HIGHLIGHTS: Comments Took Many Bangladeshi Officials By Surprise||Islamabad Won't Pay Any More Compensation for Suffering Inflicted in War||So-called 'Stranded Pakistanis' Demand Permission From Musharraf to Emigrate|| STORY:Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has expressed regret for excesses committed in the Bangladesh war of independence.

In a message written in the visitors' book at the mausoleum in honour of Bangladesh's war dead, the president said that Pakistanis shared the pain of the war.

"The excesses committed during that unfortunate period are regrettable," he wrote.

His remarks, at the start of an official visit to Bangladesh, are the closest Islamabad has ever come to formally apologising for war crimes in 1971.

Observers say, comments took many Bangladeshi officials by surprise, and go far further than many in Bangladesh would have expected.

The authorities in Dhaka were swift to welcome President Musharraf's move, but some opposition politicians are unlikely to accept anything short of a full apology.

The Pakistani president arrived to a red-carpet welcome, including a 21-gun salute and a guard of honour.

He is due to hold formal talks with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia on Tuesday, after attending a banquet held in his honour on Monday evening.

COMPENSATION PAYMENTS RULED OUT

General Musharraf was beginning his career in the army as Bangladesh struggled for independence from Pakistan in 1971.
Dhaka says that about three million Bangladeshis were killed in the bitterly-fought nine-month conflict.

Islamabad has already let it be known that it does not intend to pay Bangladesh any more money in compensation for suffering inflicted in the war.

It says that issue was dealt with in the late 1970s.

The Pakistani delegation says the president is in Bangladesh to talk about trade and cultural ties, and is not interested in dwelling on the past.

PERMISSION TO EMIGRATE

General Musharraf is the fourth Pakistani leader to visit Bangladesh since it won independence.

All have faced demands from hundreds of thousands of Muslims of Indian origin, known as "stranded Pakistanis", who want permission from Pakistan to emigrate.

They say they are discriminated against in Bangladesh because of their support for Pakistan in the liberation war.

The president is due to meet a delegation of "stranded Pakistanis" during the course of his three-day visit.

He will also be reunited with colleagues formerly in the East Pakistan army at a special breakfast on Tuesday at a top Dhaka hotel.

PHOTO CAPTION

Visiting Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf after his arrival at Dhaka's Zia International Airport, July 29, 2002. Musharraf arrived in Dhaka on Monday on a three-day visit to discuss trade, bilateral, regional and international issues. REUTERS/Rafiqur Rahman
- Jul 29 10:06 AM