• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

DATE=1/26/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=PAK / SHARIF (L)
NUMBER=2-258446
BYLINE=SCOTT ANGER
DATELINE=KARACHI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  The criminal trial of Pakistan's deposed Prime 
Minister Nawaz Sharif is under way.  Mr. Sharif and 
six other co-defendants have been accused of 
hijacking, attempted murder and kidnapping.  The 
charges stem from an incident involving the diversion 
of a passenger plane hours before a military coup 
ousted the government more than three months ago.  As 
correspondent Scott Anger reports from Karachi, the 
trial began with testimony from a former official who 
says he had been ordered to divert the plane.
TEXT:  Former Civil Aviation Director Aminuddin 
Chaudhry stepped into the witness box Wednesday and 
told the court how he was ordered by Nawaz Sharif  not  
to allow a plane - carrying Pakistan's army chief 
General Pervez Musharraf and 200 other passengers - to 
land in the country on October 12th.
The prosecution says Mr. Sharif was trying to kill the 
general by diverting the plane - which had run 
dangerously low on fuel and was reportedly in danger 
of crashing.  
Mr. Chaudhry, the prosecution's key witness, told the 
court how the prime minister called him twice to give 
instructions on how to deal with the aircraft.  Mr. 
Chaudhry says in the first call Mr. Sharif ordered 
that the plane  not  be allowed to land in Pakistan 
and in the second call Mr. Sharif instructed him to 
divert the plane to anyplace in the Persian Gulf - 
except for the United Arab Emirates.
As the events unfolded, the military took control of 
Karachi's civil airport and allowed the plane to land 
without incident.  A few hours later, the military 
ousted Nawaz finally Sharif from power in a bloodless 
coup.
Mr. Chaudhry had originally been charged along with 
Mr. Sharif but has been granted immunity for his 
testimony.
Nawaz Sharif, his younger brother Shahbaz and five 
others have pleaded  not  guilty in the case.  In a 
motion before the trial started, defense lawyers 
argued that the special anti-terrorist court hearing 
the case had no right to begin until Pakistan's 
Supreme Court decides an earlier challenge to the 
military takeover of the country.  The judge rejected 
the motion.  (Signed)
NEB/SA/KL
26-Jan-2000 07:22 AM EDT (26-Jan-2000 1222 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.