DATE=1/25/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=PAK / SHARIF TRIAL
NUMBER=5-45304
BYLINE=SCOTT ANGER
DATELINE=ISLAMABAD
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The criminal trial of Pakistan's ousted Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif begins Wednesday in Karachi.
The charges against Mr. Sharif and six co-defendants
stem from an incident hours before the elected
government was overthrown by a military coup. As V-O-
A's Scott Anger reports from Pakistan, both the
defense and the prosecution are faced with a number
challenges.
TEXT: After weeks of delays and false starts, the
democratically elected prime minister of Pakistan will
appear before a special anti-terrorism court to fight
charges of attempted murder, kidnapping and hijacking.
At his side will be his younger brother, Shahbaz, and
five other co-defendants.
The seven men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
If found guilty, the defendants could receive the
death penalty.
Iqbal Raad -- a member of Mr. Sharif's defense team --
is confident they will win.
///RAAD ACTUALITY///
In our view, no hijacking, no stealing of the aircraft
took place, no attempt to murder has taken place and
there is not a single witness (to these charges).
The prosecution has no evidence, no material and no
documents in respect of these charges.
///END ACTUALITY///
Government prosecutors say Nawaz Sharif and the others
denied landing rights to a plane carrying army chief
General Pervez Musharraf and about 200 other
passengers to Karachi from Sri Lanka on October 12th.
The plane -- which is alleged to have been low on fuel
-- was eventually allowed to land after the military
seized control of the country in a bloodless coup.
Ilyas Khan -- one of several prosecutors trying the
deposed prime minister -- says the burden of proof in
the high profile case is very simple.
///KHAN ACTUALITY///
We have the evidence. We have the evidence of
hijacking. It was the prime minister who, in fact,
ordered the diversion of the plane. And, because of
the lack of fuel, the plane could have crashed if the
army would not have taken over in time.
///END ACTUALITY///
The prosecution's case is built on the assertion only
seven minutes of fuel remained on the aircraft at the
time it landed in Karachi. The prosecution says Mr.
Sharif wanted to kill all the passengers on board the
aircraft, including General Musharraf, who is now the
chief executive of the country.
Former Law Minister S-M Zafar says both the
prosecution and the defense will have difficult cases
to prove during the trial.
///ZAFAR ACTUALITY///
For the prosecution, the problem will be providing all
the evidence particularly regarding the conversations
(in the plane) and on the issue of the fuel being
sufficiently or insufficiently being available. And
for the defense, it will be an issue of giving an
explanation as to why a prime minister did not want
the plane to land in the country. These are the areas
which are ticklish for both sides to deal with.
///END ACTUALITY///
Lahore lawyer Ahmer Bilal Soofi says another important
question that must be answered is whether Mr. Sharif
unlawfully exercised control over the plane when he
allegedly ordered its diversion.
///SOOFI ACTUALITY///
At the time -- even if it is assumed or argued that
Nawaz Sharif did exercise control through vicarious
means -- he was doing so in a lawful manner. And,
being the chief executive of the country, he was
lawfully authorized to exercise control. So, that is
the challenge to the prosecution that they need to
establish the unlawfulness of exercising control as
far as Sharif is concerned. On the contrary, the
defense will heavily rely on the point that he was the
valid exerciser of the lawful authority.
///END ACTUALITY///
Mr. Sharif says he diverted the plane to avoid a
military coup, which he believed was about to be
staged by General Musharraf. The general -- in
interviews after the incident -- said he launched the
coup only after an attempt was made to divert the
plane.
The trial of Nawaz Sharif and the others is taking
place in a court of his creation. Pakistan's special
anti-terrorism court system was established to work
beside the overburdened, traditional system. The
special courts were established by Mr. Sharif to hand
down speedy justice in cases of terrorism, communal
violence, murder and other serious crimes. The courts
have the authority to hand down sentences, including
capital punishment.
Under the law, the courts have a mandate to dispose of
a case in seven days, but prosecutors say -- because
of the large amount of evidence -- the trial may take
much longer. (SIGNED)
NEB/SA/WD
25-Jan-2000 02:11 AM EDT (25-Jan-2000 0711 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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