Sharif's exile breaks SC ruling: US

Washington, Sep 11: The Bush Administration has acknowledged that deportation of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was contrary to a recent ruling of the country's Supreme Court.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack who made this observation after yesterday's development in Pakistan, however, declined to elaborate his comment, saying the ''matter is still under legal consideration.'' Pakistan deported former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia yesterday within hours after he returned home from forced exile to challenge President Pervez Musharraf in the upcoming elections.

Sharif, 57, decided to come back and resume active politics following the Supreme Court ruling last month that Nawaz Sharif had an ''inalienable right'' to return to Pakistan. The former Pakistani prime minister was ousted by General Musharraf in a coup in 1999 and was forced into exile.

In an attempt to avoid taking sides in Pakistan's domestic politics, McCormack said, ''Now I would note only as a factual matter that the Supreme Court, the Pakistani Supreme Court has made a judgment about this issue and that the decision to deport Mr Sharif runs contrary to that.'' He, however, hastened to add,''it is still a pending legal matter in Pakistan, so we're not going to have anything to say about it.

But this is wholly and entirely a Pakistani issue to resolve.

''Our views of the wider issue is that we believe elections (in Pakistan) should proceed in a free fair and transparent manner, and that all involved in this political transition should turn away from violence and adhere to the rule of law as well as the constitution,'' the State Department spokesman said.

US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte is due in Islamabad today after a visit to Afghanistan.

McCormack, in reply to a question about Negroponte's agenda during his meeting with General Musharraf and other leaders in Islamabad, said ''He is sure Pakistani politics would come up and that Negroponte will be ready to engage on those issues.'' The Department said last week that Negroponte would discuss counter-terrorism and other issues with President Musharraf and other officials in a continuation of the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue.

In reply to another question McCormack said, ''As a matter of fact, it's coincidence that the timing of this particular strategic dialogue takes place at -- right now.

''Ambassador Negroponte, our Deputy Secretary, and Richard Boucher (Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia) are going to be in Pakistan for the strategic dialogue with their Pakistani counterparts. This is something that had been scheduled prior to the political calendar, shall we say, that's unfolding now in Pakistan.''

UNI