'Sharif can be arrested on return'

Islamabad, Aug 25: Pakistan's Attorney-General Malik Mohammad Qayyum said that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif could be arrested on return to the country from the seven-year exile.

"The remission in sentence was conditional on Nawaz Sharif's adherence to the exile agreement, and that President Pervez Musharraf might withdraw the same on an advice of the Prime Minister if the other side is not keeping its commitment," Dawn newspaper quoted Mr Qayyum as saying.

Sharif had been handed down life imprisonment under treason charges but Pervez Musharraf, who ousted him in a coup had granted him remission in sentence after royal Saudi government brokered a deal with him for release of the former premier, which sent him into exile for ten years.

However, former president Rafiq Tarar, who is a former judge of Supreme Court, has rejected this argument and said that the president has no power to take back the concession granted to Mr Sharif.

Mr Tarar said if Gen Musharraf took such a step, the Supreme Court could declare it ''illegal and unconstitutional.'' The attorney-general said he had only explained the constitutional position on the issue, and it did not mean that the government had decided to withdraw the concession.

He said that if the Sharifs claimed there was no agreement at all, the government would also be justified in going back to the pre-agreement position. Implying Mr Sharif would have to serve the rest of the term in prison.

Mr Qayyum, also a retired judge, said if the Sharifs claimed that the remission was not conditional, then they would have to explain how they were able to go abroad.

Asked if there was any precedent for the withdrawal of remission, the attorney-general said there was no need for a precedent.

This must be a unique case. We have to apply well-established legal principles.

When asked if the Supreme Court was competent to look into the legality of the use of powers by the president in withdrawing remission granted to a person, Malik Qayyum said in the prevailing situation it can take up any matter.

The court can always assume jurisdiction citing its inherent powers.

But, Mr Tarar dismissed the arguments and said the agreement referred to by the attorney-general had been rejected by the apex court.

Mr Tarar accused the president's advisers of giving him wrong advice to block the Sharifs' return to Pakistan. ''They will not be successful in their designs,'' he asserted.

The former president, who was certain about Mr Sharif and his family's return to Pakistan, said that the Supreme Court had the powers to see if the president had rightly used his powers on any particular issue. Everything is amenable to courts, especially when fundamental rights of someone are at risk.

He said if Gen Musharraf withdrew the remission it would violate the fundamental rights of the Sharifs, and the Supreme Court would be justified in taking cognizance of the matter.

UNI