Pakistan Ex-Premier Charged

Pakistan's new military government on Thursday accused the country's deposed prime minister and seven others of treason and kidnapping, charges that could lead to life in prison or the death penalty.

A special anti-terrorist court will hear the charges against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the others, officials said. Pakistan's military rulers filed the charges with police nearly one month after overthrowing Sharif in a swift and bloodless coup.

Sharif also was charged with assembling people with the purpose of committing murder and physical endangerment. If convicted on these charges, he could face lesser prison terms.

The charges stem from an Oct. 12 episode in which a passenger airplane carrying Army Chief Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf from Sri Lanka to Pakistan was refused landing rights in the southern port city of Karachi.

Also on board the passenger airliner were crew members and 200 passengers, including more than 40 students from U.S.-operated international schools that are attended by children of U.S. diplomats in Pakistan.

Eventually the aircraft landed, but with barely 10 minutes of fuel remaining, according to Musharraf and aviation officials.

A disgruntled army overthrew Sharif's unpopular government that same day, after Sharif fired Musharraf and tried to induct a junior general as the new military chief.

Sharif has been in army custody since the coup.

Human rights groups in Pakistan have criticized the army for holding Sharif without bringing charges against him. He also has been denied access to his family and legal counsel. There was no immediate comment from his family about the charges.

There were reports in English-language newspapers Thursday that he spoke to his family by telephone for 15 minutes Wednesday as a result of a written request to the army from his wife.

The charges have gone through the first stage of Pakistan's legal system, in which a complaint is filed at the nearest police station to where the crime was allegedly committed.

The charges were filed at the Karachi Airport police station, police said. The formal charges will be filed in court following a police investigation.

Treason and kidnapping are both crimes considered acts of terrorism, so the case will be heard in Pakistan's special anti-terrorist courts, set up by Sharif. These courts were created to provide so-called quick justice and avoid the delays in the regular court system, in which cases can take years to be heard.

Former Religious Affairs Minister Zafar-ul Haq, who served in the deposed premier's government said he and his colleagues do not expect Sharif to get a fair trial.

Â"We feel that even the trial would not be fair under the circumstances,Â" he said. Â"It would be a travesty of justice.Â"

A date for the trial has not yet been announced.

In Sharif's hometown of Lahore, the ancient Punjab provincial capital, one stor owner said he had little sympathy for the former prime minister.

Â"He is accused of trying to kill more than 200 passengers and the army chief,Â" said Shafiq Ahmed. Â"If he has done this thing, then he should get the maximum punishment.Â"

The charges were filed by Lieut. Col. Attiq Uzaman Kiyani, on behalf of the new army government.

The others charged include: Sharif's former adviser on affairs in the southern province of Sindh, Ghaus Ali Shah; the former director of Pakistan International Airlines, Shahid Haqqan Abbasi; former Sindh police Inspector General Rana Maqbool; the former director general of Pakistan Civil Aviation, Aminuddin Chaudhry; the former deputy inspectors of police from Karachi and Sukkur, both located in Sindh province; and a senior police official in Nawabshah, in the province's interior.

Shah, Abbasi and Maqbool are in army custody. The whereabouts of the others accused were not immediately known.

Shah had been ruling Sindh province after Sharif dismissed the government there, saying it had failed to curb a growing problem of lawlessness.

In an earlier interview with the state-run news agency, Musharraf said the pilot of the Pakistan International Airlines plane approached the Karachi airport seeking permission to land. Permission was denied.

The pilot circled the airport awaiting instructions, he said. Fuel ran perilously low and the aircraft was diverted to Nawabshah, more than 200 miles northeast of Karachi.

But before the plane reached Nawabshah, the army gained full control of the country and ordered the aircraft to land in Karachi.

Musharraf accused Sharif of attempting to kill him and endangering the lives of the more than 200 passenger and crew on board.