DATE=11/10/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=PAK / SHARIF ACCUSED (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-256044
BYLINE=AYAZ GUL
DATELINE=ISLAMABAD
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: One month after being ousted from power, Pakistan's
military rulers have accused Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,
of hijacking and attempted murder, charges that carry the
death penalty under Pakistani laws. As Ayaz Gul reports
from Islamabad, Mr. Sharif's political party is calling the
accusations biased and one-sided.
TEXT: The charges date back to an incident that occurred
October 12, the day of the coup. A complaint filed by the
military says that, hours before the coup, Mr. Sharif
refused landing rights to a plane carrying Army Chief
General Pervez Musharraf and 200 others on a flight back to
Pakistan from Sri Lanka. The plane was eventually allowed
to land, the complaint says, but only after the military
had seized power. The military says the aircraft had less
than seven-minutes of fuel left and could have crashed,
killing all the people on board.
Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, a spokesman for Mr. Shairf's political
party, Pakistan Muslim League, says the charges against the
deposed Prime Minister are unfair.
/// HAQ ACT ///
It is a sad development. For the last one month,
despite our pleas, he (Mr. Sharif) has not been
allowed to meet his lawyers, his relatives, or his
friends to put across his own point of view or his
own defense. So it is all one-sided and the way the
case has been registered after one month, I don't
think there could be any possibility of a fair trial.
/// END ACT ///
The move to bring criminal charges against Mr. Sharif and
several other colleagues comes at a time when Mr. Sharif's
party has decided to challenge his dismissal in the Supreme
Court. It is not clear as to when a petition will be
filed in Pakistan's highest court.
Under Pakistani laws, the charges brought against the
ousted Prime Minister carry the death penalty. But a senior
lawyer at Pakistan's Supreme Court, Akram Sheikh , says
such an eventuality is unlikely.
/// SHEIKH ACT ///
It is most unlikely that on the bases of the charges
he may be executed or capital punishment may be
awarded so far as this present case is concerned. My
best guess will be that the court, notwithstanding
the absolutely weighty evidence, may not go beyond a
life term.
/// END ACT ///
Pakistan's new military leader General Musharraf has set up
a joint civilian-military government that he says will work
toward reviving the country's economy and ending
corruption.
The military is also investigating Mr. Sharif for loan
defaults and tax evasion allegations. Mr. Sharif's family
denies the charges.
The military complaint is the first step in the process of
formal charges against Mr. Sharif, who has been under
detention since his dismissal from power last month. Since
then, his family and human rights groups have been calling
on the military to either charge him or release him.
(Signed)
NEB/AG/KL
11-Nov-1999 08:25 AM EDT (11-Nov-1999 1325 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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