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International Movement of Parliamentarians for Democracy

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-Alerts - Opposition Leader Sentenced

On April 12th, opposition Pakistani parliamentarian Makhdoom Javed Hashmi was sentenced to 23 years in jail on seven counts of sedition. Hashmi is president of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy and is the acting leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Hashmi was arrested on October 29, 2003 following the distribution and reading of a letter titled "To the National Leadership" at a press conference. The letter, which Hashmi says he received from army personnel, criticized the army and President Musharraf's policies and called for the termination of military influence in political affairs. Hashmi was arrested and charged with inciting the army to mutiny, defaming the government and the army, and document forgery.

The closed nature of Hashmi's trial has been attacked by the international community. The government held all court proceedings before a panel of judges inside of the prison, and Hashmi was refused family visitations and access to legal council during the initial weeks of his incarceration. Protesting the political motivations behind his case, Hashmi boycotted his trial. When an appeal to the Lahore High Court was rejected because he did not argue in his defense, Hashmi recorded a 107-page statement on April 3rd during cross-examination. Hashmi has once again appealed his case to the High Court.

In November 2001, Hashmi was arrested on corruption charges after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) alleged he failed to disclose all of his assets. The majority of politicians who have faced similar charges by the NAB have been members of opposition parties, with charges being dropped selectively. As of his October 29th arrest and subsequent sentencing, Hashmi was still awaiting a ruling on his request to transfer courts.

The Musharraf government has recently arrested the PML-N Secretary and other leaders in a country-wide crackdown to thwart attempts by party supporters to welcome party president Shahhaz Sharif on his planned return from the United Kingdom.

The International Movement of Parliamentarians for Democracy (IMPD) strongly condemns the harassment of the opposition and the sentencing of Javed Hashmi. We urge the government of Pakistan to respect the right of the opposition to raise objections to government policy and to stop hindering the strengthening of Pakistan's multi-party system. We urge members of the IMPD to write to Pakistan's leaders and the media in Pakistan pressing the government to respect the political freedom of Hashmi and other members of opposition parties.