Makhdoom Javed Hashmi

Islamabad, April 12 (Reuters): A Pakistani Opposition leader was sentenced to 23 years in prison today after he was accused of defaming the military and trying to incite a mutiny.

Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, de facto leader of the Pakistan Muslim League party led by exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was handed a total of 23 years in jail on seven counts including forgery, defamation and inciting hatred against the army.

“Mr Hashmi has been convicted on seven charges and given a total of 23 years in prison and a fine of Pakistani Rs 42,000 ($720),” special public prosecutor Munir Bhatti said after the decision was announced behind closed doors in Adiala jail.

The jail is in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, where the military is based.

The decision sparked outrage among his supporters, and all Opposition members of the upper house of parliament staged a walkout, describing the punishment as cruel and unjust.

“It is one of the darkest days in Pakistan’s history,” said Senator Raza Rabbani of the Pakistan People’s Party led by exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, before walking out.

Ishaq Dar, former finance minister and an aide to Sharif, said he was saddened by the judgment after the trial was held inside a jail and was not open to the public. “It is a shame for the whole judicial process of the country,” he said.

Hashmi was arrested in October following a complaint that he had forged a letter purporting to come from the Pakistani army which criticised military President Pervez Musharraf.

Hashmi, one of Musharraf’s most outspoken critics, had circulated the unsigned letter to reporters.

The letter criticised Musharraf’s support for the US-led war on terror in Afghanistan and called for an investigation into the 1999 Kargil conflict between Pakistan and India.

Musharraf was head of the army at the time of the Kargil conflict. Both the government and the army have dismissed the letter as a fabrication.

“We do not accept this decision and we will go to the higher courts and fight our legal battles. If need be, we will also protest.”

Legal sources said the punishments on the seven charges are concurrent, and, therefore, Hashmi would only have to spend seven years in jail if his appeals are rejected by a higher court.