Pakistan court orders arrest of ex-PM's brother

Lahore, Pakistan, Sep 7: A Pakistani court today ordered the arrest of a brother of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is planning to return from exile on Monday vowing to end the rule of President Pervez Musharraf.

Shahbaz Sharif, who is also in exile and also planning to come back with his brother on Monday, was the chief minister of Punjab province in 1999 when army chief Musharraf ousted Nawaz in a coup.

The brothers were sent into exile in 2000 but the Supreme Court ruled last month they both had the right to come back and the government should not try to stop them.

An anti-graft court reopened three corruption cases against Nawaz Sharif last month at the request of the government.

An anti-terrorism court in the city of Lahore ordered the arrest of Shahbaz upon his return in connection with the extra-judicial killing of five Islamic militants in 1998, a lawyer said.

Shahbaz has always rejected the accusation, saying it was politically motivated.

The father of one of the five men killed had petitioned the court, pleading for Shahbaz to be arrested upon his return, a lawyer for the father said.

''The court issued arrest warrants in 2003 and has ordered that these should be implemented when Shahbaz returns,'' said the lawyer, Aftab Bajwa.

The return of the brothers, who are both based in London, is a major challenge to Musharraf, who is preparing to seek re-election by the national and provincial assemblies in coming weeks and to hold a general elections at the end of the year.

The government has not said how it will handle the Sharifs if and when they return, except to say they will be dealt with according to the law.

Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to life in prison on hijacking and corruption charges before he was sent into exile in 2000.

The government has tried to press him to stick to an agreement they say he struck to go into exile and avoid the sentence, but he insists he will return.

Meanwhile, leaders of Sharif's party said authorities had detained about 250 of their activists, most in their power base in Punjab province, in an attempt to harass them and spoil plans to welcome the brothers home.

Police deny rounding up activists.

In the face of mounting challenges, Musharraf is negotiating a power-sharing deal with another former prime minister in exile, Benazir Bhutto, that could see the president stepping down as army chief and paving the way for Bhutto to return home.

Reuters>