Musharraf accused of contempt of court

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A day after the Pakistani government deported former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his supporters made a formal protest to the Supreme Court yesterday but were largely prevented from taking their pro-democracy movement to the streets by an aggressive security crackdown.

The court, which last month authorized Sharif's return from exile, seems to be on a collision course with Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, after the government's decision to ship the former prime minister out of the country Monday, only hours after he had arrived.

Sharif's backers filed a petition that accuses the government of contempt of court. It says the deportation defied a high court ruling in August that Sharif had an "inalienable" right to return to his homeland.

"Nawaz Sharif was illegally abducted, and the architect of this unlawful act is Gen. Pervez Musharraf," senior party official Khawaja Asif said at a news conference on the white-marble steps of the court.

The contempt case is one of two the court is likely to hear in the coming days that could have vast repercussions for Pakistani politics. The other case challenges Musharraf's eligibility to run for another term as president. By law, he must win another term this fall if he wants to stay in office, but his other job as army chief could disqualify him.

The government's decision to disregard the court's ruling on Sharif's right to return has raised fears that Musharraf also might brush off an election ruling. Many analysts believe if he feels stymied by the Supreme Court, the general might impose emergency rule or martial law in a bid to reassert control.

Sharif, who was deposed by Musharraf in a 1999 coup and has been in exile since 2000, had hoped to return to Pakistan to lead a campaign against the general. But his deportation raises questions about how well his party will be able to mobilize in his absence.

Efforts to hold rallies in support of the exiled Sharif fizzled yesterday. The government enforced a ban against large gatherings, and many party members were shipped to remote detention centers after having been arrested during the last several days.

"Our main leaders are all in jail," Sardar Nasim, a politician with Sharif's faction of the Pakistan Muslim League, told a small group of protesters in Rawalpindi. Police outnumbered demonstrators, and the rally broke up quickly.

Some of the considerable popular anger over the deportation was directed at the United States, Musharraf's chief patron. At a pro-Sharif demonstration in the eastern city of Lahore, protesters chanted: "America has a dog in uniform!"

It has been widely reported in the Pakistani media that the Bush administration hopes for a power-sharing deal between Musharraf and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who is considered far friendlier to the West than Sharif is. But that proposed arrangement seems stalled.

The security crackdown continued on a day when a suicide bomber struck in northwestern Pakistan, killing 18 people and signaling the multifaceted nature of the challenge facing Musharraf. The attack took place in Dera Ismail Khan, near the restive tribal area of Waziristan, and injured 18, many of them critically.

The Taliban has been mounting an increasingly aggressive insurgency in recent months in northwestern Pakistan.