PML-N condemns new governor's posting

Islamabad: Pakistan's key province of Punjab will have a new governor from Friday when Salman Taseer, a former federal minister, replaces a retired military general who has been holding the post for more than six years.

Khalid Maqbool, who has been governor since October 2001, sent in his resignation to President Pervez Musharraf yesterday, his spokesman said in Lahore and the resignation has been accepted. The appointment of Taseer drew strong reaction from former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), which leads the government in Punjab.

PML-N central leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told a news conference the appointment strengthened doubts that a "usurper president" was bent upon sabotaging the political system and the mandate of the people in the February general elections.