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Nawaz Sharif sentenced to life in prison |
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April 7, 2000
KARACHI, APR 6 (UNB/AP) - Ousted Premier Nawaz Sharif escaped the death penalty Thursday but was sentenced to life in prison for refusing to allow a passenger plane carrying the army chief to land in Pakistan, a confrontation that occurred as the army toppled Sharif's government.
Sharif was charged with hijacking and terrorism after refusing to allow the passenger aircraft returning Gen. Pervez Musharraf to Pakistan to land in the southern city of Karachi. The standoff in the air over Karachi occurred in the midst of the Oct. 12 coup. The army seized power 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. There were 198 people aboard the aircraft including 60 children from U.S.-run American schools in Pakistan, attended by children of U.S. diplomats stationed here.
His ouster was widely welcomed by Pakistanis who expressed frustration with widespread corruption.
On Thursday Sharif was convicted of hijacking and terrorism but found innocent of attempted murder and kidnapping. Six other men, including Sharif's brother, were acquitted of all charges.
When the verdict and sentence was announced, Sharif's family members, who had been reading the Koran, leapt from their seats shouting: "Long live Nawaz Sharif!" Several women openly wept, while others beat their chests. Sharif looked grim standing to hear the verdict and sentencing.
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