Asia Times: Ex-premier charged with waging war on Pakistan



	December 10, 1999	atimes.com

India/Pakistan

Ex-premier charged with waging war on Pakistan
By Nadeem Iqbal

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's military government on Wednesday formally outlined the charges against deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, setting the stage for one of the country's most important legal battles. The charges include attempted murder, attempted hijacking, abduction and waging war against Pakistan.

However, judge Shabbir Ahmed of the anti-terrorist court hearing the case in Karachi, delayed formally charging Sharif and the six other co-accused until Monday, to give the defense time to study the prosecution documents.

Sharif, his brother Shahbaz Sharif who was chief minister of Punjab province, and five other senior officials have been in detention since a military coup, October 12. All the charges relate to events that day.

Sharif has been accused of trying to prevent a plane carrying the army chief, General Pervez Musharraf, and 200 other passengers from landing in Karachi on the day the military seized power. The general was returning from an official visit to Sri Lanka.

If he is convicted, Sharif could face the death penalty. The prime minister's lawyers say he has strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Sharif is the second elected prime minister to face murder charges. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the father of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was tried and convicted by a court in 1978 and hanged on April 4, 1979, despite pleas for clemency by world leaders to then military ruler Gen Zia-ul-Haq.

The lawyers for Sharif plan to include the names of Chief of the Army Staff Gen Pervez Musharraf, former intelligence chief Gen Khwaja Ziauddin (just before his ouster he was appointed army chief by Sharif), former Corps Commander Quetta, Gen Tariq Pervez in their list of witnesses, sources say.

''Sharif plans to turn his case into a political battle between him and the army. He has got a team of professional lawyers to do that,'' a close aide told IPS. ''He plans to turn the case on its head by giving a detailed statement about what happened between him and the army in the two-and-a-half years that he was in power, leading to the military coup on October 12.''

''Don't forget that Sharif has the surprise factor as he hasn't told his version of the crucial hours between 3pm and 6pm on that fateful day and what prompted him to urgently replace Musharraf with Ziauddin as the army chief,'' the aide added.

Commenting on the case unfolding in the Karachi court, the Herald, a leading English magazine said: ''What happens on the legal front remains to be seen, but what is becoming increasingly clear is that Sharif so far has not lost much on the political front. In fact the case has allowed him some desperately needed political mileage and his statements have, to some extent, established him as a politician who is prepared to fight it out.''

Most analysts are inclined to agree that the proceedings are likely to have many shocking disclosures and twists. ''Don't forget, the army is also on trial since it has become a direct party to the case,'' a Karachi-based political analyst said, requesting anonymity. ''Now they have to provide evidence, not merely statements of witnesses, to prove that the life of the army chief was in danger (on October 12, hence prompting the coup),'' he explained.

''Mere statements will not do to establish a case of criminal conspiracy against a former prime minister. The prosecution will have to come up with solid evidence like the tapes they are talking about,'' a senior lawyer told IPS.

The Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, under which Sharif will be tried, says the trial has to be completed within seven days of the submission of the charge sheet.

Justice Ahmed was appointed to the case following last week's amendment in the Anti-Terrorism Act under which Sharif and his co-accused are being tried. The change in the law raises the level of adjudication from a sessions judge to a high court judge and empowers anti-terrorism courts to try cases of treason, hijacking, kidnapping and criminal conspiracies, as well as waging or attempting to wage war against Pakistan.

According to analysts, the change would lend the proceedings more weight and more credibility.

Sharif was to have been charged last Saturday in a court headed by a lower-ranking sessions judge, but proceedings were delayed by the legal amendment.

The deposed prime minister and his lawyers protested against the change in the law, accusing the government of trying to doctor the verdict through a hand-picked judge. The government denied the charge and said the change would make the trial more transparent.

(Inter Press Service)