Nawaz Sharif fights deportation

ISLAMABAD – Lawyers for former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif filed a petition in the Supreme Court yesterday challenging his deportation to Saudi Arabia, setting up another confrontation between the judiciary and Pakistan’s military ruler as he battles to hold onto power.

President General Pervez Musharraf sent Sharif, the premier he ousted in a 1999 coup, back into exile on Monday after the opposition leader landed on a flight from London. Sharif, who had vowed to return home to campaign against Musharraf, was also charged with corruption during his four-hour stay in the country.Sharif’s lawyers on Monday petitioned the Supreme Court to start proceedings against the government for contempt in relation to the deportation.Last month, the court ruled that Sharif had an ‘inalienable right’ to return home and that authorities should not obstruct him.”We will fight this battle in the court of law,” Sharif’s nephew, Hamza Sharif, told reporters on the steps of the Supreme Court after the petition was filed.”We are fully confident that we will win, God willing.”In two towns in eastern Pakistan, several hundred people protested the deportation and the government of Musharraf, who has allied himself closely with the United States since the September 11, 2001, attacks.About 200 members of Sharif’s party and other opposition groups blocked traffic on a road in Lahore, chanting slogans including, ‘America has a dog in uniform’, a reference to Musharraf.The Supreme Court has emerged as a check on Musharraf’s dominance since his failed attempt to fire the country’s top judge earlier this year that sparked a nationwide protest movement.It is already hearing petitions challenging Musharraf’s holding of the post of army chief and president simultaneously and his eligibility to contest upcoming presidential elections.Judges are also pressing the government to provide information about the fate of hundreds of people allegedly held by Pakistan’s shadowy intelligence agencies on accusations of terrorism and anti-government activities.Analysts say Monday’s decision to expel Sharif will deepen Musharraf’s unpopularity in Pakistan and reinforce impressions that he is an authoritarian leader.It could also undermine the legitimacy of legislative elections due by January 2008.Nampa-APSharif, who had vowed to return home to campaign against Musharraf, was also charged with corruption during his four-hour stay in the country.Sharif’s lawyers on Monday petitioned the Supreme Court to start proceedings against the government for contempt in relation to the deportation.Last month, the court ruled that Sharif had an ‘inalienable right’ to return home and that authorities should not obstruct him.”We will fight this battle in the court of law,” Sharif’s nephew, Hamza Sharif, told reporters on the steps of the Supreme Court after the petition was filed.”We are fully confident that we will win, God willing.”In two towns in eastern Pakistan, several hundred people protested the deportation and the government of Musharraf, who has allied himself closely with the United States since the September 11, 2001, attacks.About 200 members of Sharif’s party and other opposition groups blocked traffic on a road in Lahore, chanting slogans including, ‘America has a dog in uniform’, a reference to Musharraf.The Supreme Court has emerged as a check on Musharraf’s dominance since his failed attempt to fire the country’s top judge earlier this year that sparked a nationwide protest movement.It is already hearing petitions challenging Musharraf’s holding of the post of army chief and president simultaneously and his eligibility to contest upcoming presidential elections.Judges are also pressing the government to provide information about the fate of hundreds of people allegedly held by Pakistan’s shadowy intelligence agencies on accusations of terrorism and anti-government activities.Analysts say Monday’s decision to expel Sharif will deepen Musharraf’s unpopularity in Pakistan and reinforce impressions that he is an authoritarian leader.It could also undermine the legitimacy of legislative elections due by January 2008.Nampa-AP