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Pakistan's Supreme Court told Musharraf assumed presidency illegally
Pakistan's Supreme Court has been told that military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, assumed the presidency illegally and was trying to turn democracy on its head.
The court is hearing three petitions from opposition parties and the Supreme Court Bar Association challenging the constitutionality of a referendum due at the end of this month to extend President Musharraf's term as president.
A lawyer for the fundamentalist Jamaat-i-Islami party, Farooq Hassa, told the court that General Musharraf assumed the presidency unlawfully after he removed elected president, Mohammad Rafiq Tarar.
General Musharraf was the chief of the armed forces when he toppled then Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, in a coup in October 1999, promising sweeping reforms to end corruption and revive "genuine democracy".
He has promised to abide by an earlier Supreme Court ruling that he hold general elections by October this year and restore parliamentary rule, but he insists that he must remain president to ensure that Pakistan does not again come under the rule of corrupt politicians.
24/04/2002 02:38:58 | ABC Radio Australia News
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