ISLAMABAD, 8 April 2004 — The Supreme Court of Pakistan yesterday allowed former Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif to return home.
A three-judge bench of the top court headed by Chief Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui ruled that Shahbaz was “at liberty to come back subject to the law of the country,” a court official said.
Shahbaz, brother of former Premier Nawaz Sharif, has been in exile since Nawaz Sharif’s ouster in a bloodless coup in October 1999.
A former chief minister of politically important Punjab province, Shahbaz was a prime ministerial candidate in absentia in October 2002 general elections for the opposition party his brother heads, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
A murder case is pending against him in his hometown Lahore over extrajudicial killings by police during his two-year rule of Punjab.
Police say the court has issued a warrant for arrest against Shahbaz in the case.
A relative of one of the victims had complained to the police that Shahbaz, as chief minister of Punjab province of which Lahore is the capital, allegedly ordered the killings, which were then covered up by making it appear they had occurred during a gunbattle with police.
Last year, the High Court in Lahore ordered Sharif’s capture for failing to attend the trial.
PML spokesman Siddiqul Farooq said: “We are happy that Shahbaz Sharif as a citizen has been given justice by the Supreme Court. The court has upheld the values of justice,” he said.
“This judgment will serve the cause of restoring democracy in the country,” he added.
Farooq said Shahbaz would “surely” return to Pakistan and face whatever charges were against him, but no date had yet been set. It was not clear when or if Shahbaz will return. He will likely face arrest upon his arrival.
