World | Pakistan
Qayyum: Sharif's sentence can be restored
Attorney General of Pakistan Malik Mohammad Qayyum said the government will take action in accordance with the law if Nawaz Sharif returns to the country.
- By Wajid Ali Wajidm, Correspondent
- Published: 23:35 September 1, 2007
Islamabad: Attorney General of Pakistan Malik Mohammad Qayyum said the government will take action in accordance with the law if Nawaz Sharif returns to the country.
"Let Nawaz Sharif return to the country. The law is there and the government will act in keeping with the law. Nawaz Sharif's decision to return to Pakistan is his personal decision and he will be responsible for it," the attorney general told journalists yesterday.
In reply to a question about his meeting with the US political counsellor, Malik Qayyum said that he discussed with him the forthcoming general elections and legal aspects related to Sharif's return to the country.
He also said President Pervez Musharraf can restore the sentence on the proposal of the prime minister.
"This should be taken into account while talking about the restoration of sentences to the Sharifs that the president "remitted" their sentences and they were not pardoned, so these sentences can be restored," the attorney general added.
'Supra-constitutional'
He was of the view that the first presidential election of General Musharraf was "supra-constitutional" but the parliament and the Supreme Court have validated it. "The President was elected constitutionally only for one term and he can again take part in the elections in uniform," he opined. "The Supreme Court had allowed the president to contest the election earlier and it would also grant him permission the second time," Qayyum added.
Qayyum said that the Federal Sharia Court (FSC) appeals go to high courts, therefore, there is no need of FSC. Its powers should be shifted to high courts, he added. "I am personally opposed to all accountability courts and these should be abolished," he said.
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Durrani has said that Sharif is not eligible to take part in the forthcoming polls as he has been sentenced by a court of law.
"As per Article 190 of the Constitution, Sharif could not leave the country. But he left the country cheerfully in violation of the law. The government is considering all legal options if the Sharif family returns in breach of their oath, and appropriate action in this regard would be taken," said the minister.
Elahi finds no problem with ex-PM's return
The return of the Sharif brothers will not create any problems as they had done no "wonders" which the government need worry about, said Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi here yesterday. He said the Sharif brothers had left the country on a commitment and they would break it if they returned against the schedule.
"Their [Sharifs'] announcement to return home had annoyed the Saudi Arabian government which had guaranteed that the Sharifs will honour the commitment," Elahi said.
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