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Sharif can return

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has come to the defence of democratic principles once again by ruling that Nawaz Sharif has every right, as a citizen, to return to his country. In doing so, the court rejected the Musharraf regime’s bizarre argument that relations with a friendly country would be damaged if the former Prime Minister and his brother were allowed to return. The argument was that Mr. Sharif had voluntarily gone into exile in 1999 under the terms of a tripa rtite agreement he had worked out with the government of Pakistan and an unnamed third country (widely assumed to be Saudi Arabia). It was further contended that the Sharif brothers were saved from long prison terms only because they had exercised this option. That the government was unable to prove the existence of such an agreement can be dismissed as a technicality. The court has not delivered its detailed judgement but it appears to have recognised that the “damage to international relations” line was a red herring. There is nothing on record to show that Saudi Arabia, or any other country, will be upset if Mr. Sharif comes back to his homeland. More to the point, everyone in Pakistan and outside knows that President Pervez Musharraf and his regime wanted to block the Lahore strongman’s return because they fear the political consequences. In stark contrast to Benazir Bhutto who has been only too amenable to compromises with the military-dominated establishment, Mr. Sharif has shown the gumption to challenge it since his first stint as Prime Minister in the early 1990s.

While Mr. Sharif has indicated that he will campaign for his faction of the Muslim League in the upcoming parliamentary elections, there is uncertainty about whether he will be allowed to do so. The status of the cases against him, which entail a minimum of 10 years in prison, is unclear. According to recent media reports, General Musharraf has indicated that Mr. Sharif would be sent to jail as soon as he returns. However, on the day the Supreme Court delivered its upstanding verdict, the President had called for reconciliation between the political forces and other power centres of the country. That will be the sensible course to follow. Mr. Sharif will certainly petition the judiciary if warrants of arrest are issued; and it is quite likely that the court, re-empowered by the inspiring democratic struggle to restore the Chief Justice to his rightful place, will grant bail. Mr. Sharif — whose track record in office was unsavoury but whose stock has risen significantly after he won his case for return — could become something of a hero if events unfold this way.

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