PAKISTAN: Pakistan's Supreme Court resumes hearing petition by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to end his exile

Pakistan's Supreme Court resumes hearing a petition by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who is seeking to return home after seven years in exile since he was ousted in a military coup. Exiled Nawaz Sharif is one of two former prime ministers hoping on Thursday (August 16) to come back home and take part in elections that beleaguered military ruler Pervez Musharraf has promised will be free and fair. President Musharraf overthrew Sharif in 1999 and he was sentenced to life in prison on various charges. Sharif and his family later went to Saudi Arabia after the government says he agreed to 10 years of exile. But Sharif denies any such deal and has filed a petition in the top court seeking to clear the way for the return of himself and his family. The government's top lawyer told the court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, Sharif had agreed to a deal and documents spelling out its terms would be presented at the next hearing on August 23. "Arguments had to be held today, but lawyers representing the government - the attorney general and others - said they needed more time because they had to consult a foreign government which had been involved in the issue" Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, chairman of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League told reporters after the hearing. He said he was critical of the government's request for a delay. Attorney General Malik Abdul Qayyum told reporters inside the court the government attorneys wanted to bring before the court an understanding which would show under what circumstances Sharif and his family went abroad. In an indication of the importance of the case, a two-member bench of the court that presided over the opening of the case last week was expanded to include five judges. Sharif still faces corruption charges in Pakistan, as does another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, who left the country nearly a decade ago but also vowed to return soon. Musharraf has held power-sharing talks with Bhutto but nevertheless said last week he wanted both Sharif and Bhutto to stay out of the country in the run-up to the elections. However, Sharif's followers are optimistic. "We are 100 percent sure that Nawaz Sharif shall join the people of Pakistan in the struggle for restoration of democracy," said Raja Zafar-Ul-Haq. In coming weeks Musharraf is expected to seek re-election by the national and provincial assemblies before they are dissolved to pave the way for the general election. Despite his exile -- mostly in Saudi Arabia but more recently in London -- Sharif still leads the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), one of the country's major opposition parties. His brother, Shahbaz Sharif, also a top PML leader, tried to came back to Pakistan in May 2004 but was sent back to Saudi Arabia shortly after arriving on a flight to the city of Lahore.

ITN Source | August 16, 2007

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