LAHORE, Sept 10: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was not “deported” but kidnapped by the authorities in a clear violation of the Supreme Court verdict, say jurists.

“This is a sheer criminality. He (Nawaz) was kidnapped in the presence of media,” said known jurist-cum-politician Aitzaz Ahsan while talking to Dawn.

He said the authorities had committed not only a contempt of court but also an offence punishable under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

“This is human smuggling for which an FIR can be lodged against the perpetrators,” Aitzaz said.

He said: “You don’t extradite people for alleged offences in your country. Besides, there is no understanding between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia for extradition.”

Asked if the government could have sent him back because of the controversial agreement on exile, Aitzaz said: “An agreement done to cut off one’s nose cannot be enforced under any law. It is a Saudi slap on the face of the sovereignty of Pakistan. Pervez Musharaf must be prosecuted for showing blatant contempt for the apex court.”

He said Mr Hariri was nobody to hold press conference in Pakistan for dissuading Nawaz Sharif from returning home. He said he was hopeful that someone would pursue the issue in the Supreme Court.

Asked if the Supreme Court could order his production when earlier a full bench of the high court, in the wake of Oct 12 coup, had refused to order his production, Aitzaz said it was a different matter altogether. “Here someone had been removed from the boundaries of Pakistan.”

Justice Rafiq Tarar (retired) said the forced exile of Nawaz Sharif was contemptuous. He said law did not allow extradition of any Pakistani citizen and termed the violators of SC’s orders ‘criminals’ of the nation.

A former president, Tarar, said it was an explicit criminal act of kidnapping, which was punishable, under Section 363 Cr.PC, with imprisonment for a term up to seven years.

Constitutional expert A.K. Dogar advocate said the removal of Nawaz Sharif from Pakistan’s territory was not only kidnapping, but also an act of state terrorism witnessed across Pakistan.

“Under Article 190 of the Constitution all executives and judicial authorities are bound to act in aid of the SC, and failure to do so invoked contempt of court.”

Hamid Khan, former Supreme Court Bar Association president, said the government wanted to take on the judiciary because it was afraid of judicial activism. Saying the deportation amounted to kidnapping, Hamid said it was punishable under Pakistan’s criminal law because it curtailed freedom of a citizen.