Pakistan opposition leader freed By ZIA KHAN, Associated Press Writer

Pakistan opposition leader freed By ZIA KHAN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 29 minutes ago



LAHORE, Pakistan - One of Pakistan's top opposition leaders was released to the raucous cheers of supporters Saturday after four years in prison and immediately vowed to resume his campaign against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

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Javed Hashmi, the acting president of the party of exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, left prison a day after the Supreme Court granted him bail in his 23-year sentence on charges of reason and inciting an army mutiny against Musharraf.

Rights and opposition groups had criticized the charges as politically motivated. The Supreme Court agreed to grant him bail while it considers his application for the case to be reviewed.

Hashmi was one of the most outspoken critics of Musharraf, an army general who ousted Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999.

"My fight was for the restoration of democracy, and the true freedom for me will come the day when we will get rid of those generals who toppled the elected government," Hashmi told reporters outside the prison.

"There will be no compromise with the dictators," he said. "I will only consider myself a free man when the entire nation will get freedom from these generals."

The decision to free Hashmi on bail demonstrates the growing clout of Pakistan's recently reinstated chief justice as Pakistan heads toward crucial elections and Musharraf seeks a new five-year term.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry was suspended by Musharraf in March. Critics of the government said Musharraf was trying to remove a potential threat to his continued military rule.

Chaudhry was cleared of charges of misconduct amid a groundswell of opposition to military rule and headed the three-judge panel that ordered Hashmi's release.

Musharraf, who has promised to restore democracy, was badly weakened by his failed attempt to oust Chaudhry. He also faces a tide of Islamic militant violence and U.S. demands for tougher action against al-Qaida sanctuaries along the Afghan border.

Hundreds of members of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N gathered outside the prison Saturday, some with drums and horns. As Hashmi emerged, they rushed forward, waving the green flags of Sharif's party and chanting: "Brave man, Hashmi, Hashmi!"

Draped in a flower garland, Hashmi climbed onto the front of a four-wheel drive vehicle to lead a procession through the streets of Lahore, Pakistan's second-largest city and its cultural capital, to a shrine. He was expected to return to the capital, Islamabad, on Monday.

Hashmi was sentenced in a closed court after circulating a letter, supposedly from Pakistani soldiers, criticizing Musharraf for making Pakistan a U.S. ally in its war on terror in Afghanistan, and praising parliament for opposing a U.S. request for Pakistan to send troops to Iraq.

The letter was written on military stationery, but was unsigned. The government says it was forged.

Hashmi's release comes at a time of political ferment in Pakistan, with growing expectations of a power-sharing deal between Musharraf and another exiled former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, and of Sharif's possible return from exile in time for elections.

Bhutto and Musharraf, two longtime rivals, were widely reported to have met in Abu Dhabi last week. Bhutto's London adviser says she is expected to return to Pakistan in October.

Sharif appealed to the Supreme Court Thursday to be allowed to return from exile to contest parliamentary elections later this year. Musharraf has said he would block any such attempt.