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Government erred in sending Sharif back in exile: Pakistan SC
October 30
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Supreme Court Tuesday observed that the government had apparently violated its ruling by sending back former prime minister Nawaz Sharif when he arrived from exile on Sep 10 and spent several hours at the Islamabad airport.
The court made the observation while adjourning till Nov 8 the hearing of the petitions challenging Sharif's deportation.
A seven-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry heard the petition of Nawaz Sharif and his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), asking the court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the government for violating the court order granting Sharif family the right to return and stay in Pakistan.
The court decided to adjourn the hearing on the request of Attorney General Malik Muhammad Qayyum who asked for more time to discuss the issue at the highest level, the News Network International (NNI) news agency reported.
Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan Tuesday told the Supreme Court that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz personally called him on Sep 6 to arrange a VVIP plane for Jeddah with a double crew.
Chairman of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Zafar A Khan also submitted a statement that Additional Foreign Secretary and Chief of Protocol Muhammad Nazir asked him to arrange a VVIP flight PK 7095 that took Nawaz Sharif into exile again.
The bench observed that the statements given by the foreign secretary, chief of protocol and PIA chairman apparently proved that the Prime Minister had violated the orders of the court.
Counsel for Shaukat Aziz, Wasim Sajjad requested the court that the prime minister might be allowed to submit his detailed reply to explain his position in the light of statements made before the court.
Sharif returned to Pakistan from exile and stayed for several hours at the Islamabad airport before he was deported again on Sept 10.
The Supreme Court in a ruling on Aug 23 had said that Sharif and his family members as citizens of Pakistan had inalienable right to return home.
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