Amnesty for Sharif aides

ISLAMABAD, Dec 3 (UNI) — Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf has given amnesty to army officers who sided with deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during the tumultuous events on or before October 12

According to a Daily News report, the amnesty was given despite strong evidence that Mr Sharif had penetrated the highest rung of the army leadership to create dissensions within its ranks. The pardon marks a watershed event in Pakistan when officials suspected of involvement in conspiracy against the state are not being court martialled.

In the most recent example perpetrators of the 1995 coup attempt, including a serving Major-General and a Brigadier, had been promptly court martialled and convicted.

The report said even an administrative action had not been initiated against any of the officials. Fifty days have passed since the coup but the principal protagonist behind the October 12 drama, Lt-Gen Khawja Ziauddin, former DG of the ISI, is still on active service.

Interestingly, there is also nothing on ground to suggest that the army is preparing to court martial Brig Javed Malik, former military secretary to Mr Sharif who tried to ensure speedy compliance of Mr Sharif’s orders ranging from the abrupt appointment of General Ziauddin as the new Chief of Army Staff (COAS) to denial of landing to flight PK 805 at the airport.

According to the paper, while a low key pre-mature retirement was very much on the cards for both General Ziauddin Butt and Brigadier Malik, nothing suggests the possibility of their military trial on the charges currently being faced by the deposed Prime Minister and his associates.

General Musharraf in consultation with other military commanders has also ignored reports that at least two senior serving Lieut Generals posted at GHQ had accepted orders issued by Gen Ziauddin as the new COAS to appoint them as Commander, 10 Corps and as the Chief of General Staff.

Besides this, despite mounting evidence that the former Corps Commander (Quetta) Lt Gen retired Tariq Pervez might have played a significant role along with his cousin Raja Nadir Pervez (then a federal minister) in encouraging Mr Sharif to stage an in-house coup in the army, it seems unlikely that the present army leadership would recommend court martial against him.

Charge sheet against Sharif may be delayed

ISLAMABAD, Dec 3 (PTI) — Filing of a charge sheet against deposed Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and six co-accused in the treason and plane hijacking case is expected to be delayed in view of the changes in the Anti-Terrorist Act announced by the military regime last night.

The amendment to the Act widens powers of anti-terrorist courts and would now be headed by a high court judge.

Stating that since a more senior judge would have to be found to hear the case, Chief Prosecutor Raja Qureshi said in Karachi that the charge sheet against the defendants was not likely to be filed tomorrow as planned.

"It depends on appointment of the judge and the federal government is going to consult with the chief justice of the provincial high court," Qureshi said.

The army regime brought an amendment in the controversial Anti-Terrorist Act through an ordinance by which most of the crimes under which Sharif and other co-accused are being tried have been brought within the purview of anti-terrorist courts.

Sharif, his brother Shahbaz and five of his close associates in the previous government face charges of high treason, attempted murder and hijacking for their alleged act of denying permission to a PIA plane for landing at Karachi airport on October 12.

The ordinance empowered the anti-terrorist courts to hear cases of offences of criminal conspiracy, waging war against Pakistan, kidnapping or abduction with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person and hijacking or attempt to hijack.

Sharif and others have been accused of all these offences which were earlier covered under the Pakistan Penal Code and now have been brought in the schedule of the Anti-Terrorist Act, ironically enacted by his government which was overthrown in the coup on October 12.

The army had filed the FIR against Sharif and others on November 10 under various provisions of the PPC and also under one section (Section 7) of the Anti-Terrorist Act with an obvious intention to bring the case within the purview of the anti-terrorist courts.

This point has been challenged by Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (PML) in its petition before the Supreme Court while questioning the army take-over and it, obviously, would have been the main arguing point for Sharif’s defence team to pull it out of the purview of these dreaded courts once the trial begins.