top
International
International
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

Pakistan: Nawaz Detained, Deported to Riyadh

by IOL (reposted)
ISLAMABAD — A defiant military regime on Monday, September 10, arrested and later deported former prime minister Nawaz Sharif upon his arrival from London despite a Supreme Court ruling allowing his return, government and official sources confirmed.
"Yes, I have received the reports that he has been deported to Saudi Arabia, which is a clear violation of the Supreme Court judgment," Kuwaja Asif, a central leader of Nawaz's Pakistan Muslim League party, told IslamOnline.net.

He added that a petition has already been filed in the apex court challenging the illegal detention of Sharif in the plane.

The former premier, who landed at Islamabad airport at 8:50 am aboard a Pakistan International Airlines flight, was not allowed to come out of the plane for one and half hours.

He finally came out and was arrested in the VIP lounge soon afterwards.

Sharif, 57, had pledged his return would provide "a final push to the crumbling dictatorship" of President Pervez Musharraf.

The two-time former prime minister was toppled by General Musharraf in a bloodless coup in 1999.

Sharif was sentenced to life in prison on tax evasion and treason charges but released in December 2000 on condition that he and his family live in exile in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi mediators said the former premier had pledged to stay in exile for ten years while Sharif insists the deal only covered five years.

The Supreme Court ruled last month that Sharif must be allowed to return to his home country.

Drama

A team of government emissaries, sources said, went inside the plane and put two options before Sharif either go back into exile or be jailed.

"Sharif, without any delay or hesitation opted for jail," the sources said.

More
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$230.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network