FEATURE
FEATURES & ARTICLES
Shelina Begum
3/10/2007
Former Pakistan Prime Minister's UK lawyer has described the shocking moment when Nawaz Sharif was forcefully deported to Saudi Arabia after he landed at Islamabad airport.
Immigration expert Amjad Malik from Rochdale accompanied the former deposed PM when he flew back to the Pakistan capital to restart an election campaign and over throw Musharraf and his administration.
Instead Mr Sharif was taken away by Pakistan's security officials and put on a plane to Saudi Arabia.
Mr Malik says the former PM's forced deportation out of Pakistan was illegal as they had permission from the Supreme Court of Pakistan for Mr Sharif to enter the country.
Mr Malik says he was also unable to represent his client after being hurled away from him by a group of security men and was not given any information about Mr Sharif's whereabouts and only found out later that evening after switching on the news in his hotel room.
Said Mr Malik: "The former premier of Pakistan returned after seven years of exile on a symbolic PIA flight from Heathrow to Islamabad. However he was shocked along with his fellow travellers that the so called mightiest and the most powerful man in Pakistan (General Musharraf) refused his entry to the country and his forced deportation vanished all the hopes of reviving democracy and the possible exit of the military from current political system.
"I was one of the unfortunate lawyers who was asked to assist Mr Sharif on that plane as well as at the airport lounge to make sure he entered the country peacefully.
"To me this historic flight carried its passengers by luck like a lottery ticket as no one knew which plane Mr Sharif was catching.
"But all our efforts were unfruitful when this peaceful visit was halted by a quick army style operation."
Mr Malik said as soon as the plane landed at Islamabad, immigration officials made their way into the plane where they questioned Mr Sharif and asked him to hand over his passport.
Mr Malik told them that they would only show their passports at the immigration desk inside the airport.
When they left the plane and proceeded into the airport lounge, security officials and the Pakistan media surrounded Mr Sharif and his team.
Said Mr Malik: "It was chaotic. The officials at the airport would not tell us what they wanted to do. Before we set off we thought the worst case scenario would be that Mr Sharif would be arrested. We were prepared for that and had our paperwork ready to represent Mr Sharif at the Supreme Court if it came to that.
"We waited in the lounge for three hours not knowing what was happening.
"In the end we were rushed by security officials who took Mr Sharif without telling us anything.
"When I tried to intervene I was grabbed and pushed away.
"Me and the rest of his team had no choice but to leave the airport and go to our hotels.
"I started arrangements for my flight back as soon as I could as I did not feel safe being in the country.
"I was also trying to get information about my client but was not able to do so as people were not co-operative.
"Instead I learned on the news that evening that he had been deported back to Saudi Arabia.
"This trip has left me with no faith in Pakistan’s law and order. This man was twice PM and he was treated like a common thief. People forget that Mr Sharif made Pakistan the seventh state that possesses nuclear arsenal and is one of the most popular leaders in Pakistan.
"We had a court order that stated Mr Sharif should be allowed back into the country.
"But the court order was violated as General Musharraf's regime knows no concept of rule of law and totally disregarded this by deporting him and not even allowing him to enter the country."
Mr Malik who has now returned to Rochdale is still working to bring Mr Sharif back to Pakistan.
He said: "This is not over. I am still in contact with Mr Sharif and his brother and we will work something out."
3/10/2007
Former Pakistan Prime Minister's UK lawyer has described the shocking moment when Nawaz Sharif was forcefully deported to Saudi Arabia after he landed at Islamabad airport.
Immigration expert Amjad Malik from Rochdale accompanied the former deposed PM when he flew back to the Pakistan capital to restart an election campaign and over throw Musharraf and his administration.
Instead Mr Sharif was taken away by Pakistan's security officials and put on a plane to Saudi Arabia.
Mr Malik says the former PM's forced deportation out of Pakistan was illegal as they had permission from the Supreme Court of Pakistan for Mr Sharif to enter the country.
Mr Malik says he was also unable to represent his client after being hurled away from him by a group of security men and was not given any information about Mr Sharif's whereabouts and only found out later that evening after switching on the news in his hotel room.
Said Mr Malik: "The former premier of Pakistan returned after seven years of exile on a symbolic PIA flight from Heathrow to Islamabad. However he was shocked along with his fellow travellers that the so called mightiest and the most powerful man in Pakistan (General Musharraf) refused his entry to the country and his forced deportation vanished all the hopes of reviving democracy and the possible exit of the military from current political system.
"I was one of the unfortunate lawyers who was asked to assist Mr Sharif on that plane as well as at the airport lounge to make sure he entered the country peacefully.
"To me this historic flight carried its passengers by luck like a lottery ticket as no one knew which plane Mr Sharif was catching.
"But all our efforts were unfruitful when this peaceful visit was halted by a quick army style operation."
Mr Malik said as soon as the plane landed at Islamabad, immigration officials made their way into the plane where they questioned Mr Sharif and asked him to hand over his passport.
Mr Malik told them that they would only show their passports at the immigration desk inside the airport.
When they left the plane and proceeded into the airport lounge, security officials and the Pakistan media surrounded Mr Sharif and his team.
Said Mr Malik: "It was chaotic. The officials at the airport would not tell us what they wanted to do. Before we set off we thought the worst case scenario would be that Mr Sharif would be arrested. We were prepared for that and had our paperwork ready to represent Mr Sharif at the Supreme Court if it came to that.
"We waited in the lounge for three hours not knowing what was happening.
"In the end we were rushed by security officials who took Mr Sharif without telling us anything.
"When I tried to intervene I was grabbed and pushed away.
"Me and the rest of his team had no choice but to leave the airport and go to our hotels.
"I started arrangements for my flight back as soon as I could as I did not feel safe being in the country.
"I was also trying to get information about my client but was not able to do so as people were not co-operative.
"Instead I learned on the news that evening that he had been deported back to Saudi Arabia.
"This trip has left me with no faith in Pakistan’s law and order. This man was twice PM and he was treated like a common thief. People forget that Mr Sharif made Pakistan the seventh state that possesses nuclear arsenal and is one of the most popular leaders in Pakistan.
"We had a court order that stated Mr Sharif should be allowed back into the country.
"But the court order was violated as General Musharraf's regime knows no concept of rule of law and totally disregarded this by deporting him and not even allowing him to enter the country."
Mr Malik who has now returned to Rochdale is still working to bring Mr Sharif back to Pakistan.
He said: "This is not over. I am still in contact with Mr Sharif and his brother and we will work something out."
Rochdale lawyer describes moment when former Pakistan PM was deported
By: Amjad Malik MA, LLM
On 10th of September exiled Premier of Pakistan returned after 7 years of exile on a symbolic PIA flight number PK 786 from Heathrow to Islamabad. However he was shocked along with his fellow travellers that the so called mightiest and the most powerful man in Pakistan refused not only his but the entry of democracy in Pakistan, and his forced deportation vanished all the hopes of reviving the democracy and possible exit of the military from current political system peacefully.
I was one of the unfortunate lawyers who inherited a circumstantial brief to assist Mian Nawaz Sharif on that plane as well as at the airport lounge in order to practically convert his aspirations to submit himself to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and to physically convey his feelings of peace, good will and national reconciliation to his Pakistani people. To me this historic flight carried its passengers by luck like a lottery ticket as no one knew which plane Mr. Sharif will catch.
All our efforts were unfruitful when all proceedings which were more or less peaceful were halted by a quick army style operation which resulted in push and pulls and the deportation of Nawaz Sharif to an other exile, the term of which is unknown this time.
I would not mention the court order of Supreme Court which was violated here as General Musharraf's regime knows no concept of rule of law as his reign is full of contradictions of his sayings and operations otherwise. Alas his machinery did not learn any lesson from the reference of March the 9th then filed against Chief Justice, operation in Wana and Lal Masjid and 12 th May massacre. In fact they restaged the same scene in the capital and made it like Beirut though only missing link was dead bodies.
We were dealt with by Sameer, Imam and Tahir Ayub, all lower ranking officers who had to go again and again to seek instructions from higher officials. They were less worried about Sharif's entry but more of losing their jobs and as the time passed at the airport lounge, composed Sharif won his moral battle against regime by just sitting in economy class with common passengers, travelling in ordinary bus and sitting for over 3 hours in ordinary lounge on an orange sofa and authorities did not even bother to come and talk to him and he was treated like a common thief forgetting that the man made Pakistan the 7 th state that possesses nuclear arsenal and is one of the most popular leader in Pakistan along with Bhuttoos. Instead he was rushed out towards rear exit by a storm of intelligence officials on the false pretence that he is arrested administratively and will be produced before accountability court the very next day.
My faith in rule of law and justice in Pakistan though did not shatter but all the happenings have startled me with the realisation that matrix of military might have almost disabled the state structure and institutions are mortgaged to their strength. 160 million people could not ensure enforcement of larger bench's decision to allow Sharifs to enter and remain and continue politics as they acted like a crowd rather than a nation and preferred to watch Tele at home whilst the regime was shattering all the norms of national and international laws and shraif was returned without even entry endorsement on his passport.
The historic flight pk786 landed, Nawaz Sharif came and was returned leaving many unanswered questions but one thing which is undoubted is that unarmed Sharif rattled the confidence of dying regime minute by minute as long as he was waiting entry clearance at the lounge. Who knows next time he comes like a Khomeini of Iran.
Amjad Malik is a Solicitor-Advocate of the Supreme Court of England & Wales and was representing Mr. Nawaz Sharif throughout his four and a half hour stay at Islamabad airport on 10 th of September 2007.
AMJAD MALIK, MA, LLM
SOLICITOR-ADVOCATE SUPREME COURT (ENGLAND)
EMAIL:
AMSolicitors@aol.com
Office Address
149 DRAKE STREET
ROCHDALE
OL11 1EF
TEL: 00 44 1706 346 111
FAX: 00 44 1706 346012
MOBILE: 00 44 7770 983308
EMAIL: AMSolicitors@aol.com
On 10th of September exiled Premier of Pakistan returned after 7 years of exile on a symbolic PIA flight number PK 786 from Heathrow to Islamabad. However he was shocked along with his fellow travellers that the so called mightiest and the most powerful man in Pakistan refused not only his but the entry of democracy in Pakistan, and his forced deportation vanished all the hopes of reviving the democracy and possible exit of the military from current political system peacefully.
I was one of the unfortunate lawyers who inherited a circumstantial brief to assist Mian Nawaz Sharif on that plane as well as at the airport lounge in order to practically convert his aspirations to submit himself to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and to physically convey his feelings of peace, good will and national reconciliation to his Pakistani people. To me this historic flight carried its passengers by luck like a lottery ticket as no one knew which plane Mr. Sharif will catch.
All our efforts were unfruitful when all proceedings which were more or less peaceful were halted by a quick army style operation which resulted in push and pulls and the deportation of Nawaz Sharif to an other exile, the term of which is unknown this time.
I would not mention the court order of Supreme Court which was violated here as General Musharraf's regime knows no concept of rule of law as his reign is full of contradictions of his sayings and operations otherwise. Alas his machinery did not learn any lesson from the reference of March the 9th then filed against Chief Justice, operation in Wana and Lal Masjid and 12 th May massacre. In fact they restaged the same scene in the capital and made it like Beirut though only missing link was dead bodies.
We were dealt with by Sameer, Imam and Tahir Ayub, all lower ranking officers who had to go again and again to seek instructions from higher officials. They were less worried about Sharif's entry but more of losing their jobs and as the time passed at the airport lounge, composed Sharif won his moral battle against regime by just sitting in economy class with common passengers, travelling in ordinary bus and sitting for over 3 hours in ordinary lounge on an orange sofa and authorities did not even bother to come and talk to him and he was treated like a common thief forgetting that the man made Pakistan the 7 th state that possesses nuclear arsenal and is one of the most popular leader in Pakistan along with Bhuttoos. Instead he was rushed out towards rear exit by a storm of intelligence officials on the false pretence that he is arrested administratively and will be produced before accountability court the very next day.
My faith in rule of law and justice in Pakistan though did not shatter but all the happenings have startled me with the realisation that matrix of military might have almost disabled the state structure and institutions are mortgaged to their strength. 160 million people could not ensure enforcement of larger bench's decision to allow Sharifs to enter and remain and continue politics as they acted like a crowd rather than a nation and preferred to watch Tele at home whilst the regime was shattering all the norms of national and international laws and shraif was returned without even entry endorsement on his passport.
The historic flight pk786 landed, Nawaz Sharif came and was returned leaving many unanswered questions but one thing which is undoubted is that unarmed Sharif rattled the confidence of dying regime minute by minute as long as he was waiting entry clearance at the lounge. Who knows next time he comes like a Khomeini of Iran.
Amjad Malik is a Solicitor-Advocate of the Supreme Court of England & Wales and was representing Mr. Nawaz Sharif throughout his four and a half hour stay at Islamabad airport on 10 th of September 2007.
AMJAD MALIK, MA, LLM
SOLICITOR-ADVOCATE SUPREME COURT (ENGLAND)
EMAIL:
AMSolicitors@aol.com
Office Address
149 DRAKE STREET
ROCHDALE
OL11 1EF
TEL: 00 44 1706 346 111
FAX: 00 44 1706 346012
MOBILE: 00 44 7770 983308
EMAIL: AMSolicitors@aol.com
Musharraf Refused Entry of Democracy in Pakistan