PARIS: President Gamal Abdel Nasser of the United Arab Republic has smashed a high level plot to overthrow him, the Cairo-based correspondent of the newspaper `Le Monde` reported today [Aug 29].

Eric Rouleau, who left Cairo this morning for Khartoum, said those arrested include the former Commander-in-Chief of the UAR Armed Forces, Marshal Abdel Hakim Amer, and former Defence Minister Shams Badran; both were removed from office following the UAR`s defeat in June`s Arab war with Israel.

In a wave of arrests that began during the night of Aug 25-26 and was continuing last night some 50 army officers were seized, including the former head of Commando Forces and the former Director of Military Prisons as well as four deputies to the National Congress.

According to Rouleau, every precaution was being taken in Cairo to prevent conspirators from ousting President Nasser while he was in Khartoum. Troops were being 1(ept in their barracks, armed police are patrolling the streets and government buildings were under extra guard, Rouleau reported.

A sweep on Amer`s house turned up an arsenal of light weapons and seditious literature intended to influence active officers, he reported. The head of the Intelligence Service (Mukhabarat) has been dismissed and his deputy arrested, according to `Le Monde`. The internal situation in UAR is now `dramatic`, Rouleau said. Agencies [According to the state news agency in Kiev,] `The Soviet Union and Pakistan support the idea of world peace and therefore find it easy to understand one another,` the head of the Pakistani delegation, Mr Abdul Jabbar Khan, said at a dinner held in honour of Pakistan`s Parliamentary delegation, here last night [Aug 28].

Mr Jabbar Khan added: `This was made particularly clear by the similar stand of our Governments in the support of the just struggle of the Arab peoples against Israel`s aggression.

As the Soviet Union we declare for the right to self-determination for all the oppressed nations and we hope that in the name of peace this right must be granted to all the peoples.