Musharraf Critic Sentenced to 23

Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, de facto leader of the Pakistan Muslim League party led by exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was jailed on seven counts including forgery, defamation and inciting hatred against the army.

He was also fined 720 US dollar (BD275), said special public prosecutor Munir Bhatti.

The verdict was announced behind closed doors in Adiala jail, in Rawalpindi.

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 a probe into the 1999 Kargil conflict when Pakistan and India fought a brief war in Kashmir. Musharraf was head of the army at the time.

Both the government and the army have dismissed the letter as a fabrication.

Hashmi supporter and party official Zafar Iqbal Jhagra said the ruling would soon be challenged in a higher court.