Ex-Pakistani Leader Sharif Guilty, Gets Life
Six months after the army toppled his government, Nawaz Sharif was sentenced today to life in prison on charges that he refused to let a passenger plane land in Pakistan, endangering the 198 people on board.
Judge Rehmetullah Jaffri found the former prime minister guilty of hijacking and terrorism. He was acquitted of attempted murder and kidnapping.
Six other men, including Sharif’s brother, who were also charged were acquitted of all charges. Sharif is expected to appeal.
Sharif was charged with hijacking after refusing to allow the plane returning Gen. Pervez Musharraf to Pakistan to land in the southern city of Karachi. The standoff in the air occurred in the midst of an Oct. 12 coup that brought Musharraf to power. The army seized control after Sharif dismissed Musharraf and replaced him with a junior general.
The plane was allowed to land after the army gained control, but by then the aircraft had barely seven minutes of fuel remaining. Those on board included 60 children from U.S.-run schools in Pakistan, which are attended by children of U.S. diplomats stationed here.
The life sentence was the lesser penalty Sharif faced. The maximum penalty for hijacking is death under Pakistani law.
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