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Sharief appears in court

Pakistan's military regime today produced deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharief in an anti-terrorist court in Karachi on charges of a criminal conspiracy against the army chief and coup leader General Pervez Musharraf.

The court remanded Sharief and four co-accused, who face death penalty if found guilty, to police custody until November 22, and asked the police to formally file charges on November 26.

Journalists waiting outside the court building were denied entry by the police, who used batons to beat them back, injuring many of them.

Earlier, about a dozen women supporters of Sharief were detained by the police for staging a noisy protest outside the court.

Those detained included Tehmina Daultana, a minister in the Sharief government, which was overthrown by the army on October 12, hours after the premier had sacked General Musharraf.

The charges of criminal conspiracy against Sharief relate to the army's allegation that the aircraft carrying General Musharraf and 200 others from Colombo to Karachi was denied landing permission at the airport.

The plane, allegedly running dangerously low on fuel, landed after the army seized the airport shortly before the overnight coup.

UNI

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