Clean sweep in Pakistan

President Farooq Leghari of Pakistan issued an anti-corruption decree yesterday under which convicted politicians can be disqualified for elections scheduled to take place on 3 February.

The law was aimed at cracking down on corruption by politicians and bureaucrats but excluded the President and members of judiciary and armed forces from its purview, the caretaker government's Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Fakhruddin Ebrahim, said. Two weeks ago Mr Leghari dissolved the lower house of parliament and sacked the prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, on disputed charges of corruption and misrule. Reuter -Islamabad