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Sharief claims he is innocent

Ousted Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharief again proclaimed his innocence today as he was taken to court for the third time in four days.

''We are innocent. We haven't done anything they allege. We have not done anything illegal or unconstitutional,'' Sharief told reporters as he was brought amid extremely tight security to an anti-terrorism court in Karachi.

''It is a very serious thing they have done,'' he said of his overthrow by the military in a bloodless coup on October 12. ''They are trying to justify that action by dramatising the situation.''

Today's court appearance was to allow a judge to decide whether Sharief should be remanded again to police custody for further questioning.

It was the latest step in a legal process expected to lead to the lodging of formal charges against Sharief and four co-accused.

The five were accused earlier this month of criminal conspiracy, hijacking, kidnapping and attempted murder. No formal charges have been laid.

The allegations stem from an alleged attempt to divert a plane bringing army chief General Pervez Musharraf to Karachi from Sri Lanka last month.

''We will fight this case because we are innocent. The action taken on the 12th (of October) is extra-constitutional,'' said Sharief, who has been held in detention for nearly 40 days.

Sharief's court appearance was delayed for several hours to allow him to meet his wife, mother and two daughters, who travelled from Lahore, capital of Punjab province, last night.

They had not seen Sharief since he was detained.

Security was tighter than when Sharief appeared in court on Friday and Saturday, with police marksmen on rooftops around the court and police in riot gear both outside and inside the court building.

Sharief appeared before an anti-terrorism court which he was set up several years ago in an attempt to try to crack down on terrorism.

UNI

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