'Response' likely if Sharif gets harsh sentence

By Amit Baruah

ISLAMABAD, APRIL 2. The evidence produced by the military Government against the ousted Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif, in the plane hijacking case does not warrant his conviction, a leading PML(N) leader, Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, said today.

Talking to this correspondent, Mr. Haq, who is one of the PML(N) vice-presidents, said there would be a ``response'' if Mr. Sharif received a harsh sentence from the anti-terrorism court (ATC) of Mr. Rehmat Hussain Jaffri. The trial court's verdict is expected on April 6.

Asked if the party itself would launch an agitation against any sentence against Mr. Sharif, the PML(N) vice-president replied in the negative. ``An agitation on such issues is always spontaneous.''

To a question if the PML(N) would split given the distaste a section of the party has for Mr. Nawaz Sharif and his family, Mr. Haq seemed to have a different view. He said the party could split only if the military authorities tried to weaken it. In such an event, he said there could be a ``break'' in the party. According to him, the differences in the party were only those of ``methodology''.

Mr. Haq feared that the military Government might take some pre- emptive steps to prevent party members and leaders turning up in large numbers in Karachi on April 6 at the ATC.

Asked if the recent ban on political rallies was related to a possible conviction of the former Prime Minister, he said the ban was imposed in response to a convention that the PML(N) wanted to hold in Lahore on March 23. The ban, in his view, was imposed only to prevent this rally.

Mr. Haq stated that not only was the party not permitted to hold its rally, even an indoor meeting was scuttled. ``The chairs were taken away and a case was registered by the police,'' he said.

In his view, the trial of Mr. Sharif had not been a fair one. ``There were so many difficulties. Even I was not allowed to confer with the former Prime Minister in private. There were two people there always.''

Mr. Sharif's lawyers were forced to boycott the proceedings because they were not being allowed to function. It was strange that during the proceedings while the accused sat at the back, the lawyers argued up front - actually there was no communication between the lawyers and their client. Also, there was no precedent to appeal against any interim orders pronounced by the trial judge.

Asked how Mr. Sharif's family had taken the pressure, he said initially they faced tough times. But now they had ``picked up courage'', Mr. Haq, a former Minister for Religious Affairs and PML(N) leader in the suspended Senate, stated.

Asked if Mr. Sharif would nominate a ``working president'' for the party in the event of his being sentenced (though in jail he remains the party president), Mr. Haq said the president had the discretion to nominate a ``working president'' from among the vice-presidents. However, this would not alter in any way (if the former Prime Minister chose to use his discretion) Mr. Sharif's position and status as PML(N) president.

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Section  : International
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