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Musharraf loses to A.Q. Khan in mock poll

Islamabad: Detained nuclear scientist Abdul Qader Khan was “elected” president of Pakistan, defeating the incumbent head of state General Pervez Musharraf in a mock poll held by lawyers.

Gen. Musharraf received only one vote, while Dr. Khan, who has been placed under detention by the General since January 2004, managed 2,103 votes in the “presidential referendum” organised by the Save Judiciary Committee of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA).

Though the Daily Times newspaper did not provide details of those behind the “referendum”, it reported that the voting began at 9 a.m. and continued till 2 p.m. on Saturday. Gen. Musharraf, who heads the military, is und er pressure at home and from the U.S. to give up some of the power he seized in a 1999 coup. The lawyers’ body was in the forefront of the recent agitation triggered by Gen. Musharraf’s sacking of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary. While the reinstated top judge has emerged as a national hero, dr. Khan has enjoyed this iconic status for helping Pakistan in its nuclear military capability, which culminated in successful tests in May 1998. Gen. Musharraf had placed Dr. Khan under house arrest after being confronted by the CIA with evidence of the top nuclear scientist’s link with clandestine proliferation. — PTI

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