Real elected leader of Pakistan returns. Prompts government crackdown by tinpot dictator Musharraf

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2165830,00.html

· Intelligence officials take up positions at airport
· Political rallies banned and hundreds arrested

Declan Walsh in Islamabad
Monday September 10, 2007
The Guardian

Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif left London last night on course for a stormy showdown with President Pervez Musharraf in a defiant bid to end his seven-year exile.

Mr Sharif, who was ousted in a 1999 military coup, faces the prospect of arrest or deportation when he arrives at Islamabad airport on a scheduled flight from London at 11.45am (7.45am BST) today.

The government has banned political rallies, arrested hundreds of opposition officials and declared an airport "terror alert" in an effort to scotch plans by Sharif supporters for a rousing welcome.

Local media reported that intelligence officials had taken up positions throughout the airport, where mobile phone jamming devices and additional surveillance cameras had been installed.

[Kagemusha]

1. Who elected Sharif, Hero of Democracy here?

I'm no Musharraf fan but, I don't want to develop some kind of blind spot for Sharif or Bhutto either here.

[Disturbed]

2. The guy in charge now is a General who over threw the

elected Pres. The guy that the US Govt. sends $Billions to.

[NNN0LHI]

3. He held majorities in both houses of the Pakistani parliament before the military coup

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/472836.stm

Before his dramatic overthrow in a military coup in 1999, Mr Sharif appeared to dominate the political landscape.

He had convincing majorities in both houses of parliament, and exerted a powerful hold over all the country's major institutions - apart from the army.

But when the army seized power, Mr Sharif was arrested, and eventually sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of hijacking and terrorism.

He was also convicted of corruption and banned for life from political activities.

[Kagemusha]

5. So he wasn't corrupt, you're saying?

I'd like to know if that's what you're saying. I really would.

It won't change my low opinion of Musharraf either way, because as I said in the first place - I somehow doubt you believed me, though it is the literal truth - I am not a fan of Musharraf.

[NNN0LHI]

6. Corrupt? I didn't realize we were discussing corruption

I think all politicians are corrupt. But being a dictator takes things a step or two above being corrupt in my estimation.

Don

[stillcool]

4. This from Sept 1...

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39112
PAKISTAN: Taliban Taunt Musharraf by Detaining His Soldiers
By Ashfaq Yusufzai

PESHAWAR, Sep 1 (IPS)
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On Thursday, the Taliban audaciously abducted more than 150 soldiers in the volatile South Waziristan Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATAs). And on Friday another 30 soldiers who were members of a convoy, were taken prisoner, a local journalist from Wana, South Waziristan, told IPS.
"You don’t see any law enforcer in FATA, especially after sunset. The militants hold the real authority," said Zulfiqar Ali, who reports from the area and knows it well. He speculated that the fact that the militants could seize and hold such a large number of soldiers indicated their size and strength and said it was possible that the government had already lost control of the tribal areas.
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On Aug.9 militants abducted 16 security personnel from Bannu. Three days later, they beheaded one of the hostages and released a video-tape of the barbaric killing that was carried out by a child fighter, in a blatant show of disregard for human rights laws that prohibit the enlisting of child soldiers.

"Release of the horrible video footage of the abducted soldiers is meant to compel law enforcers to stay away from their fight with Musharraf," said Dr Said Alam Mahsud, an intellectual based in South Waziristan.

At the start of the U.S.-led war on terrorism in early 2002 Musharraf enjoyed support in the FATA. But this faded fast because of heavy casualties suffered by the local population in aerial attacks launched by the U.S. army from across the border in Afghanistan, and backed by the Pakistan army, said Rakhshanda Naz, resident director of the Aurat Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

She said that frightened locals have turned against the army since the attacks had targeted innocent women and children. U.S. forces claim that the Taliban, following their ouster from power in Kabul late 2001, had found shelter among pro-Taliban groups in the FATA and NWFP.
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The situation in the border areas seems to be tilting against Musharraf. "The endless string of suicide bombings on the army, policemen and pro-Musharraf politicians is a clear indication that he is losing control," Parveen Begum of the NGO AWAZ told IPS. She says that the reported beheadings of alleged U.S. spies by militants is part of the anti-Musharraf campaign.

....and this from ironically enough..December 2000...

Profile: Nawaz Sharif
Monday, 11 December, 2000, 13:08 GMT
He first became prime minister in 1990, but was dismissed in 1993, clearing the way for the opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, to form a government.
After becoming prime minister again in 1997 with a comfortable majority, Mr Sharif brought about a series of changes which were seen as part of an attempt to stifle any institutional opposition.
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Army tanks
Tension with the army heightened after Kashmir
A power struggle with the judiciary also gripped the country after Mr Sharif fell out with the then Chief Justice, Sajjad Ali Shah.
Mr Sharif faced possible disqualification from office after charges of contempt of court were brought against him, but these were eventually dismissed.

In 1998, he was confronted by another stand-off after a former army head said the army should formally have a say in the running of the government.
Tensions with the army resurfaced in 1999 when the prime minister used his influence to withdraw Pakistani-backed forces from the Indian side of the Line of Control in Kashmir in 1999.
The army has always been a highly powerful institution in Pakistan.
Mr Sharif's overthrow by General Musharraf in a bloodless coup showed how dangerous it was for any politician to attempt to curtail its influence.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/472836.stm