to move on and forget what has happened before..
It really doesnt matter if Musharraf is not in uniform anymore. Right now NS is not willing to let Musharraf leave at all and just trying to make it so complicated for him that he doesnt find enough to go out and do politics etc. Currently NS’s policy is neither to hang him, nor let him come out.
But the question is, is it hurting govt or helping? Govt is definitely not in the best of relationships with Army. But unfortunately Army is one of the integral component in Pakistani politics even in democracy.
And to deal with other issues, NS does need complete support from army which is never going to happen as long as uncle Musharraf is given tough time.
So why not let him go? Or is NS scared of him going out and reinitate a campaign against NS?
What is your opinion?
For a recap, here is an article published in The Guardian in April 2000:
Sharif sentenced to life for Musharraf plot | World news | The Guardian
Sharif sentenced to life for Musharraf plot
*****Pakistan’s deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif was last night beginning a life sentence after a court convicted him of plotting against the man who subsequently ousted him from power in last October’s military coup, General Pervez Musharraf.The anti-terrorism court found Sharif guilty of hijacking and terrorism, but cleared him of attempted murder and kidnapping. He was spared the death penalty. His brother Shahbaz and five former senior government officials were acquitted. The defendants had denied all charges.
Sharif’s lawyers immediately announced that they would appeal against the verdict, which effectively ends the political career of a man twice elected prime minister, and ensures that the most troublesome opponent of Pakistan’s new military regime remains behind bars.
Last night his wife, Kulsoom Sharif, said he was the victim of a “personal vendetta” by Pakistan’s military leader and accused the judge of delivering a verdict written by someone else.
“My husband is innocent. He has done nothing wrong. This is a politically motivated judgment under pressure. Only my husband was targeted. That is what they wanted. Such a judgment will make the nation hang its head in shame,” she said.
The foreign secretary, Robin Cook, yesterday expressed his concern. “From the outset we have called for a fair and transparent trial. But we are disturbed about a number of aspects,” he said.
“These include changing the terms of the trial to include hijacking in the anti-terrorist laws after the alleged event, and the questionable judicial climate given the forced oaths of allegiances for the senior judiciary.”
Under Pakistani law Sharif, who is 50, will serve 25 years if his life term is not reduced by either the high court or the supreme court.
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“We feel we have a very good case to fight because the others accused were all acquitted on the same charges,” defence lawyer Naveed Malik said.
Prosecutors during the two-month trial had claimed Sharif tried to stop a commercial aircraft with Gen Musharraf on board from landing inPakistan, risking the lives of 198 passengers. The general - whom Sharif had just sacked - only landed after the army took control of Karachi airport, staging a coup hours later on October 12 last year.
Before the hearings - during which a defence lawyer was shot dead - Pakistan’s judges were forced to swear an oath of allegiance to Gen Musharraf. Those who refused, including the chief justice, lost their jobs.
Giving judgment in a packed courtroom in Karachi, Judge Rehmat Hussain Jafri said Sharif had ordered three fire engines to block the runway and had the landing lights switched off.
“If the plane had landed in the presence of these things it would have crashed,” he said. “The effect of the hijack was to create terror and insecurity in people and the passengers on board.”
Several of Sharif’s relatives wept when the verdict was read out. Others began to chant "Nawaz Sharif zindabad " (Long live Nawaz Sharif). The former prime minister looked grim.
“We are just devastated,” Saadia Abbasi, the sister of one of the defendants, said. “This is a ridiculous judgment. The evidence is biased.”
The prosecution yesterday announced they would appeal against Sharif’s sentence and demand the death penalty - an option which Pakistan’s military rulers were well aware would have provoked international outrage. Twenty-one years ago, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan’s first elected prime minister, was executed by the military after a coup.
Speaking outside court, Javed Jabbar, Gen Musharraf’s national adviser, said: “We want Nawaz Sharif to be subject to the same law he formulated and promulgated”, a reference to the draconian anti-terrorism law the prime minister introduced after his election victory in 1997.
The court also fined Sharif 3m rupees (£40,000), including 10,000 rupees compensation to each of the passengers on board the Pakistan International Airlines flight from Colombo in Sri Lanka to Karachi - Gen Musharraf among them.
The judge also confiscated all Sharif’s property. Technically he owns none - the Sharif family estate in Lahore is not registered in his name. “He does not even have a bank account in his name,” a relative said.
Yesterday’s verdict consolidates Gen Musharraf’s position as chief executive of the world’s most precarious nuclear nation and leaves the country’s democratic parties headless and in disarray.
While loyalists from Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League insist he will continue to lead the party from prison, others will attempt to find a new leader.
The verdict provoked little reaction on the streets of Pakistan. Public demonstrations were banned last month by Gen Musharraf in advance of a brief visit from President Clinton, who had urged the military regime to show clemency towards its deposed ruler.
Sharif’s daughter Mariam said her father would become an even greater leader from jail.
“We were born in Pakistan and we will die in Pakistan,” she declared. Sharif still faces two outstanding corruption charges and investigators are preparing 16 other cases against him.
**********Road to conviction
October 8 1999 Relations worsen between Pakistan’s prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, and his army generals. Three resign, criticising the government for the economic crisis and religious killings
October 12 Sharif sacks his army chief of staff, Gen Pervez Musharraf, and allegedly prevents the plane carrying the general back from Sri Lanka from landing in Pakistan. Musharraf stages military coup, deposing Sharif
October 28 Pakistan army throws open the Sharifs’ palatial family home near Lahore - with its private zoo and marble-clad villas - in an attempt to discredit Sharif
January 20 2000 Sharif formally charged with terrorism, hijacking and conspiracy to murder, offences which carry the death penalty
January 26 Sharif trial opens in Islamabad
February 26 In an interview smuggled out of his cell, Sharif claims the West acquiesced in the dictatorial destruction of democracy
March 10 Three gunmen shoot dead Sharif’s lawyer, Iqbal Raad, in his Karachi office
April 6 Sharif sentenced to life after being found guilty of terrorism and hijacking. Acquitted of conspiracy to murder*************
