Thaindian News

Islamabad, June 18 (ANI): Sindh Prosecutor General, Shahadat Awan, has told the Pakistan Supreme Court that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has rightly been convicted in the plane hijacking case.

During the hearing of Sharif’s appeal against his conviction in the October 1999 plane hijacking case, Awan told the apex court that the Sindh High Court was right while convicting the appellant, as there were ample evidence against him.

Sharif’s counsel Khawaja Haris told the five-member bench that he (Nawaz Sharif) had no intentions to divert the aircraft carrying the then Military Chief General Pervez Musharraf, but had to order so in the nation’s interest.

The court, however, was perplexed to note as to why the statements of General Musharraf and other 198 passengers on board the aircraft were not recorded.

Earlier, Haris has told the court that the Pakistan Army had pre-planned the hijacking.

Haris said the then Army chief, General Pervez Musharraf, had hatched plans to topple the Sharif government in advance.

Sharif, as a deposed Prime Minister, was convicted on a charge of hijacking by the Sindh High Court after he ordered that an aircraft bringing the then Chief of Army Staff, General Pervez Musharraf from Sri Lanka, should not be allowed to land in Karachi.

He was subsequently dismissed and given a life sentence which was commuted after he agreed to go into exile in Saudi Arabia.

Sharif was also disqualified from contesting elections because of his conviction in the plane hijacking case, but later the Supreme Court quashed the verdict, and declared him eligible for contesting elections. (ANI)