complete a transition to civilian rule.

The West hopes an election will bring stability to a country emerging from eight years of military rule while facing mounting violence from Islamist militants allied to al Qaeda.

But one of the two main opposition parties has announced an election boycott in response to her murder.

Ms Bhutto's supporters have also been rioting in parts of the country. Thousands of stone-throwing protesters have clashed with police in Rawalpindi.

Leaders of Ms Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) are due to meet this weekend and are expected to decide whether to fight the election if it goes ahead.

Reuters, Islamabad

Benazir Bhutto's party challenged official versions of the opposition leader's assassination and accused Pakistan's government on Saturday of trying to cover up failures just days before planned elections.

Fresh violence brought the death toll since Bhutto's assassination in a gun and bomb attack on Thursday to 40, stoking fears a Jan. 8 election meant to restore civilian rule to the nuclear-armed U.S. ally could be put off.

Al Qaeda linked militants denied being behind the killing of the 54-year-old former prime minister. Pakistan's government had said on Friday it had proof of al Qaeda involvement.

Bhutto's party dismissed this official account, saying there was no solid evidence and President Pervez Musharraf's embattled administration sought to cover up its failure to protect her.

A close Bhutto aide who prepared her body for burial also dismissed as "ludicrous" a government theory that she died after hitting her head on a sunroof during the suicide attack. Sherry Rehman, a spokeswoman for Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, said Bhutto was shot in the head.

Pakistanis remained on edge on Saturday, after protesters torched shops, lorries, welfare centres and ambulances overnight.

"There's a lot of rioting going on in my neighbourhood, Clifton. Everything has been burned up. Shops have been looted," Ali Khan, 36, country manager for Audi Pakistan, told Reuters as he stood outside his Audi garage in Karachi's business district.

In Karachi, masked gunmen shot dead a 27-year-old man wearing a tunic made from the flag of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP). He had just shouted "Bhutto is great" while returning from the mausoleum where Bhutto was buried on Friday, police said.

Security forces shot dead two others among 400 PPP activists trying to break into an oilfield facility near Hyderabad, police said.

Late on Friday, Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema told a news conference: "We have intelligence intercepts indicating that al Qaeda leader Baitullah Mehsud is behind (Bhutto's) assassination."

However, a spokesman for Mehsud denied the claim.

"I strongly deny it. Tribal people have their own customs. We don't strike women," Maulvi Omar said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

A PPP spokesman said the government must show hard evidence.

"The government is nervous," he said. "They are trying to cover up their failure" to provide adequate security.

Tens of thousands of Bhutto's supporters wept and beat their heads as she was laid to rest on Friday. Troops were called out to quell protests in her home province of Sindh, where she had huge support, particularly among the rural poor.

Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, told the BBC her will would be read out to a meeting of the PPP by her son on Sunday.

Asked if he wanted to lead the party, Zardari replied: "It depends on the party and it depends on the will."

Many mourners chanted slogans against Musharraf and the United States, which backs the former general in the hope he can ensure stability in the face of Islamist violence and relies on Pakistan as an ally against al Qaeda and Afghanistan's Taliban.

Musharraf seized power in a military coup in 1999 but left the army last month to become a civilian president.

Bhutto returned home from self-imposed exile in October, hoping to become prime minister for a third time. She escaped unhurt from a suicide attack then that killed about 140 people. The government said al Qaeda was also behind that attack.

Washington had encouraged Bhutto, relatively liberal by Pakistan standards and an outspoken opponent of Islamic militancy and violence. Her death wrecked U.S. hopes of a power-sharing agreement between her and Musharraf.

U.S. President George W. Bush has urged Pakistanis to honour Bhutto's memory by going ahead with the election.

So far the government has not announced any decision to call off or postpone the vote, but the Election Commission says it is planning an emergency meeting on Monday.

The opposition party led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has said it would boycott the January election if it goes ahead, and a spokesman said on Saturday Sharif was trying to convince Bhutto's PPP to do likewise.

Musharraf imposed a state of emergency in November in what was seen as an attempt to stop the judiciary from vetoing his re-election as president. He lifted emergency rule this month.

Bhutto, who became the Muslim world's first democratically elected woman prime minister in 1988, was buried alongside her father, former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He was hanged in 1979 after being deposed by a military coup.

AFP, Bloomberg

Before Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party continues its power struggle with President Pervez Musharraf, it likely will face an internal power struggle over who will succeed her.

That process begins today, when its executive committee meets to name an interim chairman. Speculation in the Pakistani press has included Benazir's sister and widower.

The PPP, a leading voice for the restoration of democracy since Musharraf's 1990 military coup, has no obvious successor because it has always been an autocratic institution. Since its founding as a populist movement 40 years ago, the PPP has been led only by Benazir, her mother Nusrat Bhutto or her father, former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Months before her Dec. 27 assassination, Benazir, 54, assumed the party title of "life chairperson." Her teenaged children are too young to assume her mantle.

Pakistani parties, including the PPP, "are not internally democratic and do not transmit the democratic aspirations of Pakistanis," said Rasul Bakhsh Rais, a political science professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

The autocracy of the mainstream parties, including Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League, has cost them popular support, at times allowing others to fill the void by leading the fight against Musharraf. After the president sparked a crisis by trying to oust the independent-minded Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhury, lawyer-led street protests and aggressive coverage by independent television stations forced Musharraf to back down, at least temporarily.

Benazir made little effort to groom an heir apparent. In an interview in August, she depicted herself as not only her party's sole leader but as the country's only hope.

"I would be content to see Pakistan have democracy," she said in an Aug. 6 Bloomberg Television interview in New York. "But at the same time, my party feels that I'm the leader who can give hope to the people of the country. And wherever I go, people always tell me, 'Don't give up. We stood by you. And you must stand by us."

Among her possible successors are Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir 's widower; Makhdoom Amin Fahim; her deputy in the PPP hierarchy, Aitzaz Ahsan; her long-time attorney, and her sister, Sanam. The U.S. signaled its focus on potential successors in the hours after the assassination, when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called both Zardari and Fahim.

All four come with downsides. Sanam has lived her adult life in London and has no political experience. Zardari has faced a battery of corruption charges-most eventually dismissed-in Pakistan and abroad, including in Switzerland. Fahim is longtime legislator and a former Benazir's cabinet minister but lacks a public persona and the cachet of the Bhutto name.

Though Ahsan, 63, also lacks that name, he has significant advantages. He was a leader in the lawyers' revolt against Musharraf. During the summer, he appeared daily on television and before cheering crowds, demanding that Musharraf respect Pakistan's constitution and permit an independent judiciary.

In November, Musharraf had Ahsan arrested under an emergency rule decree. Ahsan took a harder line against Musharraf than his boss, who negotiated with the former general for months on a possible power-sharing arrangement and agreed to take part in parliamentary elections scheduled for Jan. 8. Ahsan advocated boycotting the vote unless Musharraf restored Chaudhury, whom he deposed along with other judges under the emergency decree.

Ahsan is "one of the stalwarts of the PPP and he has been under house arrest for over a month," a status that increases his popular legitimacy as a Musharraf opponent, said Rais, the Lahore political scientist.

After Bhutto's death, Ahsan sobbed aloud in a BBC radio interview from house arrest in Lahore. He gave no sign of his plans.

"I think that Pakistan has entered a great period of uncertainty with the death of Benazir Bhutto," said Karl Inderfurth, a professor of international relations at George Washington University and former assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs. "She leaves a big void behind, and it will take some time for the country and its leaders to sort out what happens next."

BBC Online

The actual assassin, when and if his identity is discovered, was doubtless someone most people will never have heard of.

What matters is who sent him and why.

In the fevered speculation now gripping the streets of Pakistan there are essentially two conflicting theories.The first theory, the one espoused by the Pakistani government, is that al-Qaeda or the Taleban, or even both, were the killers.

Certainly the method of attack - a suicide bombing in a crowded place - is al-Qaeda's favoured modus operandi, although the assassin was taking no chances by also opening fire with a pistol just before he blew himself up. Both al-Qaeda and the Taleban had every reason to want Bhutto dead.

As a secular, Western-educated, female politician with close ties to Britain and the US, she represented much that is anathema to Islamist extremists.

She also publicly criticised President Musharraf for not doing enough to curb their power in Pakistan and she accused the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's powerful military intelligence arm, of harbouring Islamists with sympathies for al-Qaeda.

If al-Qaeda was behind this assassination its normal tactic would be to wait for a while to encourage confusion and then release a carefully prepared statement on the internet, laced with religious phraseology, praising the assassin and listing its reasons for the attack.

The conflicting theory, taken up by many of Bhutto's supporters, is that the government of President Musharraf is to blame.

Specifically, they blame elements in the ISI who they believe felt so threatened by Bhutto's potential return to power that they took drastic action.

Despite the passion with which some hold this conviction there is no independent evidence to support this and in the absence of a truly transparent investigation the truth may never come out.

Woven into Pakistan's complex political fabric are a number of militant Islamist groups that belong to neither al-Qaeda nor the government yet have ties with one or the other, or even both.

For years the ISI supported the Taleban in Afghanistan and for years it supported Kashmiri separatist militants.

Although President Musharraf has gone to some lengths to convince Washington that he has purged the ISI and the military of anyone with links to terrorism, there are many who suspect some of the old ties have yet to be broken off completely.

In the coming days and weeks Pakistan's internal security situation will depend in part on whether Benazir Bhutto's assassin was sent by someone inside or outside mainstream Pakistani society.

If the culprits are found to be from outside, such as al-Qaeda or the Taleban leadership, then this could possibly have a unifying effect on Pakistanis, most of whom are appalled at this kind of extremist violence that has destroyed a national figure.

If however the culprits represent a recognisable faction from within Pakistani society - and especially if that faction were connected to the government - then there is a risk of far greater unrest to come.

AP, Kathmandu

Nepal's provisional Parliament approved a motion on Friday to abolish the monarchy as part of negotiations with former Maoist rebels to move a peace deal forward.

The provisional Parliament voted for Nepal, once the world's only Hindu kingdom, to become a "federal democratic republican state". The motion was passed by a majority of 270 votes in the 329-seat Parliament, which includes the Maoists. Three votes were cast against it. Live TV showed parliamentary officials reading out the result.

The vote comes days after the Government agreed to abolish the Himalayan nation's nearly 240-year-old monarchy, one of the few left in Asia. The decision ended months of political deadlock with the once-feared Maoist guerrillas.

But Nepal would become a republic only after the decision is endorsed by the first meeting of a special Assembly, which is due to be elected by mid-April next year.

Officials said King Gyanendra would continue to live in the palace without any powers until after those elections. "But if the king creates serious hurdles in the elections he can be removed by a two-third majority of the interim Parliament before the polls," the motion said. There was no immediate comment from the king.

In yet another major development, prominent leaders from various parties formed a separate regional party-Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party with an objective to have provinces with the right to self-determination.

Former minister Mahantha Thakur, who had quit the Nepali Congress Party, was elected president of the new party.

"I announce the formation of Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party. Our aim is to achieve a republic, democratic, federal Nepal with the right to self determination," Thakur said. He made it clear that the Government must address the problems of terai before it goes to polls.

Staff Reporter

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed yesterday called upon the Non-Resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) to undertake a concerted effort in materialising the nation's development goals.

He assured his government's all-out cooperation in the endeavours of the expatriates and also pledged to take necessary steps to enrol them as voters after discussing the issue with the election commission.

The Chief Adviser was addressing the closing ceremony of the 3-day First Non-Resident Bangladeshi Conference 2007 organised by Scholars Bangladesh at Hotel Sheraton.

The common goal of the nation is to transform the motherland into a medium-income country by the year 2021, coinciding with 50 years of Bangladesh's independence, he said adding, "We can achieve this objective with the support and cooperation of all our citizens living at home and abroad."

Dr Fakhruddin appreciated the NRB community's cordial efforts to get involved with affairs of Bangladesh and urged them to expand their endeavours to ensure that the skills developed abroad by Bangladeshi citizens can be used to the fullest advantage by the nation.

Foreign Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury chaired the function while Dr Kamal Hossain gave the vote of thanks.

Michigan State Senator Hansen Clarke, UK BRAC representative Sandra Kabir, chief executive officer of Scholars Bangladesh Dilara Afroz Khan and on behalf of the Army Chief, Quarter Master General (QMG) of Bangladesh Army Lt Gen M Jahangir Alam Chowdhury spoke at the closing ceremony.

Over 1,000 Non-Resident Bangladeshis from 40 countries attended the conference.

The Chief Adviser glorified the leadership role of expatriate Bangladeshis in many renowned organisations, institutions and industries all over the world. "Your successes fill the hearts of the countrymen with pride," he said adding "There is wide scope to pool their knowledge, skills, expertise and experience to support the socioeconomic base of Bangladesh."

It is now necessary, more than ever before, to create the environment and opportunity for NRBs to tap talents and expertise of non-resident Bangladeshis to fuel the pace of development.

After the CA's speech, the floor was open for the expatriates and it turned out to be a lively question-answer session on the prospects and problems of the country and their well-defined roles.

A number of NRBs from the USA, the UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Japan, Italy, China, Sweden, New Zealand and Spain came up with a volley of questions, suggestions and problems before the Chief Adviser.

The Foreign Adviser moderated the question-answer session. The Chief Adviser gave answers to some of their queries and also suggested the expatriates and others to email questions and suggestions to him at feedback@pmo.gov.bd

About inclusion of NRBs in the voter list he mentioned the visit of Election Commissioners to the UK regarding voter listing of Bangladeshi expatriates.

He expects that EC will share their experience with the government along with recommendations and the government will think about next step. "We have to know how we can do that: what logistics are required and what are the legal aspects," he said.

About the harassment by the government officials, Fakhruddin said, "It is undeniable that there is scope for improvement". He mentioned separate counter for NRBs in airport and informed that the government is introducing training for improving approaches.On opening Consulate and Embassy, he said the Foreign Adviser would look into the matter. All Bangladesh missions abroad needed to update websites regularly, the Chief Adviser observed.

Regarding VISA form of NRBs, he said it should be uniform and rationalised.

The Chief Adviser distributed Scholar of the Year award to the winners for their outstanding contributions in their respective fields.

Eight Bangladeshi Scholars from home and abroad have been adjudged Scholars of the year 2007 in four fields--Art and Culture, Science, Technology and Innovation, Health and Medicine, and Education and Research in Honour of Shilpacharya Joynul Abidin, world-famous architect FR Khan, founder of BIRDEM hospital Dr M Ibrahim, renowned educationist and scientist Dr Kudrat-e-Khuda respectively.

The recipients are NRB Monirul Islam and Kalim Sharafi in Art and Culture, NRB Iqbal Z Quadir and Haripada Kapali in Science, Technology and Innovation, NRB Dr ABM Fazlul Karim and Dr MR Khan in Health and Medicine and NRB Prof Fazle Hussain and Dr Jamal Nazrul Islam in Education and Research.

Staff Reporter

Chief Justice M Ruhul Amin yesterday asked the judges to discharge their responsibilities maintaining cent percent integrity and impartiality to restore the confidence of the people in the judiciary.

Addressing the 57th Annual Conference of Bangladesh Judicial Service Association (BJSA) at Osmani Memorial Hall in the city as chief guest, he reminded that the people expect that judges would perform their judicial responsibilities maintaining 100 per cent honesty, sincerity and impartiality.

The Chief Justice asked the government for taking necessary measures to ensure logical payment and other facilities for the subordinate court judges and provide them adequate logistic support to pave the way for discharging their responsibilities in line with the expectation of the people.

"If we could ensure better facilities with adequate logistic supports, the judges would be able to discharge their responsibilities accordingly protecting the rights and overall welfare of the people," he said.

Chief Justice Ruhul Amin also cautioned that if the measurable conditions of the judiciary and minimum frustration of the judges were not removed it would be tough to make them discharge their responsibility as per the expectation of the people.

Presided over by Dhaka District and Session Judge and president of the organisation AKM Ishtiaque Hossain, the function was also addressed, among others, by Adviser for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Barrister Mainul Hosein, Acting Law Secretary Kazi Habibul Awal, Supreme Court Registrar Iktedar Ahmed and BJSA Secretary General Ataur Rahman.

Terming the judiciary an imperative organ of the state, the Chief Justice said it could contribute much to the overall welfare of the state and protecting the people's rights as it can be stronger and allow it to work more independently.

He also urged the government to ensure security of the judicial magistrates working at the district level.

Emphasising the need for enhancing the retirement age of subordinate court judges, he said the judiciary would be benefited if the government takes an effective step in enhancing the retirement age of the judges.

"There is no alternative to experience," he said adding that the retirement age of the judges could be raised from present 57 years, so that there is no shortage of experienced judges in future.

The Chief Justice also asked the government for ensure security of the judicial magistrates who have to carry out their responsibilities even after the evening.

Referring to the skepticism of critics about the separation of the judiciary, Chief Justice Amin said the criticism against judicial magistrates' efficiency and capability proved wrong.

The judicial magistrates have already proved their efficiency and sincerity in performing their duties by resolving significant number of disputes during the first month of the separation of judiciary, he mentioned.

He said the people who are already getting justice at the grassroots level would further enjoy the benefits of the separation in next few months when more magistrates would be appointed.

Law Secretary Kazi Habibul Awal said separation of judiciary from the executive has been made for the sake of good governance and interest of the people and now it is the responsibilities of the judges to cherish it.

He assured that the government would take necessary measures to fulfil the logical requirement of the judges in the subordinate courts.

Supreme Court Registrar Iketdar Ahmed in his speech dismissed the allegation that he had given postings to the newly recruited judicial magistrates by abusing power.

DU Correspondent

The post graduation examination of Political Science Department of Dhaka University was postponed amid allegation of question leak out yesterday.

A three-member inquiry committee headed by Acting Dean of Social Science Faculty Prof AAMS Arefin Siddiqui was formed in this regard and asked to submit investigation report within seven-day.

Political Science students demanded holding of their postponed examination as soon as possible and to nullify the examination committee headed by Chairman of the Department Prof Dr Abdul Wadud Bhuiyan and two members Prof Aminur Rahman and Prof Ataur Rahman.

They said it was not right to involve the teachers in the examination committee who have various allegations of corrupt practices against them in the past.

Admitting the question leak out, Vice Chancellor Prof SMA Faiz asked the students that the concerned Dean would take a decision in this regard.

Chairman of the department Prof Wadud Bhuiyan said he does not know anything about this allegation as he issued the question papers to the controller's office a month ago.

Examination Controller Bahlul Haque said he opened the sealed question papers in front of Prof Arefin Siddiqui and Prof Aminur Rahman.

After finding similarity between the leaked out and submitted question papers, the university authority took the decision to postpone the examination scheduled for yesterday.

Sources said a teacher who is a member of the examination committee leaked out the questions to some students by cell phone on December 25. Later the questions were circulated among favourite other students.

Staff Reporter

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) yesterday handed over 27 recovered pieces of the two stolen artefacts of Hindu god Vishnu to the Investigation Officer (IO) of the stealing case as evidence.

IO Shoeb Imtiaz preserved the pieces as evidence of the case.

RAB and police still continued their hunt to arrest Abbas and driver Nasir, the two main suspects of the heist.

According to the police, the motive behind the stealing would be unfolded fast if Abbas is arrested, police said.

Earlier RAB recovered the 27 pieces from Boliarpur garbage dump near Aminbazar in Savar on Thursday and Friday.

The National Museum authorities confirmed that the recovered pieces were that of the two stolen statues.

Meanwhile, the RAB completed their search in this regard. But the search for the remaining pieces of the statues by Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) cleaners was still on.

Acting on the confessional statements made by the 10 suspects arrested on Wednesday. RAB conducted its search at the Boliarpur garbage dump on Thursday and Friday.

The arrested confessed to taking the statues to a house at Uttara after those were stolen from the Zia International Airport on December 21.

Scared by the massive hunt, they later broke the statues into pieces and threw into a dustbin beside the house.

Later, the unsuspecting DCC cleaners removed the garbage and dumped those in Boliapur garbage dump.

Staff Reporter

Adviser for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and Information Barrister Mainul Hosein yesterday stressed the need for introducing new trend in politics and bringing about changes in the leadership with a view to protecting the country's democracy and independence of the judiciary.

"It is not correct that democracy and independence of the judiciary can be protected merely by holding the election in a free and fair manner. Rather, it needs introducing new trend in politics and new leadership," he said while addressing the 57th Annual Conference of Bangladesh Judicial Services Association at Osmani Memorial Hall in the city. Referring to the failure of the political parties in the past, the Law Adviser said the independence of judiciary could not be restored unless the political failures of past governments could be overcome. Infrastructure development is not alone sufficient for independence of the judiciary, he observed.

Barrister Mainul Hosein emphasised the need for taking initiative to bring about reform in the higher court saying, "The rot starts from the head of a fish. If reform does not take place from the apex court, the current efforts to ensure justice, good governance and the rule of law will be a futile exercise."

He said the Chief Justice and the government are aware about the need of reforms in the higher courts and the present caretaker government is ready to provide the Chief Justice with all supports for this.

"With the separation of judiciary from the executive, peoples' confidence over the judiciary has increased and the judges's responsibility also increased," he said.

He said it is globally recognised that the judicial activism of the judges is essential to ensure speedy justice to the people.

He said effective initiatives were being undertaken to increase all facilities and logistic supports for the judicial Magistrates.

"As the judges are liable to their conscience and morality, it is necessary to consider enhancement of their salary and allowances for honest living," he said, adding that "security of the judges has also to be ensured."