The former head of Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), will be court-martialled soon, an aide to military ruler General Pervez Musharraf said Saturday.
Evidence against Lieutenant General Khaja Ziauddin has been collected and a military court, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Major General Rashid Qureshi as saying, would try him.
Ziauddin was arrested on the day of the October 12, 1999 coup that toppled prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Hours before the coup Sharif had sacked Musharraf as army chief and appointed Ziauddin in his place.
Qureshi, who is press secretary to Musharraf, said another army officer, Brigadier Javed Malik, would also face court-martial.
"They will be court martialled. They will be tried before you and you will see the results," he said.
Sharif is serving a life term, handed down by an anti-terrorism court in April, for trying to stop Musharraf's plane from landing in Pakistan on the day of the coup.
The aircraft landed after the army took control of the Karachi airport and Musharraf seized power.
Qureshi also said the military government had no plan to revive the parliament, suspended after the coup or to hold national elections next year.
Musharraf has promised to abide by a May verdict of the Supreme Court validating the military takeover and ordering the military rulers to hold national polls before October 12, 2002.
Meanwhile he has scheduled district level polls starting from December-end under a plan to devolve power to the people at the grassroots level which is described as a key element of Musharraf's agenda to set up a "genuine" democracy -- ISLAMABAD (AFP)
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