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Sharief taken to court again

Ousted Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharief, his brother and five others were taken to court today and officials said they may be charged with criminal conspiracy, hijacking, kidnapping and attempted murder.

The court officials said anti-terrorism court judge Rehmat Hussain Jafri was also likely to set a date for the start of their trial, which could lead to a death penalty for a conviction for hijacking.

Witnesses said the accused were brought to the court in armoured vehicles amid tight security. The police also pushed back a protest staged by women belonging to Sharief's Pakistan Muslim League party.

In addition to Sharief, who was overthrown in a bloodless coup last month, his brother Shahbaz Sharief, the former chief minister of Punjab province, was also taken to court.

The allegations against them stem from an alleged attempt on October 12 to divert a plane bringing army chief General Pervez Musharraf to Karachi from Sri Lanka. Hours later, Musharraf overthrew Sharief.

The others are Saifur Rehman, the anti-corruption czar in Sharief's government, and Sharief's former principal secretary Saeed Mehdi. They first appeared in court yesterday along with Shahbaz Sharief.

The other three are former Sharief advisor Ghous Ali Shah, former Pakistan International Airlines chairman Shahid Khakan Abbasi and former Sindh province police chief Rana Maqbool. Former civil aviation authority chief Aminullah Chaudhry was also originally accused last week along with Nawaz Sharief, but officials say he has volunteered to testify against Sharief and no longer faced charges.

Reuters

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